Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, March 20
Indianapolis, Ind.
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Butler
Baseball Treks to Indiana for Battle at Butler
3/18/2019 6:32:00 PM | Baseball
March 20 at Butler University
| March 20 at Butler | |
| Date | Wednesday, March 20 |
| Venue | Indianapolis, Ind.| Bulldog Park |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | ButlerSports.com |
| Listen | N/A |
| @EMU_Baseball | @EMUAthletics | |
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team makes the midweek trek to the Hoosier state, where it will play a single game, Wednesday, March 20, against Butler University. The game will commence at 4 p.m. inside Bulldog Park.
Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com.
NINE AT A TIME: In its series finale with TCU, March 17, all nine Eastern Michigan starters picked up a hit, a first for the Eagles this season. Leading the way, junior Zachary Owings notched a pair of singles, and delivered Eastern's lone RBI, going 2-for-4 in the contest.
Senior Cameron Cruz smashed EMU's only extra-base hit, a double in the sixth inning.
POWERING UP: After going the entirety of 2018 without hitting a home run, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko has been on a tear in 2019, showing that his added power is no fluke. With three home runs through the first 20 games of the season, Timko is not slowing down, delivering yet another long ball, a solo shot, against TCU, March 16.
Timko is off to his best start as an Eagle, compiling a .377 batting average on the season to go along with seven extra-base hits, and 10 RBI's.
KAUFFMAN CONNECTS: Entering the three-game weekend series with TCU, March 15-17, sophomore Jared Kauffman had yet to spark offensively, hitting just .111 on the season.
The three-game Lone Star State rodeo proved successful for the sure-handed infielder, as he delivered hits in all three contests. His best performance of the weekend came in the Friday opener against the Horned Frogs, where Kauffman went 2-for-4 at the plate, and delivered an RBI for EMU.
Kauffman provided arguably the best performance of any Eagle in the series at TCU, racking up a .364 series average while notching four hits in 11 at-bats for the Green and White.
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 26 bags, good for 78th in the country and fourth in the MAC.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: With his two-bagger against TCU, March 17, senior Cameron Cruz remains among the nations best in the category. With eight doubles on the season, Cruz ranks 41st nationally (5th in the MAC), just four behind the nations leaders, with 12.
Cruz has been essential to the Eagle offense in 2019, providing six RBIs for the Green and White, while compiling a .307 batting average, and swiping four bags for EMU.
TRIPLE TAKE: While the Eastern offense has been strong in many categories throughout the season, its three-bagging efforts are especially noteworthy, both individually and as a collective unit. EMU is ranked 78th nationally in triples this season (fourth in MAC), and has two players ranked inside the top 60 in that category. Ranking 13th nationally is Zachary Owings, whose three triples lead the EMU offense, and rank second in the MAC. Jeff Timko, a redshirt sophomore, ranks 57th nationally with two triples on the season, good for sixth in the MAC.
FUN-DAMENTALS: Eastern ranks 70th nationally in fielding percentage (.974) with just 17 errors this season. Doing the small things has been critical for Eastern, as the team ranks inside the top ten in the MAC with six sacrifice bunts, and eight sacrifice flies.
Individually, sophomore Nate Jones has poked four sacrifice flies for EMU, ranking sixth nationally and first in the MAC.
ALL TIME VS. BUTLER: When Eastern takes the field at Bulldog Park, for a single game with Butler, March 20, it will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs. A near even match-up historically, Butler holds the series edge, three games to two.
Most recently, EMU fell to Butler, 11-6, in a midweek contest played May, 15, 2018, at Oestrike Stadium. Leading the way for the Eagles was then-sophomore infielder Zachary Owings, who turned in a 2-for-4, three RBI day for the Green and White in the contest.
In its last win over the Bulldogs, April 2, 2017, Eastern posted a shutout, winning the game in a dominant fashion, 4-0. Brent Mattson was masterful in the contest, tossing a complete game for EMU, allowing just two hits in the contest en route to his third win of the season.
