Baseball Readies for Pair of Midweek Games in the Mitten

April 16 at Oestrike Stadium; April 17 at Michigan State University
Date	Tuesday, April 16, 3 p.m. \| Wednesday, April 17, 6:35 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich., Oestrike Stadium \| East Lansing, Mich., McLane Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. Dayton \| at MSU
Watch	at MSU
Listen	vs. Dayton \| at MSU
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will play a pair of non-conference midweek games, April 16-17, before returning to Mid-American Conference play against Ohio University, April 19-21. The Eagles host the University of Dayton for a single game Tuesday, April 16, at 3 p.m., before heading to East Lansing for a game against Michigan State University Wednesday, April 17. First pitch against the Spartans is set for 6:35 p.m. inside McLane Baseball Stadium.
   Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com. Radio and video coverage for individual games can be found in the official game notes and in the links provided above.

NINE-FOR-NINE: Off to his best season as an Eagle, redshirt sophomore Jeff Timko is in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak, Eastern's second-longest of the season behind Zachary Owings' 14-game stretch between March 9-30.
   Timko has compiled a .333 batting average (14-for-42) during the span, dating back to March 31 against Miami University. Additionally, the standout sophomore has knocked three extra-base hits and four RBIs during his streak.

TWICE IS MEIS: Freshman Justin Meis was impressive on the mound in Eastern's series finale at Ball State University, April 13. Earning his second-consecutive win, Meis tossed 5.2 innings for the Green and White, allowing just three earned runs and two free passes while dusting three Cardinal hitters in his effort. After giving up two runs in the first, Meis settled in and dominated the Cardinal offense, allowing just one run through his final 4.2 innings of work. With the win, Meis dealt Ball State its first home loss of the season, as the Cardinals were previously a perfect 14-0 in Muncie.

RENSEL REIGNS: Senior John Rensel Jr. led the Eastern Michigan offense in its four games at Oakland University, April 10, at Ball State University, April 12-13. The EMU captain compiled a .600 batting average (6-for-10), and .800 slugging percentage on the week, knocking two extra-base hits and tallying three RBIs in the span. In addition to his hot bat, Rensel Jr. showed veteran poise at the dish, drawing seven of the team's 16 total walks on the week, and scoring four runs for the Green and White. Rensel's best performance came in EMU's win over MAC-foe Ball State University, April 13, where he went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS: When Eastern squares off with in-state rival Michigan State Wednesday, April 17, it will do so against two familiar faces.
   MSU head coach, Jake Boss Jr., served the 2008 season in the same role at Eastern Michigan. During 2008, Boss lead Eastern to its second consecutive MAC West Division title and its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2003. With a four-game sweep, Boss became just the second coach to win the MAC tournament in his first year as a head coach, and was named the MAC Coach of the Year following the team's successful season. At Michigan State, Boss coached current EMU head man Eric Roof, as well as Jonathan Roof and AJ Achter, both of whom serve as assistant coaches on the current EMU staff.
   Elsewhere in the MSU dugout, pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde once donned the "Script E," serving as Eastern's head coach from 2015-17, before returning to Michigan State as an assistant. In three seasons at Eastern, Van Ameyde led the Eagles to 70 wins, and reached a MAC Tournament title game (2017) for the first time since the team won the championship in 2008.

COACHES HOMECOMING: When Eastern travels to Michigan State on Wednesday, April 17, it will serve as a homecoming for three Eagle coaches.
   Eastern Michigan head coach Eric Roof was student-athlete at Michigan State from 2007-09, where he was a three-year letterwinner and served as a captain his senior season. He compiled a .314 batting average in 136 career games, including 115 starts, to go along with 10 homers and 83 RBIs. Before arriving in Ypsilanti as an assistant coach in 2015, Roof served two seasons as a volunteer assistant for the Spartans, working primarily with catchers.
   EMU assistant Jonathan Roof also played and coached at Michigan State. After earning First-Team All-Big Ten conference honors in 2010, Roof was drafted by the Texas Rangers. After his professional playing career, Roof returned to MSU to finish his degree and served as a student assistant coach for the 2016-17 seasons.
   Eastern's pitching coach, AJ Achter, stems from the Michigan State tree as well, having played alongside the Roof brothers from 2008-10. Achter spent three years as a pitcher in MSU's starting rotation before going on to earn four all-star selections in the Twins' minor league system. Achter pitched at the major league level for the Twins and Angels before finishing his professional playing career in the Tigers' minor league system.

