Eagles Host Huskies in Regular Season Finale Series

Baseball vs. Northern Illinois (19-34, 8-16 MAC)
Date	Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Sidearm
Radio	Eagle All-Access
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team concludes the regular season when it plays host to Northern Illinois University for a three-game series, Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19. The set against the Huskies begins with 6 p.m. first pitches on Thursday and Friday, and a 1 p.m. start time for Senior Day on Saturday.
   The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats, as well as on Eagle All-Access radio with Greg Steiner and Chad Bush on the call. As always admission into Oestrike Stadium is free of charge.

ALL-TIME VS. THE HUSKIES: Eastern and NIU have met a combined 120 times in their respective histories. EMU holds the all-time advantage, 74-46. The two teams first met in 1951 and have met every season since 1998. Last year, EMU swept the regular season series in DeKalb, May 12-14. They also knocked the Huskies out of the MAC Tournament with an 8-7 win in Avon, May 25. Dating back to 2016, EMU has won six straight over NIU.

THANK YOU SENIORS!: Saturday will mark the final home game for three EMU seniors. Brad Allen, Luke DeVenney, and Justin McMurtrey will be honored prior to the contest, and recognized for their contributions to the EMU program over the last two-to-four seasons.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!: Prior to Friday's game, the 2008 Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion team will be honored in its 10-year anniversary season. The 2008 team was the last for EMU to win the MAC tournament crown, and advance to an NCAA Regional. The Eagles that season, led by first-year head coach Jake Boss Jr., went 15-8 in league play, and stormed through the MAC tournament, going 4-0, including a 12-4 win over top-seeded Kent State University in the finals. They then advanced to the Ann Arbor regional where they went two and out with losses to baseball blue bloods Arizona and Kentucky.
   That 2008 team had a potent offense, finishing in the top-10 in program history in RBIs (6th), home runs (5th), runs scored (8th), doubles (3rd), hits (5th), and total bases (6th). They also featured future big league pitcher Matt Shoemaker as the staff ace, as well as three players who would go on to be drafted in the MLB First Year Player draft. In addition, they went an amazing 11-2 at home that year, setting the program record for winning percentage at Oestrike Stadium.

OWINGS OWNING THE DISH: Sophomore Zachary Owings has been one of the top bats for both EMU and in the MAC this season, as he leads the team with a .361 batting average, .443 on-base percentage, a .560 slugging percentage, six home runs, and 93 total bases. He has three separate 10-game hitting streaks this year, and has also recorded a hit in 35-of-43 games played. His batting average ranks third in the MAC, and 82nd in the nation, while his slugging is seventh, and his hits, on-base, and total bases rank ninth in the conference. He has also reached base in 28-straight games, the longest streak for an Eagle this season.

PEEKING AT THE POST SEASON: Going into the final week of the regular season, EMU currently sits in sixth place in the MAC with a 12-12 record. Based on how the final weekend of MAC play shakes out, EMU can finish anywhere from fourth place to seventh place.
   EMU's final conference series will come against the current ninth-place team, Northern Illinois (8-16). The top-six teams will qualify for the 2018 MAC Tournament held at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio, May 23-27.

DEVENNEY DOMINATING 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 found his way into the weekend rotation in 2018. He has been fantastic this season, leading the team in ERA (2.51), IPs (79.0), strikeouts (50), and wins (6). His ERA ranks third in the conference, while his IPs are fifth. He has also not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his 13 starts.

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 3.85 ERA in MAC-only games, which is second in the league. In addition, EMU starting pitcher Luke DeVenney has an ERA of 1.63 in his eight MAC starts, which ranks second in the conference.

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 87 bags, good for 17th in the country and first in the MAC.

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 51 games for the Eagles, 49 at shortstop, and leads EMU in hits, runs, doubles, and steals. He is also second in batting average, slugging, OBP, and total bases. His steals are second in the MAC, while doubles are fourth, hits fifth, runs seventh, and total bases eighth. He is also the second-toughest player to strike out in the MAC. In the field, Schuemann has 156 assists, good for first in the MAC, while he has helped turn 27 double plays, placing him seventh in the conference.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Going into the season, EMU already knew it would have to rely on a bevy of young talent to play a lot of crucial innings, as they started the year with more newcomers (15) than returners (13). The freshmen have shown out as Eastern is in the top ten in the country in starts by freshmen (true and redshirt) with 180 combined between eight players in both the field and on the mound.

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 17th in the nation and fourth in the MAC with 44 sacrifice bunts. In addition, sophomore Devin Hager is fourth in the country with 14 sac bunts.

ON THE HORIZON: Should EMU lock up one of the top-six slots in the MAC, it will advance to the MAC Tournament, which is held at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio, May 23-27. Game one of the tournament begins with a 12:30 p.m. first pitch, Wednesday, May 23.

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Players Mentioned

Brad Allen

Luke DeVenney

Devin Hager

Justin McMurtrey

Zachary Owings

Max Schuemann

Eastern Michigan Athletics