ON THE HORIZON: Following their game at Butler, Eastern will travel to DeKalb, Illinois, where it will begin Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series, Fri.-Sun, March 22-24, against Northern Illinois. Eastern's MAC slate will get underway with a single game, March 22, at 3 p.m. CT. The series will conclude with single games, March 23-24, scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and 12 p.m. CT, respectively.
Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com.
NINE AT A TIME: In its series finale with TCU, March 17, all nine Eastern Michigan starters picked up a hit, a first for the Eagles this season. Leading the way, junior Zachary Owings notched a pair of singles, and delivered Eastern's lone RBI, going 2-for-4 in the contest.
Senior Cameron Cruz smashed EMU's only extra-base hit, a double in the sixth inning.
POWERING UP: After going the entirety of 2018 without hitting a home run, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko has been on a tear in 2019, showing that his added power is no fluke. With three home runs through the first 20 games of the season, Timko is not slowing down, delivering yet another long ball, a solo shot, against TCU, March 16.
Timko is off to his best start as an Eagle, compiling a .377 batting average on the season to go along with seven extra-base hits, and 10 RBI's.
KAUFFMAN CONNECTS: Entering the three-game weekend series with TCU, March 15-17, sophomore Jared Kauffman had yet to spark offensively, hitting just .111 on the season.
The three-game Lone Star State rodeo proved successful for the sure-handed infielder, as he delivered hits in all three contests. His best performance of the weekend came in the Friday opener against the Horned Frogs, where Kauffman went 2-for-4 at the plate, and delivered an RBI for EMU.
Kauffman provided arguably the best performance of any Eagle in the series at TCU, racking up a .364 series average while notching four hits in 11 at-bats for the Green and White.
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 26 bags, good for 78th in the country and fourth in the MAC.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: With his two-bagger against TCU, March 17, senior Cameron Cruz remains among the nations best in the category. With eight doubles on the season, Cruz ranks 41st nationally (5th in the MAC), just four behind the nations leaders, with 12.
Cruz has been essential to the Eagle offense in 2019, providing six RBIs for the Green and White, while compiling a .307 batting average, and swiping four bags for EMU.
TRIPLE TAKE: While the Eastern offense has been strong in many categories throughout the season, its three-bagging efforts are especially noteworthy, both individually and as a collective unit. EMU is ranked 78th nationally in triples this season (fourth in MAC), and has two players ranked inside the top 60 in that category. Ranking 13th nationally is Zachary Owings, whose three triples lead the EMU offense, and rank second in the MAC. Jeff Timko, a redshirt sophomore, ranks 57th nationally with two triples on the season, good for sixth in the MAC.
FUN-DAMENTALS: Eastern ranks 70th nationally in fielding percentage (.974) with just 17 errors this season. Doing the small things has been critical for Eastern, as the team ranks inside the top ten in the MAC with six sacrifice bunts, and eight sacrifice flies.
Individually, sophomore Nate Jones has poked four sacrifice flies for EMU, ranking sixth nationally and first in the MAC.
ALL TIME VS. BUTLER: When Eastern takes the field at Bulldog Park, for a single game with Butler, March 20, it will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs. A near even match-up historically, Butler holds the series edge, three games to two.
Most recently, EMU fell to Butler, 11-6, in a midweek contest played May, 15, 2018, at Oestrike Stadium. Leading the way for the Eagles was then-sophomore infielder Zachary Owings, who turned in a 2-for-4, three RBI day for the Green and White in the contest.
In its last win over the Bulldogs, April 2, 2017, Eastern posted a shutout, winning the game in a dominant fashion, 4-0. Brent Mattson was masterful in the contest, tossing a complete game for EMU, allowing just two hits in the contest en route to his third win of the season.
ON THE HORIZON: Following their game at Butler, Eastern will travel to DeKalb, Illinois, where it will begin Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series, Fri.-Sun, March 22-24, against Northern Illinois. Eastern's MAC slate will get underway with a single game, March 22, at 3 p.m. CT. The series will conclude with single games, March 23-24, scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and 12 p.m. CT, respectively.
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