Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 24
DeKalb, Ill.
12 p.m. CT
Eastern Michigan University
3-19-1, 0
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Northern Illinois
7-16, 0
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Eastern Michigan
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Northern Illinois
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Baseball Swept in MAC-Opening Series with NIU
3/24/2019 4:36:00 PM | Baseball
12 hits keep Eagles close until the end
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – In its first Mid-American Conference series of the season, the Eastern Michigan baseball team was left winless, dropping the final game of its weekend set with Northern Illinois University, 9-4, at Ralph McKinzie Stadium, March 24.
Falling behind early, EMU (3-19-1) showed fight, keeping the game close until the late innings, when NIU added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take control in the contest.
Behind 1-0 in the second inning, the Eastern offense battled to take its first lead of the series, 2-1, in the third. After starting the inning with a double, and advancing to third on a fly out, sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) stole home, giving EMU its first run of the game. Moments later, junior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) crossed the plate when sophomore Jared Kauffman (Springboro, Ohio.-Bishop Fenwick) blasted an RBI triple, his first of the season.
Following three unanswered runs by the Huskies, the Eagles, down 4-2 in the seventh, pushed a run across the plate to bring the game back within striking distance, 4-3. Nick Jones provided the RBI with a ground-out, allowing Nate Jones to score for the second time in the contest.
Eastern's best opportunity to break through offensively came in the eighth inning, down 5-3. Following two hits, from senior John Rensel Jr. (Tallmadge, Ohio.-Tallmadge) and sophomore Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock), EMU took advantage of an NIU error to again bring the game within one, 5-4. Building momentum, the Eagles loaded the bases with one out, but failed to score after hitting into an inning-ending double play.
Despite its best offensive performance of the series, totaling four runs on 12 hits, Eastern was unable to take advantage of late-game scoring opportunities, eventually falling, 9-4.
Defensively, Eastern kept the Husky offense in-check until their final frame, allowing five runs through the first seven innings. Starting the game for EMU, freshman Justin Meis (Pittsburgh,Pa.-Bethel Park) went five innings, allowing just three earned runs on four hits in his effort. Meis struck-out two NIU batters in his 98-pitch outing.
Additionally, sophomore Thomas House (Ross, Ohio-Ross) and redshirt junior Caleb Hester (Coloma, Mich.-Coloma) saw time on the bump for Eastern, pitching two, and one innings, respectively. In his two innings of work, House dusted two Husky batters, allowing only two hits.
Despite containing the NIU offense for the majority of the game, the Huskies broke through in the eighth, scoring four runs en route to a 9-4 lead, a score which would go final.
Following today's game, Eastern returns to Ypsilanti, where it will begin its 2019 home season with a single game, Tuesday, March 26, against the University of Northwestern Ohio. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. After a second-consecutive home game, against Concordia University (Mich.), March 27, Eastern will return to Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series against Miami University, March 29-31, in Oxford, Ohio.
Falling behind early, EMU (3-19-1) showed fight, keeping the game close until the late innings, when NIU added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take control in the contest.
Behind 1-0 in the second inning, the Eastern offense battled to take its first lead of the series, 2-1, in the third. After starting the inning with a double, and advancing to third on a fly out, sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) stole home, giving EMU its first run of the game. Moments later, junior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) crossed the plate when sophomore Jared Kauffman (Springboro, Ohio.-Bishop Fenwick) blasted an RBI triple, his first of the season.
Following three unanswered runs by the Huskies, the Eagles, down 4-2 in the seventh, pushed a run across the plate to bring the game back within striking distance, 4-3. Nick Jones provided the RBI with a ground-out, allowing Nate Jones to score for the second time in the contest.
Eastern's best opportunity to break through offensively came in the eighth inning, down 5-3. Following two hits, from senior John Rensel Jr. (Tallmadge, Ohio.-Tallmadge) and sophomore Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock), EMU took advantage of an NIU error to again bring the game within one, 5-4. Building momentum, the Eagles loaded the bases with one out, but failed to score after hitting into an inning-ending double play.
Despite its best offensive performance of the series, totaling four runs on 12 hits, Eastern was unable to take advantage of late-game scoring opportunities, eventually falling, 9-4.
Defensively, Eastern kept the Husky offense in-check until their final frame, allowing five runs through the first seven innings. Starting the game for EMU, freshman Justin Meis (Pittsburgh,Pa.-Bethel Park) went five innings, allowing just three earned runs on four hits in his effort. Meis struck-out two NIU batters in his 98-pitch outing.
Additionally, sophomore Thomas House (Ross, Ohio-Ross) and redshirt junior Caleb Hester (Coloma, Mich.-Coloma) saw time on the bump for Eastern, pitching two, and one innings, respectively. In his two innings of work, House dusted two Husky batters, allowing only two hits.
Despite containing the NIU offense for the majority of the game, the Huskies broke through in the eighth, scoring four runs en route to a 9-4 lead, a score which would go final.
Following today's game, Eastern returns to Ypsilanti, where it will begin its 2019 home season with a single game, Tuesday, March 26, against the University of Northwestern Ohio. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. After a second-consecutive home game, against Concordia University (Mich.), March 27, Eastern will return to Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series against Miami University, March 29-31, in Oxford, Ohio.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: MICHAELS, Tristan (1-2)
L: Meis, Justin (0-5)
S: JANDROWSKI, Ty (1)
Batting:
2B: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Jones, Nate 1
3B: Kauffman, Jared 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
RBI: Jones, Nick 1 ; Kauffman, Jared 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Nick 1 ; Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Jones, Nate 2
SB: Jones, Nate 1
HBP: Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Jones, Nate 1
Batting:
HR: DUNHAM, Jake 1 ; LARSON, Jordan 1
RBI: JOYCE, Brendan 1 ; DUNHAM, Jake 3 ; LONTEEN, Dylan 1 ; SMITH, Kam 1 ; LARSON, Jordan 1
SH: DROBUSHEVICH, Nick 1
SF: LONTEEN, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JOYCE, Brendan 2 ; SZCZASNY, Tommy 1 ; DUNHAM, Jake 2 ; LARSON, Jordan 2 ; PETERS, Malik 1 ; MUTTER, Josh 1
SB: JOYCE, Brendan 1 ; MUTTER, Josh 2
CS: JOYCE, Brendan 1 ; LONTEEN, Dylan 1
HBP: JOYCE, Brendan 1 ; MUTTER, Josh 2
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C/IF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballIF
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