Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, February 15
Hoover, Ala
2 p.m. CT
Eastern Michigan University
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Crushing Blow: Baseball Drops 2019 Season Opener
2/15/2019 7:15:00 PM | Baseball
Eastern falls victim to walk-off home run
HOOVER, Ala. - (EMUEagles.com) – For the second consecutive season, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team began its season with a heartbreaking loss as the Eagles were defeated by NJIT, 5-4, Friday, Feb. 15, at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. Tied going into the ninth inning, EMU batters showed immense poise, as a two out, bases loaded walk gave EMU a one-run lead. Despite Eastern's best effort, a two-run home run off the bat of the Highlanders' Paul Franzoni ended the game in the bottom of the inning.
Offensively, the Green and White saw production and poise from a slew of its players, including veteran infielder, and returning First Team-All MAC selection Zachary Owings (Saline, Mich.-Saline). Owings tallied two hits in four at-bats, and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning via a full-count walk. The six hits from the Eagles were spread among five players. While no hit resulted in extra bases, the Eagles were able to drive in four runs in their 2019 debut.
On the hill, senior Jackson Shaver (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Northern (Grand Rapids C.C.)) had a strong first start of the year, taking a no decision after going the first four innings, allowing no runs, and just three hits.
EMU struck first in the game, as junior team captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) singled in his co-captain, senior John Rensel Jr. (Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge) from third. Rensel reached base on a single, before advancing to second on a balk, one of NJIT's two for the game. A groundout to second base allowed Rensel to advance to third, before scoring on the Jones single. Shaver continued to dominate over the next two innings, keeping NJIT off of the board until the fifth.
In the fifth, a combination of high-powered offense and pitching inconsistencies allowed NJIT to put three on the board. A leadoff home run, followed by two hit batters gave way to a triple, which put the Highlanders on top, 3-1, until the seventh inning, when Eastern would tie the game in a series of unfortunate events for NJIT.
A scoreless sixth made way for a two-run seventh for the Eagles, tying the game 3-3. With two outs, senior Cameron Cruz (Chandler, Ariz.-Hamilton (Mesa C.C.)) reached on an error by the NJIT first baseman. Unable to regain focus, NJIT again allowed an Eastern runner, junior Devin Hager (Commerce Twp. Mich.-Walled Lake Northern), to reach on the ensuing sequence. Cruz reached third base on the error and came around to score on sophomore Shane Easter's (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) RBI knock to bring the Eagles to within one, 3-2. The third error for NJIT advanced Easter to third base, setting up sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) run-scoring groundout to tie at three all.
Strong defense, highlighted by the pitching of redshirt junior Caleb Hester (Coloma, Mich.-Coloma) allowed the Eagles to stay in the game through the end. Hester, who has battled injuries in each of the last two seasons, tossed two innings of scoreless baseball, giving up just one hit on his way to a stellar first game in relief for the Green and White.
The ninth inning proved to be one of high suspense and excitement for Eastern. After loading the bases via a single, two fielder's choice plays, and a walk, Owings was right back in the thick of the action for EMU. A seven-pitch at-bat, resulted in an RBI walk to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
Sophomore closer Thomas House (Ross, Ohio,-Ross) was sent back to the mound in the bottom frame of the ninth, hoping to toss a second straight clean inning. A lead-off fly out started the inning in the Eagles' favor, however a quick one-out single allowed NJIT to step up to the plate with the tying run on. During that next at bat, NJIT blasted its second home run of the game, a two-run shot to deep left-center, ending the game 5-4 in walk-off fashion in favor of the Highlanders.
Eastern will be back on the diamond in game action Saturday, Feb. 16, when it looks to avenge its loss and more, facing NJIT in a doubleheader. The games are set for 12 p.m. CT, and 3:30 p.m. CT, respectively. Both games will be played at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Ala. The series finale will take place Sunday, Feb. 17, when the Eagles and Highlanders will play a 9:30 a.m. CT matinee.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: VURPILLAT, Grant (1-0)
L: House, Thomas (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Owings, Zachary 1 ; Jones, Nick 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rensel Jr., John 1 ; Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Hager, Devin 2
SB: Owings, Zachary 1 ; Hager, Devin 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
Batting:
2B: HELMKAMP, Brett 1
3B: ANASTASIA, Michael 1
HR: ETTS, Justin 1 ; FRANZONI, Paul 1
RBI: ETTS, Justin 1 ; FRANZONI, Paul 2 ; ANASTASIA, Michael 2
Base Running:
RUNS: ETTS, Justin 1 ; MARCANO, Julio 2 ; FRANZONI, Paul 2
SB: MARCANO, David 1
HBP: MARCANO, Julio 1 ; FRANZONI, Paul 1 ; COCCIADIFERRO, Matt 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
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2
RBI
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2
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1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
lf/rf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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IF/OF
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IF
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/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballC/IF
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/ BaseballScout day✅
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