Baseball Welcomes Western Michigan for Crucial MAC Clash

Baseball vs Western Michigan (16-17, 6-7 MAC)
Date	Friday-Sunday, April 27-29
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Radio	Eagle All-Access
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team welcomes in-state rival Western Michigan University to Oestrike Stadium for a crucial three-game Mid-American Conference series, Friday-Sunday, April 27-29. The weekend begins with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. start time on Saturday, and concluding with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats, as well as through the airwaves of Eagle All-Access with Greg Steiner and Kyler Ludlow on the call. As always, admission into Oestrike Stadium is free of charge.

ALL-TIME VS. THE BRONCOS : Eastern and Western have met 173 times in their respective histories, marking the second-most common opponent for EMU all-time. The series is tight, with WMU owning the slight 87-86 edge all-time. The two met five times last season, three in the regular season and twice in the MAC tournament. EMU went 2-3 in those games, but had the last laugh, eliminating WMU in the tournament with a 12-6 win, May 26.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY: With the inclement weather that has been plaguing the country this spring, EMU has not been able to escape cancellations that have been sweeping through the sport of baseball. So far, four Eastern games have been washed out, its most since 2014 when a whopping nine games were wiped from the schedule. In addition, both contests between EMU and Michigan State were canceled this season, marking the first time since 2007 that the two in-state rivals won't play.

GOING STREAKING!: Entering the weekend, freshman Nate Jones is on an 11-game hitting streak, the longest for an Eagle player this season. Remarkably, over the span of the streak, Jones has only upped his batting average by .001 points, from .253 to .254, as nine of the 11 games have been one-hit games. The 11-game streak is the longest for a true freshman since his brother, Nick Jones, had a 12-gamer last season.

PEEKING AT THE POST SEASON: With the halfway point of the Mid-American Conference season in the rear-view mirror, EMU is in a solid spot when it comes to postseason standings. With its 8-7 conference record, EMU sits in a tie for third place along with Toledo and Central Michigan, but only trails second-place Miami by one game and first-place Kent State by three. The standings are tight, however, as the last place team, Northern Illinois, is only three games back of EMU as well, with a 5-10 record. The top-six teams will qualify for the 2018 MAC Tournament held at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio, May 23-27.

OWINGS OWNING THE DISH: Sophomore Zachary Owings has been one of Eastern's top bats so far this season, as he leads the team with a .360 batting average, which ranks third in the MAC. He has two separate 10-game hitting streaks this year, and has also recorded a hit in 24-of-29 games.

MR. DO IT ALL: Junior Max Schuemann has been a five-tool threat for the Eagles this season, showing production in all aspects of the game. He has started all 37 games for the Eagles, 36 at shortstop, and leads EMU in hits, runs, RBIs, doubles, total bases, and steals. He is also second in home runs, as well as in batting, slugging, and on-base percentages. His steals are second in the MAC, while his hits and doubles are third, total bases are fifth, batting average sixth, and runs eighth. In the field, Schuemann has 111 assists, good for second in the MAC, while he has helped turn 20 double plays, good for 11th in the conference.

EAGLES HEATING UP ON THE MOUND: Since entering conference play, EMU's pitching staff has been lights out against its competition. As a staff, EMU holds a 2.96 ERA in MAC-only games, which is tied for the league lead with Kent State. In addition, EMU starting pitchers Luke DeVenney and Justin McMurtrey have ERAs of 1.59 and 2.04, respectively, in their first five MAC starts, which ranks third and fifth in the league. Junior reliever Mitchell Sparks owns a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 MAC innings, good for fourth-best.

DEVENNEY DEVELOPING ON THE HILL: 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. He has been fantastic this season, leading the team in ERA (2.81) and IPs (57.2), while striking out the second-most batters (39). His ERA ranks seventh in the conference.

FOR THE GREATER GOOD: When EMU gets runners on base, almost no other team is more unselfish when it comes to advancing them an extra base. Thus far this season, EMU is 21st in the nation and second in the MAC with 33 sacrifice bunts. In addition, sophomore Devin Hager is 13th in the country with 10 sac bunts.

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 near the top once again, as it has swiped 70 bags, good for 17th in the country and first in the MAC.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Junior Mitchell Sparks has been rewarded for having the most appearances for EMU this season as he has tallied a team-leading six wins in 16 games. His six wins are third in the MAC and 36th in the nation, just two behind the national leaders.

JUST CALL HIM MR. APRIL: Freshman Jared Kauffman has been a clutch machine so far in the month of April, as the freshman has two game-winning hits under his belt. The first came with a walk-off single to defeat Ball State, April 7. He followed that up with a game-winning, two-run double in the top of the tenth to come back and defeat Ohio on the road, April 13.

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 529-376-2 record at the stadium. Of the 47 previous seasons, 34 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern returns to the diamond next week for a home-and-home series with Washtenaw County rival the University of Michigan. Eastern travels to Ann Arbor for a 6 p.m. game, Tuesday, May 2, and the Wolverines will make the return trip to Oestrike Stadium Wednesday, May 3, with another 6 p.m. start time.

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Players Mentioned

Luke DeVenney

Devin Hager

Nate Jones

Nick Jones

Jared Kauffman

Justin McMurtrey

Zachary Owings

Max Schuemann

Mitchell Sparks

Eastern Michigan Athletics