Eastern Michigan Athletics

Baseball Falls to Pittsburgh, 10-4, in Game Two of Three-Game Set
2/22/2020 6:20:00 PM | Baseball
Redshirt junior Jeff Timko knocked three hits during the contest
SANFORD, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team brought an early three-run deficit to within one run, 3-2, but ultimately fell to the University of Pittsburgh in the second installment of the three-game non-conference set between the squads,10-4, today, Feb. 22, at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Eastern (1-4) mustered just one hit through the first five innings, and was unable to get on the board until the sixth frame. After bringing the game to within one, 3-2, Pittsburgh (5-1) erupted for seven unanswered runs, ending the threat of an EMU comeback.
Leading the way for EMU at the plate was senior Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice). The fourth-year Eagle was 3-for-4 at the dish and added an RBI, his fourth of the season. Six additional Eagles registered hits in the game.
Second-year standout Justin Meis (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Bethel Park) got the call on the mound and went five innings strong. The sophomore hurler fooled five Panther hitters into strikeouts while allowing just three earned runs.
Down, 3-0, after five, the Eagles found life in the fifth. The inning began with a single off the bat of junior Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview), and was highlighted by back-to-back RBI knocks by Timko and sophomore Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller), which brought the Eagles within one, 3-2. Timko's hit, a double, was his team-best eighth of the season. Hopkins RBI was his ninth, with is also a team-high.
As Eastern's offense elevated so too did Pitt's. The Panthers followed EMU's two-run sixth-inning with a seven-run explosion of their own, which gave the Steel City-based team a commanding 10-3 advantage.
After leaving the bases loaded in the seventh, EMU was able to add a pair of additional runs in the eighth. With Hopkins and Timko aboard first and second base, respectively, it was junior college transfer Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) who came through with an RBI-single. The hit was his first as an Eagle. Redshirt sophomore Stephen Karis (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community) registered his first hit of the season in the next at-bat. He found an opening on the left side of the infield that scored Hopkins and brought the score within six, 10-4.
Although it held Pitt without a score in their half of the eighth inning, EMU was unable to carry momentum into the ninth. The Green and White went down in 1-2-3 fashion in the ninth inning as Pitt closed out the day with a 10-4 win.
Eastern will be back on the diamond tomorrow, Feb. 23, at 12 p.m. for the third and final game against the Panthers at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Eastern (1-4) mustered just one hit through the first five innings, and was unable to get on the board until the sixth frame. After bringing the game to within one, 3-2, Pittsburgh (5-1) erupted for seven unanswered runs, ending the threat of an EMU comeback.
Leading the way for EMU at the plate was senior Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice). The fourth-year Eagle was 3-for-4 at the dish and added an RBI, his fourth of the season. Six additional Eagles registered hits in the game.
Second-year standout Justin Meis (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Bethel Park) got the call on the mound and went five innings strong. The sophomore hurler fooled five Panther hitters into strikeouts while allowing just three earned runs.
Down, 3-0, after five, the Eagles found life in the fifth. The inning began with a single off the bat of junior Nate Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview), and was highlighted by back-to-back RBI knocks by Timko and sophomore Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller), which brought the Eagles within one, 3-2. Timko's hit, a double, was his team-best eighth of the season. