Eagles Remain at Home for Pair of In-State Battles

Baseball vs. Oakland (7-19, 5-6 Horizon) & Concordia (22-9, 9-6 WHAC)
Date	Tuesday-Wednesday, April 10-11
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Radio	Eagle All-Access (Tuesday Only)
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team continues its five-game home swing when it hosts a pair of midweek games Tuesday-Wednesday, April 10-11. The Eagles welcome Oakland University to Oestrike Stadium on Tuesday, before playing host to Concordia University on Wednesday. Both games are set to begin at 6 p.m.
The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats, while Eagle All-Access radio will broadcast the Oakland game, with veteran broadcasters Greg Steiner and Chad Bush on the call. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS: The Eagles and Golden Grizzlies have met 60 times in their respective histories, with EMU holding the all-time advantage, 45-15. The two had a home-and-home series last season which was split with each home team winning its respective home game.
Meanwhile, EMU and Concordia have met just six times despite sharing the same county. Eastern has won all six meetings, with the last coming in 2013, a 4-3 victory, March 26.

TEETH CLENCHING WIN OVER BALL STATE: EMU won its second consecutive MAC series of the season by taking two of three from Ball State, April 6-8. The series opener was a notable one, as EMU took a narrow 1-0 victory. It was the first 1-0 win for the Eagles since May 7, 2011, in a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois. In addition, it was the first time in the 2018 season the Eagles won a game in which they were out-hit, as Ball State tallied four hits to EMU's three.

WALKOFFS ARE ALWAYS FUN: In the second game of the series versus Ball State, EMU won in thrilling fashion, 6-5, on a walk off single from freshman Jared Kauffman. In a game that featured four lead changes and three ties, Kauffman delivered the game-winning hit with the bases loaded in the ninth. It was the first walk-off victory of the season for EMU after having three at Oestrike last season.

EMU BASEBALL LEGEND ROGER CORYELL PASSES AWAY: Former Eastern Michigan University baseball player, coach, and E-Club Hall of Famer Roger Coryell passed away Thursday, April 5, at the age of 71. Coryell dedicated 40 years of his life as a player, assistant, and later head coach for EMU baseball, where he finished as the second-winningest coach in program history.

LOOKING LIKE A POTY CANDIDATE: Junior Max Schuemann has had a breakout 2018 campaign for the Eagles, and as such he has put himself near the top of almost all statistical categories in the MAC. He ranks in the top-three in batting average, hits, doubles, hits-per-game, steals, and total bases, while also ranking seventh in runs scored and slugging, eighth in on-base percentage, and 10th in RBIs and is the second-hardest player to strikeout. In addition, he has started 27-of-28 games at shortstop, and has the second-most assists (85) in the MAC while helping to turn 14 double plays.

EAGLES HEATING UP ON THE MOUND: Since entering conference play, EMU's pitching staff has been lights out against its conference competition. As a staff, EMU holds the best ERA in MAC-only games with a mark of 2.74, which is 0.61 points better than the next team (Ohio, 3.35). In addition, EMU starting pitchers Justin McMurtrey and Luke DeVenney have ERAs of 1.27 and 1.76, respectively, in their first three MAC starts, which ranks eighth and 10th in the conference.

FOR THE GREATER GOOD: When EMU get 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 16th in the nation and second in the MAC with 27 sacrifice bunts. In addition, sophomore Devin Hager is 10th in the country with nine sac bunts, just three behind the national leaders.

BLISTERING OFFENSIVE NUMBERS: After the first three weekends 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 (.280) and steals (56), second in hits (270) and doubles (50), third in on-base percentage (.366), and fourth in runs (153), scoring (5.5), and slugging percentage (.383).

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 56 bags, good for 15th 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 five wins in 13 games. His five wins are second in the MAC (most for a reliever) and 39th in the nation, just two behind the national leaders.

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 527-375-2 record at the stadium. Of the 47 previous seasons, 34 have resulted in winning home records for Eastern.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU gets back on the road when it heads down to Athens, Ohio for a three-game series. The weekend against the Bobcats is set to begin with a 6 p.m. first pitch Friday, April 10.

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Players Mentioned

Luke DeVenney

Devin Hager

Jared Kauffman

Justin McMurtrey

Max Schuemann

Mitchell Sparks

Eastern Michigan Athletics