Baseball Heads to Mountain State for Weekend Clash with Marshall

March 8-10 at Marshall
Date	Friday-Sunday, March 8-10
Venue	Huntington, W.Va. \| Kennedy Center Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats.
Watch	N/A
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team heads to the Mountain State for a four-game clash with Marshall University, March 8-10, at Kennedy Center Field. The series will commence at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 8, with a single game. Saturday, March 9, will see doubleheader action between the Eagles and Thundering Herd, with games set to be played at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. The Eagles will conclude their series with Marshall on Sunday, March 10, with a single game, set for 1 p.m.
   Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: After leading all of Division I in stolen bases after the first weekend, Eastern now ranks 29th nationally in that category with 21. The Mid-American Conference leader by four, Eastern Michigan has swiped 21 bases on 24 attempts. Taylor Hopkins and Zachary Owings have four each to rank 114th in the NCAA, while Cameron Cruz is just one behind with three steals.
   Furthermore, Owings and Jeff Timko are tied with 13 others for 14th nationally in triples. Cruz ranks second in the MAC (74th NCAA) in hits with 17. Nate Jones also cracks the list at 29th in sacrifice flies (2) and, along with Devin Hager, is tied for 56th in sacrifice bunts (2).

KEEPS ON CRUZIN': Cameron Cruz has been on a roll over his last nine games, posting a .419 batting average with a nine-game base reached streak since Feb. 17. During the stretch, the Chandler, Ariz. native has a pair of three-hit contests with five runs scored and four RBIs. Offensively, he is slugging .477 with an on-base percentage of .460. Additionally, Cruz is second in the Mid-American conference in hits, having notched 17 on the season.

FUN-DAMENTALS: Eastern ranks 32nd nationally in fielding percentage (.980) with just eight errors this season. Doing the small things has been critical for Eastern, as the team ranks 73rd with five sacrifice flies and 64th with six sacrifice bunts.

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 near the top once again, as it has swiped 21 bags, good for 29th in the country and first in the MAC.

TIMKO TERROR: Redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko had a four-game stretch to remember, as he terrorized opposing pitching, Feb. 27-March 3, during the Eagles' spring break trip to Texas. Timko led the EMU offense during the stretch, compiling a .533 batting average, (8-for-15) with three runs scored and a trio of RBIs. Timko's two weekend triples put him on the national map, as he is now tied for 12th nationally in that category.
   In the series finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Timko delivered a perfect hitting effort, going 4-for-4 on the afternoon. With his monster day at the plate, he is the first Eagle to notch four hits in a contest in 2019. Timko is also the last EMU player to have notched four-or-more hits in a contest, doing so in a 11-5 victory over Nicholls State, exactly one year ago to the day (of the game), on March 3, 2018. On the year, he has a .393 batting average with 11 hits in 28 at-bats.

GRAND GRANZOTTO: Sophomore left-hander Scott Granzotto continues to show why he is an emerging force for the Eagles in 2019. In last week's matchups, Granzotto was nearly flawless, posting a 1-0 record with an ERA of 0.00 in 5.2 innings of work while striking out seven. In a midweek start against Abilene Christian, Granzotto went the first three innings to get the 6-5 victory over the Wildcats. He fanned three batters while allowing a hit and a walk in 52 pitches thrown. In a follow-up appearance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he struck out four Islanders in 2.2 innings of work.
   On the season, he has a 1-1 mark with an ERA of 2.40 in 15.0 innings of work. More impressively, batters have just a .232 average against.

SAC IT TO EM': While fellow EMU star Maxx (Saxx) Crosby is busy working his way up the NFL draft boards, Eastern Michigan centerfielder, sophomore Nate Jones, has quickly notched more sacrifice flies than any player in the MAC. Jones' efforts have been key for the Eagles offense thus far. In all, the second-year stud has driven in three for the Green and White, and continues to impact the EMU offense as the team's everyday centerfielder.

ALL-TIME VS. MARSHALL: When EMU heads to Huntington, W. Va. for a four-game series against Marshall University, March 8-10, Eastern will find itself in familiar territory, as Marshall is a former member of the Mid-American Conference. Against their former league foe, the Eagles hold a 15-9 edge in the all-time series.
    The two schools have not met since 2012 when they split a two-game series as part of the Wake Forest Tournament. EMU won 6-5 the first game, March 2, as Lee Longo went a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Bo Kinder hit 3-for-4 with an RBI, a walk and a stolen base. Marshall returned the favor a day later with a 6-3 come-from-behind win.

AGAINST CONFERENCE USA: In total, the Eagles have faced opponents from Conference USA on 56 occasions, seeing action against seven of the 14 member teams. In all, Eastern is 21-35 against C-USA foes. Most recently, the Eagles fell, 9-4, to then-No. 15 ranked Southern Miss, in a single-game, played at the Cox Diamond Invitational in Pensacola, Fla. March 2, 2018. The Eagles were led by then-freshman centerfielder Nate Jones, who tallied two hits in a near perfect effort at the plate.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the four-game series with Marshall, Eastern will return to Ypsilanti for its highly anticipated home opener. Eastern will begin its 2019 home campaign on Tuesday, March 12, against the University of Dayton at 3 p.m. inside Oestrike Stadium. One of the most unique venues in the MAC, Oestrike has been good to EMU, as the Eagles have tallied just 10 losing seasons at the park since its opening in 1971.
   Last season, Eastern was held off, 4-3, in an 11 inning clash with Miami University in its home opener. The game, played March 23, saw the Eagles slap nine hits in the contest, with two coming off the bat of Jeff Timko.

Baseball Heads to Mountain State for Weekend Clash with Marshall

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Cruz

Scott Granzotto

Devin Hager

Taylor Hopkins

Nate Jones

Lee Longo

Zachary Owings

Jeff Timko

Eastern Michigan Athletics