Baseball Crosses Ohio Border for Midweek Clash at Dayton

March 12 at Dayton
Date	Tuesday, March 12
Venue	Dayton, Ohio \| Woerner Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Watch	N/A
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

DAYTON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team again heads south, this time forgoing the warm weather of Alabama and Texas, for a midweek game against the University of Dayton, Tuesday, March 12, at Woerner Field. First pitch is schedules for 3 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to take place in Ypsilanti, but was moved due to probable weather conditions.
   Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com.

PUNXSUTAWNEY FAIL: When the legendary groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his hole on Feb. 2, 2019, he was unable to find his shadow. As legend goes, this was a sure sign of an early spring. While the furry figure from Pennsylvania may have predicted an early spring, it was all but true. With temperatures hovering near freezing, and snow still expected at Oestrike Stadium, Eastern is forced to relocate its home opener to Dayton. The midweek game between the two schools, scheduled for April 16, at Dayton, will instead be played in Ypsilanti.
   Eastern will now play its first home game of 2019 when the University of Northwestern Ohio comes to Ypsilanti for a midweek game, scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, at 3 p.m.

HEADING HOME: The short trip to Dayton will see a slew of Eagles return to their home state, as seven Eagles hail from the Birthplace of Aviation, Ohio. Sophomore Josh Thompson and freshman Jarred Kauffman will be closest to home, as the Springboro, Ohio natives will be just 17 miles away from their former stomping grounds. Additionally, freshman Taylor Hopkins will be just a stones throw away from his home, as only 34 miles separate his hometown, Mason, Ohio, and Dayton.

HOT IN OHIO: In recent years, Eastern has enjoyed a winning record while playing in its neighbor state. The home of the annual Mid-American Conference baseball tournament, the Eagles have compiled a 9-8 regular season record in the Buckeye State, dating back to 2017.
   The MAC tournament, held in Avon, Ohio, has been even sweeter to the Eagles in recent years, as 2017 saw EMU advance to the championship game for the first time since winning the conference crown in 2008. Since 2016, the Eagles are 7-6 in MAC Tournament games.
   Following their midweek contest with Dayton, The Eagles will return to Ohio twice more in 2019, as they will play Miami in a three-game set, and Youngstown State in a single-game midweek clash.

YOU CAN'T CATCH ME: In each of the last four seasons, EMU has finished in the top-60 nationally in stolen bases, including 21st nationally in 2017, third in 2016, and 11th in 2015. This season, Eastern is approaching the top once again, as it has swiped 22 bags, good for 64th in the country and third in the MAC.

FUN-DAMENTALS: Eastern ranks 36th nationally in fielding percentage (.978) with just 14 errors this season. Doing the small things has been critical for Eastern, as the team ranks 134th nationally with six sacrifice flies and 125th with six sacrifice bunts.

BACK WITH A BANG: Returning to the field for the first time since being injured in late-February, junior captain Nick Jones was impressive in his play against Marshall. In total, Jones posted a .417 batting average, going 5-for-12, with four RBI at Marshall, March 9-10.

TIMKO TERROR: Redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko is in the midst of an eight game stretch to remember, as he has terrorized opponent pitching from both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Marshall. Timko leads the EMU offense during the stretch, compiling a .500 batting average, (13-for-26) with seven runs scored and seven RBIs.
   In the series finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Timko delivered a perfect hitting effort, going 4-for-4 on the afternoon. With his monster day at the plate, he is the first Eagle to notch four hits in a contest in 2019. Timko is also the last EMU player to have notched four-or-more hits in a contest, doing so in a 11-5 victory over Nicholls State, exactly one year ago to the day (of the game), on March 3, 2018.
   Timko followed that performance with another impressive series finale against Marshall, March 10, going 3-for-4, with a walk.

GRAND GRANZOTTO: Sophomore left-hander Scott Granzotto continues to show why he is an emerging force for the Eagles in 2019. In an appearance last week, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he struck out four Islanders in 2.2 innings of work.
   This past weekend, Granzotto tossed 4.2 innings against Marshall, March 9, in the first leg of a doubleheader. He struck out four while scattering six hims and three runs (two earned). Overall, he threw 98 pitches while lowering his ERA to 2.75 in five appearances this season.

SAC IT TO EM': While fellow EMU star Maxx (Saxx) Crosby is busy working his way up the NFL draft boards, Eastern Michigan center-fielder, sophomore Nate Jones, has quickly notched the second most sacrifice flies in the MAC. Jones' efforts have been key for the Eagles offense thus far. In all, the second-year stud has driven in four for the Green and White, and continues to impact the EMU defense as a go-to outfielder.

ALL-TIME VS. DAYTON: When EMU treks to Dayton, Ohio for a midweek contest against the University of Dayton, March 12, it will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs. Dayton holds the edge in the series, as they have taken seven of the eight contests to date against the Eagles. Eastern looks to avenge two losses at the hand of the Flyer's in the 2018 season.
   In their most recent battle, Eastern was outlasted, 9-4, in a midweek game played at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, May 9, 2018. Although dropping the contest, Zachary Owings delivered a signature performance, knocking four hits in a near perfect offensive effort. Eastern's last win against Dayton came during the 2016 season, when the Eagles downed Dayton, 7-6, in a midweek game played March 16, in Dayton.

AGAINST THE A-10: EMU is no stranger when it comes to facing opponents from the A-10. 2019 will mark the fourth consecutive season that sees at least one A-10 opponent on Eastern's schedule. Most recently, The Eagles defeated an A-10 foe when they trounced St. Bonaventure, 12-7, in a single game played Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Port Charlotte, Fla. Devin Hager delivered an RBI in his 3-for-4 day at the dish, while Brent Mattson delivered five innings of two-run baseball in route to his 2-0 start to the season.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the single game date with Dayton, Eastern will return to Ypsilanti for one day before it heads to Fort Worth, Texas for a three-game weekend series with Texas Christian University, March 15-17, at Lupton Stadium. The series will commence Friday, March 15, with a single game set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The series will close with single games on Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, scheduled for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Scott Granzotto

Devin Hager

Taylor Hopkins

Nate Jones

Nick Jones

Zachary Owings

Josh Thompson

Jeff Timko

Eastern Michigan Athletics