Eagles Flock to Lone Star State to Battle UTRGV

Baseball at UTRGV (10-8, 0-0 WAC)
Date	Friday-Saturday, March 16-17
Venue	Edinburg, Texas \| UTRGV Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	GoUTRGV.com
Stream	Game 1 \| Games 2-3
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

EDINBURG, Texas (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team completes its non-conference weekend schedule when it heads to the Lone Star State for a three-game series against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Friday-Saturday, March 16-17. Action against the Vaqueros begins Friday at 8 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, with game one starting at 2 p.m.
The action can be followed live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats on GoUTRGV.com, while a live stream will be provided by UTRGV through YouTube Live and the WAC Digital Network. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

WRANGLING THE COWBOYS: EMU took two games of a three game series at Oklahoma State, March 9-11, to win its first three-game series over a 'Power 5' opponent since taking two-of-three from the University of Kansas in 2011. After dropping game one, 8-3, EMU won the next two, 9-7 and 6-5, to win the series against the storied OSU program.

PROVIDING A SPARK: In the two wins against Oklahoma State, Mitchell Sparks was electric coming out of the bullpen for the Eagles. In his two appearances, he tossed five innings giving up just one hit and one run while striking out two. He earned the win in both contests, putting his record at 3-0 on the season. The three wins are tied for 20th in the nation.

THE .400 CLUB: Though still relatively early in the season, a pair of Eagles have so far achieved elite status by maintaining a batting average over .400. Max Schuemann and Jeff Timko have averages of .429 and .413, respectively, both ranking in the top-100 for that category (min. 3.0 plate appearances per game). EMU is one of 13 schools in the country that has two or more players with a batting average at or above the .400 mark.

ALL-TIME VS. UTRGV: This weekend will mark the fifth meeting between the two schools in their respective histories. They met four times during EMU's 1975 College World Series season when UTRGV was known as UT Pan American. The Broncs won all four times in the series which spanned March 22-28.

RETURN TO THE LONE STAR STATE: This weekend will mark a return home for junior pitcher Mitchell Sparks, as the left hander was born in Willis, Texas, a city north of Houston.

AMONG THE NCAA's BEST: Through the first 15 games of the season, Max Schuemann has been one of the top players in the country offensively. The infielder ranks second in the country in steals (13), 25th in hits (27), 32nd batting average (.429), and 51st in total bases (42).

OFFENSE SHINING EARLY: The EMU offense has shined early on this season, batting .303 with 105 runs, 162 hits, as well as 41 stolen bases, while scoring 7.0 runs-per-game. The Eagles have tallied double-digit hits in nine of the first 15 contests. Nationally, the team batting average ranks 28th, while hits are 44th, scoring is 46th, and total runs are 58th.

ZOOM ZOOM: In each of the last three seasons, EMU has finished in the top-60 nationally in stolen bases, including third in the NCAA in 2016 and 11th in 2015. This season, Eastern is off to a fast start on the base paths, as they have swiped 41 bags in the first 15 games, good for sixth in the country. Additionally, Max Schuemann's 13 steals are second in the nation.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU will rematch with Ohio State when they head down to Columbus for a midweek game, Wednesday, March 21. First pitch against the Buckeyes is set for 5:05 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Max Schuemann

Mitchell Sparks

Jeff Timko

Eastern Michigan Athletics