Baseball Continues Home Swing Against Youngstown State

Baseball vs Youngstown State (4-17, 3-3 Horizon)
Date	Tuesday, March 27 \| 6 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team continues its home swing when it plays host to Youngstown State University for a midweek contest Tuesday evening, March 27, at Oestrike Stadium. First pitch against the Penguins is set for 6 p.m.
The action can be followed live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also track the game through live stats. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

BLANKING THE REDHAWKS: EMU's 4-0 win over Miami in the series finale, March 25, was the Eagles' first shutout since blanking Buffalo, 4-0, on April 30 of last season. Against the RedHawks, Luke DeVenney started the game and went the first seven, striking out a career-high tying five batters. In relief, Thomas House and Caleb Hester combined to finish the game, each pitching a scoreless frame without giving up a hit.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: The 4-0 win over Miami, March 25, marked the first victory for Eastern Michigan over the RedHawks at Oestrike Stadium in exactly six years. Due to inconsistent scheduling, EMU won for the first time over Miami at home since a 4-2 decision March 25, 2012. The Eagles had just five chances since then, a home series in 2014, which Miami swept, and the series this season.

DEVENNEY HEATING UP ON THE MOUND: Despite being a senior, Luke DeVenney is in just his second season as a pitcher at EMU. After being a primary bullpen/midweek pitcher in 2017, DeVenney has found his way into the weekend rotation in 2018 as the Sunday starter. He has been lights out in his last four outings, pitching to a 2-0 record and 2.30 ERA in 27.1 innings, including 17 strikeouts to just eight walks. On the season, DeVenney leads the Eagle pitching staff with a 3.22 ERA and 22Ks in 36.1 innings.

ALL-TIME VS. THE PENGUINS: EMU and YSU have met just two times in their respective histories, with the all-time series knotted up at one apiece. The two teams last met in the 2014 season at a neutral site event hosted by the University of Cincinnati. Youngstown won the first game, 5-4, in ten innings, March 8, while EMU took the second game, 11-5, March 9.

ALL-TIME AT OESTRIKE: 2018 marks the 48th season at the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium since its opening in 1971. In its long-standing history, EMU holds a 525-373-2 record at the stadium. Of the 47 previous seasons, 34 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

BLISTERING OFFENSIVE NUMBERS: After the first weekend of conference play, the EMU offense is at or near the top in the MAC in the biggest offensive categories, including first in batting average (.289), hits (213), runs (123), steals (49) on-base percentage (.369), second in scoring (5.9), and third in slugging percentage (.392).

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 it has swiped 49 bags in the first 21 games, good for ninth in the country. Additionally, Max Schuemann's 14 steals are ninth in the nation and first in the MAC.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern hits the road for its first road conference series of the season at Bowling Green State University, Friday-Sunday, March 30-April 1. The weekend begins with a 3:05 first pitch on Friday.

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Players Mentioned

Luke DeVenney

Caleb Hester

Thomas House

Max Schuemann

Eastern Michigan Athletics