Baseball Travels to WMU for Critical MAC Series

May 3-5 at Robert Bobb Stadium
Date	Fri.-Sun., May 3-5
Venue	Kalamazoo, Mich. \| Robert Bobb Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Watch	N/A
Listen	W MU Broncos Radio
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team returns to Mid-American Conference play when it travels to rival Western Michigan University for a three-game weekend set with the Broncos, April 3-5, at Robert Bobb Stadium. The series gets underway Friday, April 3, at 3:05 p.m., with games to follow Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, May 5, at 1 p.m.
   Make sure to follow the games via Twitter and live stats, at @EMU_Baseball, and EMUEagles.com. Radio coverage for individual games can be found in the official game notes and in the links provided above.

UPDATE ON AVON: When it comes to reaching the Mid-American Conference Tournament, played in Avon, Ohio, May 22-25, Eastern is on the outside looking in. With a 6-12 conference record, the Eagles currently sit in ninth place, meaning they need to jump three spots to qualify for the six-team field.
   The sixth spot is currently held by Ohio, which has a conference record of 9-9. With nine MAC games remaining, the Eagles are down, but not out. A series win at Western Michigan, May 3-5, is critical if EMU hopes to work its way back into contention for the Mid-American Conference crown.

SERIES WINNERS: With a 6-5 series-finale win over the University Toledo Sunday, April 28, Eastern claimed its second Mid-American Conference series win of 2019, taking two-of-three from Bowling Green State University, April 5-7, before downing Toledo in all three contests, April 26-28.

BRING THE BROOMS OUT: With Eastern's 6-5 win over the University of Toledo, April 28, it claimed it's first series sweep of the 2019 season. The sweep is EMU's first in Mid-American Conference play since May 12-14, 2017, at Northern Illinois University, where the Eagles outscored NIU 30-6 over three game. EMU's last sweep of Toledo came in 2001, where the Eagles took three games from the Rockets in a series played April 13-14.

COMEBACK KIDS: Not only did Eastern win three consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Toledo, April 26-28, but it did so in comeback fashion. Showing grit and determination, the Eagles fought back from deficits in each game of the series. Eastern's largest deficit came in the series-finale, played April 28, where the Eagles were down three, 4-1, in the fifth inning. EMU went on to outscore Toledo, 5-1, in the remainder of the game to earn the sweep.

EVERYDAY ELEVEN: One of its best offensive series' of the season, the Eastern Michigan bats were hot in its series against Toledo. The Eagles knocked 11 hits in all three contests, and saw hits from at least seven different players in each game. In addition to the slew of production throughout the lineup, six Eagles provided multi-hit efforts in at least one game in the series. Sophomore Nate Jones and junior Zachary Owings each had two multi-hit games in the series.

REALLY MEIS NUMBERS: Freshman Justin Meis picked up his third win of the season after notching a career-high seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk against Toledo, April 28. With the victory, Meis has now won three of his last four starts for the Green and White.
   Meis' numbers are some of the best in the league, as he is one of only two true freshman starting pitchers in the MAC to have three or more wins in 2019. The Pittsburgh, Pa. is joined by Miami's Sam Bachman as the other member of that group.

RAISING THE BAR: While there is still work to be done if it hopes to compete in Avon, Eastern has raised its level of play during league games this season.
   On the bump, Eastern is holding opponents to a .316 batting average in MAC play, nearly 20 points below its full-season average of .334. Additionally, the pitching staff has done a better job of keeping the ball in the park during conference play, giving up just 12 home runs, significantly less than the 34 it has allowed in non-conference play.
   Offensively, the Eagles have raised their team batting average to .267 in MAC play, up from their season average of .256. Better yet, four Eagles are hitting over .300 in conference play. Junior Zachary Owings leads the way with a .373 average, followed by sophomore Jared Kauffman (.327) John Rensel Jr. (.316), and Nate Jones (.302)

MULTI-HIT MIDWEEK: Although EMU dropped its midweek game at Youngstown State University, 10-4, May 1, two Eagles came away with multiple hits in the contest. Junior Zachary Owings notched his team-leading 23rd multi-hit game, going 2-for-5. Elsewhere in the lineup, sophomore Jared Kauffman went 2-for-3 with an RBI, good for his eighth multi-hit game in 201

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 42nd nationally in triples this season (fourth in MAC), and has two players ranked in the top-40 individually. Ranking 17th nationally is Zachary Owings, whose five triples leads the EMU offense and ranks third in the conference. Jeff Timko, a redshirt sophomore, ranks 35th nationally with four triples on the season, good for sixth in the league.

ALL-TIME VS WESTERN MICHIGAN: Long-time conference foes and in-state rivals, Eastern and Western are no strangers on the diamond. To date, the two schools have met 176 times. A near-even matchup historically, the Bronco's hold an 89-87 edge over the Green and White in the all-time series.
   In the latest installment of the I-94 rivalry, Western topped Eastern, 12-5, May 1, 2018, at Oestrike Stadium. Despite nine hits from eight Eagle players, the Broncos outran EMU to take the series, two games to one.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the three-game set at Western Michigan, Eastern will travel just down the road for a midweek game against the University of Michigan Wednesday, May 8, at Ray Fisher Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Jones

Jared Kauffman

Justin Meis

Zachary Owings

John Rensel Jr.

Jeff Timko

Eastern Michigan Athletics