Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 22
DeKalb, Ill.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3-17-1, 0
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at
6
Northern Illinois
5-16, 0
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9
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Eastern Michigan
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Northern Illinois
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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Baseball Drops MAC Opener at Northern Illinois
3/22/2019 7:20:00 PM | Baseball
McGuire impresses; Kauffman leads offense
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – In its first Mid-American Conference game this season, the Eastern Michigan baseball team was defeated, 6-3, by Northern Illinois, at Ralph McKinzie Stadium, March 22,
Falling behind early, EMU (3-17-1) fell victim to the strong pitching of Northern Illinois starter Michael Lasiewicz, who tossed six innings for the Huskies. Eastern mustered just two hits through the first six innings, only scoring one run in that stretch. In all, the Eagles were limited to three runs on five hits in the contest.
Unable to contain the NIU offense in the beginning, allowing four runs through the first three innings, the Eastern defense was resilient to blank the Huskies in three of the final five frames. Entering the game in the third inning, sophomore Luke McGuire (Shelby Twp, Mich.-Stevenson) was impressive on the mound for the Green and White. Providing 3.1 innings of work, McGuire allowed just one run on two hits, striking out four Huskie batters along the way. Behind the dish, junior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) put his arm on display, gunning down an NIU runner in the sixth inning, preventing a scoring threat.
Despite strong efforts from McGuire and the rest of the EMU defense, the Northern Illinois offense proved too strong, eventually scoring six runs in the contest.
Offensively, Eastern could not outpace the Huskies, notching just five hits and three runs in the contest. Stagnant through the first seven innings, scoring just one run, the Eagles came to life in the eighth, scoring two runs on four hits in the frame.
Leading the comeback attempt, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) poked a single to begin the eighth inning. Following a second-consecutive single, off the bat of Nick Jones, sophomore Jared Kauffman (Springboro, Ohio.-Bishop Fenwick) loaded the bases with his team-high second hit of the contest. After an RBI fielder's choice, sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) hit an RBI sac-fly, brining the Eagles within three, 6-3.
Coming into the contest, Nate Jones ranked sixth nationally with four sacrifice flies on the year.
Although it battled late, Eastern was unable to complete the comeback, eventually falling 6-3 in its series opener with NIU.
EMU will return to the field, tomorrow, March 23, for a single game with Northern Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. The three-game series between the Eagles and Huskies will conclude Sunday, March 24, with a single-game set for 12 p.m. CT.
Falling behind early, EMU (3-17-1) fell victim to the strong pitching of Northern Illinois starter Michael Lasiewicz, who tossed six innings for the Huskies. Eastern mustered just two hits through the first six innings, only scoring one run in that stretch. In all, the Eagles were limited to three runs on five hits in the contest.
Unable to contain the NIU offense in the beginning, allowing four runs through the first three innings, the Eastern defense was resilient to blank the Huskies in three of the final five frames. Entering the game in the third inning, sophomore Luke McGuire (Shelby Twp, Mich.-Stevenson) was impressive on the mound for the Green and White. Providing 3.1 innings of work, McGuire allowed just one run on two hits, striking out four Huskie batters along the way. Behind the dish, junior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) put his arm on display, gunning down an NIU runner in the sixth inning, preventing a scoring threat.
Despite strong efforts from McGuire and the rest of the EMU defense, the Northern Illinois offense proved too strong, eventually scoring six runs in the contest.
Offensively, Eastern could not outpace the Huskies, notching just five hits and three runs in the contest. Stagnant through the first seven innings, scoring just one run, the Eagles came to life in the eighth, scoring two runs on four hits in the frame.
Leading the comeback attempt, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) poked a single to begin the eighth inning. Following a second-consecutive single, off the bat of Nick Jones, sophomore Jared Kauffman (Springboro, Ohio.-Bishop Fenwick) loaded the bases with his team-high second hit of the contest. After an RBI fielder's choice, sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) hit an RBI sac-fly, brining the Eagles within three, 6-3.
Coming into the contest, Nate Jones ranked sixth nationally with four sacrifice flies on the year.
Although it battled late, Eastern was unable to complete the comeback, eventually falling 6-3 in its series opener with NIU.
EMU will return to the field, tomorrow, March 23, for a single game with Northern Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. The three-game series between the Eagles and Huskies will conclude Sunday, March 24, with a single-game set for 12 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LASIEWICZ, Michael (4-2)
L: Granzotto, Scott (1-4)
S: THOMAS, Nate (3)
Batting:
RBI: Rensel Jr., John 1 ; Jones, Nate 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
SF: Jones, Nate 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Jones, Nick 1 ; Kauffman, Jared 1
Batting:
RBI: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1 ; LONTEEN, Dylan 1 ; LARSON, Jordan 1 ; MUTTER, Josh 2
SF: MUTTER, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DUNHAM, Jake 1 ; SZCZASNY, Tommy 4 ; LARSON, Jordan 1
SB: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1 ; SZCZASNY, Tommy 1
CS: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1
HBP: DUNHAM, Jake 1 ; SZCZASNY, Tommy 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
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/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
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Thursday, October 16
16th Annual EMU Baseball Golf Outing
Sunday, October 05
Oestrike Stadium Turf Replacement Time lapse
Friday, October 03
Oestrike Stadium Upgrades Reveal
Thursday, October 02