Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, March 27
Oestrike Stadium
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
5-19-1
11
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6
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Concordia
19-8
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9
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E
Concordia (Mich.)
2
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6
9
3
Eastern Michigan
1
5
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X
11
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Photo by: Steven King/Icon Sportswire
Hot Bats Lift Baseball Past Concordia
3/27/2019 7:23:00 PM | Baseball
Zachary Owings blasts first career grand-slam; Eagles move to 8-0 all-time vs. CUAA
Photo Gallery
Postgame Audio: Zachary Owings
Video Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team remained hot at the plate as it outslugged Concordia University (Mich.), 11-6, Wednesday, March 27, at Oestrike Stadium.
EMU (5-19-1, 0-3 MAC) tallied 10 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time under head coach Eric Roof. Despite recording just two extra-base knocks, the Green and White set a new season-high with 14 hits against Concordia (19-8, 3-1 WHAC).
Junior Zachary Owings (Saline, Mich.-Saline) was one of five Eagles to record multiple hits, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, two singles, and two runs scored to bump his hitting streak to a team-best 13 straight. Senior Cameron Cruz (Chandler, Ariz.-Hamilton (Mesa C.C.)) went 3-for-5 with three singles, an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored, while freshman Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored.
Sophomore Luke McGuire (Shelby Township, Mich.-Stevenson) delivered four strong innings of relief, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out one as he improved to 5-0 in his collegiate career. Fellow sophomore Holden Cook (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Casady (Murray State)) punched out a pair in two shutout innings to seal EMU's eighth win in as many tries against the Cardinals.
CUAA grabbed the lead with a two-run home run in the top of the first, but the Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the same inning. Redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Owings lined a single into right, eventually scampering home on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 2-1.
The Green and White seized control of the contest with five runs on four hits in the home half of the second. Sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) started the frame with a base hit to right and swiped second, before sophomore Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) drew a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody down. Freshman Stephen Karis (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community) then singled into left to plate Nate Jones and knot the score at two apiece.
The line kept moving as Hopkins was plunked to load the bases, prompting the Cardinals to make their first pitching change of the afternoon. Two batters later, Owings sent a drive to deep right and became the first EMU hitter to launch a grand slam since Kolton Schenker accomplished the feat at Dayton, March 6, 2018.
Postgame Audio: Zachary Owings
Video Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team remained hot at the plate as it outslugged Concordia University (Mich.), 11-6, Wednesday, March 27, at Oestrike Stadium.
EMU (5-19-1, 0-3 MAC) tallied 10 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time under head coach Eric Roof. Despite recording just two extra-base knocks, the Green and White set a new season-high with 14 hits against Concordia (19-8, 3-1 WHAC).
Junior Zachary Owings (Saline, Mich.-Saline) was one of five Eagles to record multiple hits, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, two singles, and two runs scored to bump his hitting streak to a team-best 13 straight. Senior Cameron Cruz (Chandler, Ariz.-Hamilton (Mesa C.C.)) went 3-for-5 with three singles, an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored, while freshman Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored.
Sophomore Luke McGuire (Shelby Township, Mich.-Stevenson) delivered four strong innings of relief, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out one as he improved to 5-0 in his collegiate career. Fellow sophomore Holden Cook (Oklahoma City, Okla.-Casady (Murray State)) punched out a pair in two shutout innings to seal EMU's eighth win in as many tries against the Cardinals.
CUAA grabbed the lead with a two-run home run in the top of the first, but the Eagles got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the same inning. Redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Owings lined a single into right, eventually scampering home on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 2-1.
The Green and White seized control of the contest with five runs on four hits in the home half of the second. Sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) started the frame with a base hit to right and swiped second, before sophomore Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) drew a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody down. Freshman Stephen Karis (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community) then singled into left to plate Nate Jones and knot the score at two apiece.
The line kept moving as Hopkins was plunked to load the bases, prompting the Cardinals to make their first pitching change of the afternoon. Two batters later, Owings sent a drive to deep right and became the first EMU hitter to launch a grand slam since Kolton Schenker accomplished the feat at Dayton, March 6, 2018.
The Eagles continued to add to their lead in the last of the fourth, capitalizing on a trio of Concordia errors to open up an 8-2 cushion. Junior Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) and Cruz were both in scoring position after a botched pickoff attempt, and scored when a seemingly routine fly ball into shallow left was dropped.
Concordia led off the top of the sixth with a home run, but EMU continued to tee off on Concordia pitching. Hopkins notched his second career multi-hit game when he whacked a two-out single into right to plate Nate Jones and make it a 9-3 contest.
Holding on to a 9-6 edge at the seventh-inning stretch, the Eagles added some insurance in the closing stages. In the bottom of the seventh, Cruz grounded a single through the left side to drive in Owings and give the Eagles a 10-6 lead. The Green and White traded their final run for an out in the bottom of the eighth, as Easter touched home when Hopkins grounded into a fielders' choice.
Eastern Michigan resumes Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series against Miami, March 29-31, in Oxford, Ohio. The series will get underway Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m., with games to follow at 4 p.m., Saturday, March 30, and 1 p.m., Sunday, March 31.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McGuire, Luke (2-0)
L: GUEVARA, Gabriel (0-1)
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Batting:
2B: BORTLE, RJ 1
HR: ACKER, Vann 1 ; STEINBORN, Grant 1 ; SHERMAN, Preston 1
RBI: ACKER, Vann 1 ; LOWE, Chris 1 ; STEINBORN, Grant 2 ; SHERMAN, Preston 2
Base Running:
RUNS: ACKER, Vann 1 ; MILHEIM, Blaine 1 ; STEINBORN, Grant 1 ; BORTLE, RJ 1 ; SHERMAN, Preston 1 ; MERCER, Justin 1
Batting:
2B: Hager, Devin 1
HR: Owings, Zachary 1
RBI: Owings, Zachary 4 ; Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Karis, Stephen 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Owings, Zachary 2 ; Jones, Nick 1 ; Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Jones, Nate 2 ; Easter, Shane 2 ; Karis, Stephen 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
SB: Cruz, Cameron 1 ; Jones, Nate 1
HBP: Owings, Zachary 1 ; Jones, Nick 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
PO: Cruz, Cameron 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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/ BaseballInside the Ride Episode 2: Katie Condon
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