Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
5-20-1, 0-4
Miami
19-5, 3-1
Walk-Off Single Leaves Eagles Heartbroken in Series Opener
3/29/2019 7:49:00 PM | Baseball
Granzotto commands the mound; Pair of Eagles knock three hits
EMU (5-20-1) showed focus from the start, playing with newfound confidence after winning its previous two games against the University of Northwestern Ohio and Concordia (Mich.). A back-and-forth battle, the game saw five lead changes and two ties.
On the mound for the start, sophomore Scott Granzotto (Northville, Mich.-Gabriel Richard) was dialed in, shutting down the RedHawks in 1-2-3 fashion to begin his outing. Granzotto kept Miami off balance through the first three frames, going unblemished until the fourth inning, when Miami scored a single run. In all, Granzotto tossed six innings for EMU, giving up six hits, two runs, and striking out seven in his effort.
While Granzotto was cruising to begin the game, Eastern's offense was hard at work, building a 2-0 lead in the third inning. With two outs and no runners on, freshman infielder Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) smoked a triple to give the Eagles a great scoring opportunity. Taking advantage, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) poked an RBI single through the right side, giving EMU a 1-0 lead. Not to be outdone, Zachary Owings (Saline, Mich.-Saline) followed with an RBI triple to deep center-field, giving the Eagles a 2-0 advantage in the third.
Coming into the game, Owings ranked fifth nationally in triples this season.
After Miami tied the game, 2-2, in the sixth inning, the Eagles fought to regain the lead in the seventh. With runners on second and third, sophomore Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) helped EMU to do just that, providing an RBI single to give Eastern a one run lead, 3-2. Miami would bounce-back in their half of the seventh, putting three runs on the board to take a 5-3 lead.
Down 5-3 in the eighth, Eastern's offense persevered, adding three runs on two hits, both off the bats of team captains. Senior John Rensel Jr (Tallmadge, Ohio-Tallmadge) and junior Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) provided a double, and a single, respectively, in the frame.
All-square at six runs a piece heading into the bottom of the ninth, Miami quickly got a runner into scoring position, after Eastern pitchers hit two-consecutive batters to begin the frame. Despite battling in the field, the RedHawks knocked an RBI single, winning the game 7-6.
In all, the EMU offense tallied 14 hits, tying its season high. Zachary Owings and John Rensel Jr. each racked up three hits for the Green and White.
Despite coupling its strong offense with a great start from Granzotto, Eastern was unable to fully take control in the game, eventually dropping the weekend opener in heartbreaking fashion, 7-6.
The Eagles return to the field tomorrow, March 30, for a single game with Miami, scheduled for 1 p.m. The series will conclude Sunday, March 31, with a third and final contest. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ALMQUIST, Andy (1-0)
L: House, Thomas (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Rensel Jr., John 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
3B: Owings, Zachary 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
RBI: Timko, Jeff 2 ; Owings, Zachary 1 ; Jones, Nick 2 ; Jones, Nate 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Timko, Jeff 2 ; Owings, Zachary 1 ; Rensel Jr., John 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 2
SB: Rensel Jr., John 1
Batting:
2B: WINKLER, Kyle 1 ; STEPHENS, Jordan 1
3B: VOGELGESANG, Will 1
HR: ANDREWS, Cole 1 ; ELVERS, Cal 1
RBI: STEPHENS, Landon 2 ; ANDREWS, Cole 2 ; STEPHENS, Jordan 1 ; ELVERS, Cal 2
SH: VOGELGESANG, Will 1 ; ELVERS, Cal 1
SF: ANDREWS, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TEJADA, Cristian 2 ; WINKLER, Kyle 1 ; ANDREWS, Cole 1 ; HARRIGAN, Charlie 1 ; STEPHENS, Jordan 1 ; ELVERS, Cal 1
SB: ANDREWS, Cole 1
CS: HARRIGAN, Charlie 1
HBP: TEJADA, Cristian 1 ; WINKLER, Kyle 1