.300 CLUB: 36 games into the season, a pair of Eagles have emerged as the club's offensive leaders, as sophomore Jeff Timko and junior Zachary Owings are both hitting north of .300 and out-pacing their best career batting averages.
   Owings leads the way with a .364 batting average, a healthy 14 points over his average from a year ago, when he hit .350 as a sophomore. Timko has found a rhythm in 2019, hitting .333, a major improvement from his redshirt freshman campaign where he hit .244.
   Collectively, the duo have accounted for 31 percent of the team's RBIs (44-of-141) and nearly 40 percent of the team's extra-base hits (31-of-78), in 2019.

23 STRONG: Although his team-high 14-game hitting streak came to an end at Miami, March 30, junior Zachary Owings has extended his on-base streak to 23 games after reaching base in consecutive games against Ball State University, April 13.
   Owings has posted a .429 batting average (39-for-91), while pounding 12 extra-base hits, and driving in 17 during the stretch, dating back to March 9 against Marshall.

TRIPLE TRACKER: While the Eastern offense has been strong in many categories throughout the season, its three-bagging efforts are especially noteworthy, both individually and as a collective unit. EMU ranks 27th nationally in triples this season (fourth in MAC), and has two players ranked in the top-60 individually. Ranking third nationally is Zachary Owings, whose five triples leads the EMU offense and ranks second in the conference. Jeff Timko, a redshirt sophomore, ranks 56th nationally with three triples on the season, good for fourth in the league.

ALL-TIME VS DAYTON: When EMU welcomes Dayton to Ypsilanti for a midweek game, April 16, it will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the two programs. Dayton holds the edge in the series, as they have taken seven of the nine contests to date against the Eagles.
   In their most recent matchup, played March 12, Eastern downed Dayton, 10-2. Behind a seven inning start from Luke McGuire, the Eagles notched 10 hits en route to its third win of the season.

ALL-TIME VS MICHIGAN STATE: EMU and MSU have met 137 times since 1949, with MSU holding the series lead 77-58-2. Last season, the Eagles and Spartans were scheduled to meet twice, however both games were canceled due to poor weather.
   In 2017, The Eagles and Spartans split the season series, with each team winning their home game. Each team has recorded three wins in their last six meetings with one another, dating back to 2015.

ALL ABOUT OESTRIKE: Named after legendary EMU baseball head coach Ron Oestrike, who led the Green and White from 1965-87, winning an NAIA national championship and four Mid-American Conference titles along the way, Oestrike Stadium is one of the best baseball facilities in the conference.
   Opening in 1971, this year marks 49 years of play inside the park, where EMU holds a 534-384-2 all-time record. Since its opening, Eastern has compiled just 10 losing seasons at Oestrike, winning nearly 60 percent of its home games during the stretch.
   With the capacity to hold 2,500 fans, Oestrike Stadium offers a fully-covered seating section, lawn-seating options, and full concessions, making it one of the best venues to enjoy a game in the MAC.

ON THE HORIZON: Following its midweek games against Dayton and MSU, Eastern is set to return to Mid-American Conference play with a three-game weekend series against Ohio University, April 19-21, at Oestrike Stadium. Game one will get underway Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. with games to follow Saturday, April 20, at 3 p.m. and Sunday, April 21 at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Luke McGuire

Justin Meis

Zachary Owings

John Rensel Jr.

Jeff Timko

Eastern Michigan Athletics