Baseball Welcomes BGSU to Ypsilanti for Weekend Series

April 5-7 at Oestrike Stadium
Date	Fri.-Sun., April 5-7.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	N/A
Listen	Eagle All-Access
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team is set to play its first Mid-American Conference home games of the season when it welcomes Bowling Green State University to Ypsilanti for a three-game weekend showdown, Friday-Sunday, April 5-7. The series will begin Friday at 6 p.m., with games to follow Saturday at 3 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
   Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com. Admission to Oestrike Stadium is free; Directions to the park can be found at EMUEagles.com.
   Fans can listen live to all three games on Eagle All-Access at EMUEagles.com/showcase or via the EMU Athletics mobile app. Greg Steiner and Kyler Ludlow will be on the call for all three contests, with broadcasts starting 10 minutes prior to first pitch.

17 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 17 games after reaching base five times in his last game, going 2-for-4 with three walks against Oakland University, April 3.
   Owings has posted a .434 batting average (30-for-69), while pounding seven extra-base hits, and driving in 14 RBIs during the stretch, dating back to March 9, against Marshall.

KEEPS ON COOKIN': Sophomore Holden Cook has been an important addition to the EMU bullpen in 2019. In his last four appearances, Cook has been tossed seven innings of near-perfect baseball for the Green and White. Allowing just one earned run, Cook has racked up five strikeouts and held opposing offenses scoreless in three of his last four appearances.
   Most recently, Cook overpowered hitters in a two-inning effort against Oakland University, April 3. The sophomore standout used just 20 pitches to retire six-consecutive Golden Grizzly hitters in his outing, allowing no hits and no runs.

JONES IN THE ZONE: A game-changing player both at the dish and behind it, Nick Jones is in the midst of his best overall season as an Eagle. At the plate, Jones has compiled a .311 batting average and a .409 on-base percentage, racking up five extra-base hits and 14 RBIs along the way.
   Conference play has brought out the best in Jones, who is hitting .360 in Eastern's six Mid-American Conference games this season. Most recently, Jones hit .461 (6-for-13), with two doubles, in a three-game conference set against Miami University, March 29-31.

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE: Off to his best start as an Eagle, junior Zachary Owings has earned high praise from various organizations throughout 2019. A returning First Team All-MAC selection, Owings has earned four recognitions and awards this season.
   Most recently, Owings was named the Mid-American Conference's Scholar Athlete of the Week, April 3. The junior star has now claimed the honor twice in 2019, earning the award for the first time in his career on Feb. 20.
   Additionally, Owings was recognized by College Sports Madness as the league's Player of the Week, April 1, and was named an EMU Credit Union Athlete of the Week, April 4.

CLOSE CONNECTION: Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green are tied by more than the conference they play in. Heading back to Ypsilanti is BGSU Head Coach Danny Schmitz, who is a former EMU baseball student-athlete and E-Club Hall of Famer. A 1979 graduate of Eastern Michigan, the Detroit native has held his current position since the beginning of 1991 season.

ALL TIME VS BOWLING GREEN: When Eastern takes on Bowling Green in the first game of a three-game weekend series, April 5, at Oestrike Stadium, it will mark the 175th all-time meeting between the two programs. A historically favorable opponent for the Green and White, Eastern holds a 101-73 edge in the series.
   In the last match-up between the two squads, Eastern defeated the Falcons, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Bowling Green, played March 30-April 1, 2018. The win, which gave Eastern the series victory two games to one saw three Eagles tally multi-hit efforts. On the mound, Mitchell Sparks picked up his fourth win of the season for the Green and White.

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 28th nationally in triples this season (fourth in MAC), and has two players ranked in the top-40 individually. Ranking third nationally is Zachary Owings, whose five triples leads the EMU offense and ranks second in the MAC. Jeff Timko, a redshirt sophomore, ranks 40th nationally with three triples on the season, good for fourth in the MAC.

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 532-383-2 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 three-game set with Bowling Green, Eastern will play a midweek game at Oakland University, Wednesday, April 10. Following the match-up with the Golden Grizzlies, EMU will travel to Muncie, Ind. for a three-game weekend series against Ball State University, April 12-14.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Holden Cook

Nick Jones

Zachary Owings

Mitchell Sparks

Jeff Timko

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