Baseball Welcomes CMU to Ypsilanti for Weekend Series

May 10-12 at Oestrike Stadium
Date	Friday-Sunday, May 10-12
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Watch	N/A
Listen	EMU All Access
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team welcomes Mid-American Conference and in-state rival Central Michigan University to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game conference series, May 10-12. The series will commence Friday, May 10, at 6 p.m., with games to follow Saturday, May 11, at 6 p.m., and Sunday, May 12, 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.

SPARKS KEEP FLYING: Senior Mitchell Sparks has been outstanding for Eastern Michigan in his last three appearances, including two games against Western Michigan, May 3-5, and one game against Michigan, May 8. Providing relief in each outing, the veteran hurler tossed 4.2 innings of near-perfect baseball, allowing no runs and just one hit in his efforts at WMU. Against Michigan, Sparks came in and successfully slowed the Wolverine offense, allowing just two hits in 1.2 innings of work.
   Over his last three appearances, opponents are hitting just .143 against the southpaw. Dominant in his efforts, Sparks has commanded the zone, striking out three while providing just one free pass in his efforts.

DOING IT ON AND OFF THE FIELD: Junior captain Nick Jones led the Eastern Michigan offense in its four games against Youngstown State, May 1, and Western Michigan, May 3-5. Hitting in all four contests, Jones racked up six hits in 16 at-bats, good for a .375 batting average, and had multiple hits in two games. On top of his six hits, Jones tallied seven total bases, tied for the team lead on the week. Along with a .438 slugging percentage and .412 on-base percentage, Jones drove in two runs for the Eagles. A tremendously disciplined hitter, Jones tallied just two strikeouts on the week, and added one drawn walk. In his last 10 games, Jones is hitting .325 with 13 total hits, two extra-base hits, and four RBIs.
   Because of Jones' incredible week on the diamond, as well as his continued success in the classroom, the captain was named the Mid-American Conference Scholar Athlete of the Week, for the period ending May 5, the league office announced Wednesday, May 8. The announcement marks the third time this season that an Eagle baseball player has taken home the honor, and the first in Jones' career.

SOPH(MORE) TOSS: Although Eastern dropped its midweek game at Michigan, May 8, a pair of Eagle relievers combined for an impressive two-inning stint on the mound. Sophomores Luke McGuire and Holden Cook each provided an inning of work in the game, combining to allow just one hit and no runs in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Cook took care of business in the sixth before handing the ball to McGuire in the seventh, where he shut down the Wolverine offense in 1-2-3 fashion.

OWINGS ADDS ANOTHER: With his 2-for-5 effort at the dish in Eastern's game against Michigan, May 8, junior Zachary Owings tabbed his team-leading 24th multi-hit game of the season. Owings is having a career-best season as he has compiled a .344 batting average, knocked 29 RBIs, and has 67 total hits for the Green and White in 2019.

CLOSING IT AT HOME: After beginning the season with 23 consecutive games away from home, Eastern will enjoy six-straight games at Oestrike Stadium to end the season. The Eagles will play two weekend series against Central Michigan, and Kent State, respectively. A senior day celebration will be held Saturday, May 18, to honor Eastern's five-man senior class. As always, admission to Oestrike Stadium is free.

ALL-TIME VS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: When Eastern takes the field for the first game of its three-game series against the Chippewas, May 10, it does so against a familiar foe. Long-time rivals, Eastern and Central have played 165 games against each other in their respective histories. A favorable matchup for the Eagles historically, EMU holds a 95-70 edge in the series.
   Most recently, the Chips topped the Eagles, 12-3, in a game played May 6, 2018 in Mt. Pleasant. Despite the loss, EMU was able to take the series from Central, winning the first two games of the weekend by scores of 7-6, and 5-2.

ON THE HORIZON: Following its weekend series with Central, Eastern will enjoy a blank midweek slate before hosting Kent State in the final regular season series of the season, a three-game set against the Golden Flashes. Game one is set for Thursday, May 16, at 6 p.m. with games to follow Friday, May 17, at 3 p.m., and Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Holden Cook

Nick Jones

Luke McGuire

Zachary Owings

Mitchell Sparks

Eastern Michigan Athletics