Baseball Sets Sights on 2018 MAC Tournament

Baseball at 2018 MAC Tournament
Date	Wednesday-Sunday, May 23-27
Venue	Avon, Ohio \| Sprenger Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Audio	Eagle All-Access
Video	ESPN+
Twitter	@EMUBaseball
Tournament Central	MACSports.com
2018 Bracket	Bracket (PDF)

AVON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team continues its 2018 season when it heads to the Mid-American Conference Tournament this week, Wednesday-Sunday, May 23-27, at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The No. 6 seeded Eagles will begin the double-elimination playoff by squaring off with the No. 3 seeded Ball State University Cardinals Wednesday afternoon, May 23, at 12:30 p.m.
   The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Fans can also follow the game through live stats, a stream on ESPN+, as well as on Eagle All-Access radio with Greg Steiner and Chad Bush on the call. Links can be found on the schedule page of EMUEagles.com.

ALL-TIME AT THE MAC TOURNAMENT: EMU will be making its third straight and 16th overall appearance in the MAC Tournament. The Eagles hold a 37-23 all-time record in the playoff, and also own the second-most titles with four, the most recent coming in 2008. In the last two MAC Tournaments, EMU has made a run as it made it to the semifinals in 2016, and the championship game in 2017.

ALL-TIME VS. BALL STATE: EMU and BSU have met 154 times in their respective histories, with EMU leading the all-time series, 79-74-1. The series dates all the way back to 1952, EMU's fourth varsity season. In the regular season series, EMU won two-of-three games at Oestrike Stadium, including a 1-0 win in the opener, and a 6-5 walk-off winner in game two. The Eagles were blanked in the finale, 5-0.
   Against the Cardinals in the MAC Tournament, EMU is a perfect 2-0 with a 10-4 win in the 2004 tournament and a 19-16 slugfest victory in the 2009 tournament.

RECAPPING THE MAC SEASON: The Eagles finished the regular season with a 14-13 mark to finish in sixth place. It is the second straight season in which EMU has tallied 14 wins in conference play. Of the nine MAC series, EMU won five of them, taking two-of-three from Bowling Green, Ball State, Ohio, Central Michigan, and Northern Illinois. EMU did not sweep, nor were they swept in any MAC series this season.

LAST SEASON AT THE MAC TOURNAMENT: At the 2017 MAC Tournament, EMU had a magical run as the No. 3 seed, getting to its first championship game since 2008. After losing in its first game of the tournament, EMU rattled off four straight wins, including a doubleheader sweep of No. 2 Central Michigan in the semifinals, to get to the title game. There, EMU led for a majority of the game against No. 5 Ohio, before the Bobcats rallied back to win the crown.
   Three players would go on to be named to the All-Tournament team, as Max Schuemann, Nick Jones, and Davis Feldman were all recognized after their exceptional performances.

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 .362 batting average, .454 on-base percentage, .552 slugging percentage, 30 walks, and is tied for the team-lead with six home runs. He has recorded a hit in 38-of-46 games played. His batting average ranks second in the MAC, and 78th in the nation, while his on-base is third (88th NCAA), slugging is fifth, total bases eighth, and hits ninth. He has also reached base in 31 straight games, the longest streak for an Eagle this season and the longest for an EMU player since 2012.

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 (2.64), IPs (85.0), strikeouts (53), 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 14 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 3.69 ERA in MAC-only games, which is second in the league. In addition, EMU starting pitcher Luke DeVenney has an ERA of 1.94 in his nine 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 90 bags, good for 18th 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 54 games for the Eagles, 52 at shortstop, and leads EMU in hits, runs, doubles, total bases, and steals. He is also second in batting average, slugging, and OBP. His steals and doubles are second in the MAC, while his hits are fourth, total bases seventh, and runs eighth. He is also the second-toughest player to strike out in the MAC.
   In the field, Schuemann has 168 assists, good for first in the MAC, while he has helped turn 30 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 189 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 14th in the nation and fourth in the MAC with 46 sacrifice bunts. In addition, sophomore Devin Hager is seventh in the country and leads the MAC with 15 sac bunts.

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Players Mentioned

Luke DeVenney

Davis Feldman

Devin Hager

Nick Jones

Zachary Owings

Max Schuemann

Eastern Michigan Athletics