Softball Preps for Midweek Games Against Michigan and Toledo

Softball vs Michigan and Toledo
Date	Tuesday-Wednesday, April 10-11
Venue	Ann Arbor, Mich. \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. Michigan \| vs. T oledo
Live Stream	vs. Michigan
Radio	vs. Toledo
Twitter	@EMUSoftball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - On the heels of a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional series win, the Eastern Michigan University softball team looks to keep the momentum alive with a pair of midweek run-ins, Tuesday-Wednesday, April 10-11. First, the Green and White will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face off against No. 16/17 University of Michigan, April 10, at 4 p.m. The Eagles will then return to #MACtion when they host the University of Toledo for a doubleheader, April 11, at Varsity Field. First pitch for EMU's double dip is set for 1 p.m.
   Live stats will be available for all of EMU's games and can be found on the softball schedule page. Fans can watch Tuesday's action on BTN Plus, while Wednesday's twin bill will be accessible to listen to on Eagles All-Access with Greg Steiner on the call. Additionally, fans can follow the action through Twitter by following @EMUSoftball.

TALE OF THE TAPE: The Eagles own a 65-110 all-time tally against this week's opponents, while the Green and White have accumulated a 3-11 record under Head Coach Melissa Gentile.
   Tuesday's midweek clash with the Wolverines marks the 65th meeting between the Washtenaw County rivals. The Green and White trails in the series 57-8, most recently falling, 8-2, in last season's meeting. The last time Eastern Michigan topped UM came during the 1994 campaign when the two squads split a doubleheader.
   Eastern holds a narrow, 57-53, all-time lead over Toledo. As of late, however, the Rockets have had the upper hand, winning eight of the last 11 games, including a 5-2 win over the Eagles earlier this season, April 3.

HOMERS FOR DAYS: Amanda Akles was a force to be reckoned with at the plate against the RedHawks, April 6-7, as she belted out four home runs in the three-game series. Entering the series with just two homers on the season, Akles tripled her dinger count as she continues to pace the squad with six.

MIAMI WAS GOOD TO AKLES: In the series against Miami, April 6-7, Amanda Akles had a field day at the dish. Hitting at a blistering .833 batting average, Akles produced five runs on six at bats, while tallying five runs. The La Habra, Calif. product blasted out four home runs over the three-game span, while adding six RBIs, 17 total bases, five intentional walks, and no strikeouts to her stat line. Furthermore, the junior ended the weekend with a dominating 2.833 slugging percentage, to go along with an on base percentage of .909.
   Akles' outstanding weekend has propelled her to the leader board in several statistical categories in the conference. The junior now sits in the top-15 for slugging percentage (8th - .634), home runs (t-10th - 6), and total bases (12th - 64).

THAT'S A LOT OF STRIKEOUTS: Senior Trisha Trujillo shined on the mound in relief against the RedHawks, April 6. Coming into the game in the third inning, Trujillo fanned a career-high 10 batters through 4.2 innings of three-hit ball. The Whittier, Calif. product's 10 strikeouts serve as a season-high for the pitching staff, as well as the most since Nicolle Miranda recorded 12 strikeouts versus UMass-Lowell, Feb. 19, 2016.

WINNING THE SERIES: The Eagles won their first series of the campaign last weekend, April 6-7, against Miami University. Eastern went 2-1 against the RedHawks, after defeating MU, 6-4 and 8-2, in the first two games before falling 6-2 in the final game. The win marked the first time the Green and White have won a series since sweeping Ball State, April 15-16, 2016. It also marked Eastern's first win over Miami since 2014 when EMU split a doubleheader against MU, May 2.

LOOK OUT FOR THE PITCHING STAFF: The pitching staff came together for some of its best performances on the mound this season in the series against Miami, April 6-7. In the 6-4 victory over the RedHawks on Friday, Nicolle Miranda and Trisha Trujillo shouldered the work, combining for 13 strikeouts, the most since Miranda fanned 12 against UMass-Lowel, Feb. 19, 2016. Kiara Hurley also had a solid day in the opening game of the twin bill on Saturday, April 7. The freshman fanned a career-high six, to pick up her first win of the season, as EMU downed Miami, 8-2.

FOR THE WIN!: Down by one run in the bottom of the seventh, Amanda Akles' two-run walk-off home run snapped EMU's 18-game losing skid and also marked the first home victory for the Green and White since defeating the University of Akron, 3-0, April 1, 2017. Akles' late game heroics also marked the first time that an Eagle had a walk-off homer since Michelle Kriegshauser did so against Buffalo, April 17, 2015.

