Softball Travels to Michigan State for Tuesday Tilt

Softball at Michigan State
Date	Tuesday, April 24 \| 4 p.m.
Venue	Secchia Stadium \| East Lansing, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Live Stream	BTN2Go
Twitter	@EMU Softball \| @EMUAthletics

EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Taking a break from Mid-American Conference play, the Eastern Michigan University softball team travels to East Lansing for a non-conference tilt against Michigan State University Tuesday, April 24. First pitch from Secchia Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m.
   Live stats will be available for the EMU-MSU game, as well as a subscription based stream on BTN2Go. Links can be found on the softball schedule page. Additionally, fans can follow the action through Twitter by following the team's account, @EMUSoftball.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Tuesday's tilt between the Eagles and Spartans marks the 45th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Michigan State. MSU leads the all-time series at a 29-14 tally, and has won four of the last five meetings.
   Last season, the Spartans dropped the Eagles, 13-2, in five innings. Amanda Akles led the Eagles, going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Haley Hostetler went 1-for-2 with a double.

LAST WIN IN EAST LANSING: Eastern's last win at Secchia Stadium came back during the 2015 season, when EMU knocked off MSU, 6-5, in nine innings. Jenna Lucas homered and Lindsay Rich added an RBI on a squeeze in the top of the ninth as the Eagles topped the Spartans in extras.

SPEEDSTER: Senior Angel Schilke has served as one of EMU's top threats on the base paths during her career. Primarily used as a pinch runner in each of her first three seasons, Schilke has racked up 31 stolen bases for her career, the 11th-most in EMU history. Schilke had 10 steals as a freshman, nine as sophomore, five last season, and has added seven to her career total this year.

DOUBLES FOR DAYS: Amanda Akles and Haley Hostetler currently lead the Eagles in doubles with 12 and 10, respectively. Akles' dozen ranks tied for 11th in EMU single-season laurels, while Hostetler is just outside the top-12. Meanwhile, both find themselves ranked inside EMU's top-20 for career doubles as Hostetler's 28 two-baggers rank tied for 14th all-time and Akles is slotted 18th with 27.

K CLUB: In the latest Mid-American Conference statistical rankings, Eastern Michigan has two pitchers ranked inside the league's top-15 in strikeouts. Junior Nicolle Miranda and senior Trisha Trujillo have fanned 71 batters apiece, and are currently tied for 11th-most in the MAC. It marks the first time the Eagles have had two pitchers slotted inside the conference's top-15 since Jenna Ignowski (11th-104) and Lauren Wells (15th-90) did so in 2013.

GETTING BETTER WITH AGE: Trisha Trujillo has been a pivotal piece to EMU's pitching staff since stepping foot in Ypsilanti, but she has saved her best for her senior season. Trujillo picked up a win and a save last week, April 10-13, while owning a 2.21 ERA over a five-game span. The Whittier, Calif. native's impressive week was capped by the first save of her career, only to be out-done by a complete game shutout against Central Michigan.
   For the season, Trujillo has already set a career-high in strikeouts with 63, a mark that is nearly 20 above her previous career-best, while also holding the opposition to its lowest batting average of her career (.298).

THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Junior Amanda Akles finds herself amid one of the best offensive streaks the Eagles have ever seen. Akles has 14 hits, seven of which have been homers, in her last 26 at bats, with 16 RBI's and eight intentional walks. Additionally, the La Habra, Calif. native has reached base safely in 10 of the last 11 games.

MOVING ON UP: With three more home runs last week, April 11-13, junior Amanda Akles moved her season HR total to nine, tied for eighth-most in EMU single-season history. She has recorded 23 round-trippers in her career, good for sixth, and needs just one more dinger to tie Lauren Clark and Nellie Coquillard for fifth-most in EMU's laurels.

AKLES DOES IT AGAIN!: For the second week in-a-row, Amanda Akles was named MAC West Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday, April 17. Akles pieced together another fantastic week at the plate, going 5-for-10 with a double, three home runs, and nine RBI's. She is just the second player to earn the award twice in the same season since 2014, while the league's announcement marked the third time Akles has reeled in the honor in her career.

ON DECK: Eastern Michigan returns home this weekend against Ball State University, April 27-28, for its final home conference series. The three-game series begins with a 3 p.m. first pitch Friday, followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Akles

Haley Hostetler

Nicolle Miranda

Angel Schilke

Trisha Trujillo

Eastern Michigan Athletics