COMPLETE GAME GEM: Freshman pitcher, Kiara Hurley, tossed her first complete game of the season against Miami, April 7. Hurley picked up her first win donning the Green and White as she fanned a career-high six batters through seven innings of five-hit ball. Against the RedHawks, the freshman walked four, while giving up just two runs.

AKLES VERSUS THE MAC:  Amanda Akles has proven to be a nightmare for MAC pitchers as she has had a proven track of blasting dingers. Akles, who currently has 20 home runs for her three-year career, has produced 13 just in conference play. The junior's four against Miami is the most against a single conference opponent, while she has also pounded out multiple homers against Akron (3), Kent State (2) and Bowling Green (2). Akles has also produced a home run against Northern Illinois and Toledo.

THAT'S A TON OF INNINGS: Tossing 5.1 innings against Miami, April 6-7, junior pitcher Nicolle Miranda became just the 10th Eagle in program history to pitch 400 innings throughout her career. Miranda ranks 10th in program history with 404.2 innings pitched, and is just 14.8 innings away from tying Jaclyn Caro for ninth most in EMU's laurels.

WHEN ONE HOME RUN ISN'T ENOUGH: In the first game against Miami, April 6, Amanda Akles belted a pair of two-run home runs, sealing a 6-4 win for the Green and White. She is the first Eagle to hit two dingers in a game since Michelle Kriegshauser did so last year against Savannah State, March 19, 2017. This is the third time in Akles' career in which she has produced two homers in her career, having done so in 2016 against George Mason, Feb. 21, and Akron, March, 26.

COME BACK KIDS: In the opening game of the series against Miami, April 6, the Eagles erased a four-run deficit to knock off the RedHawks, 6-4. MU used a three-run homer followed by a solo dinger to jump to an early 4-0 lead over the Eagles through the first three innings. Amanda Akles got EMU within two with a two-run homer in the fourth, before the Eagles tacked on another run in the fifth. Down by one, Akles blasted another two-run homer for the walk-off win.
   The comeback marked the biggest come-from-behind win for the Green and White since the Eagles overcame a five-run deficit in a 6-5 win over Kent State, March 24, 2017.

SO WE MEET AGAIN: When the Eagles welcome the Rockets to Varsity Field, April 11, it will be the second time Eastern has faced off against their MAC West-division foe this season. The two squads previously met when the Eagles took a trip to the Glass City, Tuesday, April 3, to face Toledo in a single game. After being tied 2-2 through the first four innings, the Rockets scored in the fifth and sixth frames to hand Eastern a 5-2 setback.

AGAINST THE NATIONALLY RANKED: Eastern Michigan is in search of its first win over a nationally ranked opponent since the 2009 campaign. Eastern upended No. 22/25 Louisville, 3-2, Feb. 22, 2009, at USF The Game Tournament. Since its last win over a top-25 team, the Eagles are 0-17 against ranked opponents.

THE MAIZE AND BLUE CONNECTION: When the Green and White step onto Alumni Field inside the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex in Ann Arbor on Tuesday April 10, Head Coach Melissa Gentile and Volunteer Assistant Coach Sara Driesenga will both lead the Eagles against their alma mater. Both Gentile and Driesenga played under the current winningest coach in NCAA softball history, Carol Hutchins.
   A NFCA Second Team All-American selection in 1998, Gentile is one of 11 players in UM's history to be named to the NCAA College World Series All-Tournament Team. A four-year letterwinner for the Maize and Blue (1997-2000), Gentile finished her tenure as the career (28) and single-season (13) home run record holder, which stood until 2003. Additionally, she played on the USA Women's National team from 1996-2000 before graduating from UM with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 2000.
   Driesenga, a 2015 graduate from Michigan, was a five-year standout pitcher and three-time NFCA Great Lakes All-Region recipient. She made two appearances in the Women's College World Series during her career, pitching a complete-game shutout her sophomore season, June 1, 2013. Driesenga went on to play in the National Pro Fastpitch league in 2016 before coming to Ypsilanti.

ON DECK: The Eagles are back on the road this weekend, Friday-Saturday, April 13-14, when they travel to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. to face off against the Chippewas of Central Michigan University. Eastern opens the series with a Friday 3 p.m. tilt before concluding the series with a Saturday doubleheader. Action on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m at Margo Jonker Stadium.

Softball Preps for Midweek Games Against Michigan and Toledo

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Akles

Kiara Hurley

Nicolle Miranda

Trisha Trujillo

Eastern Michigan Athletics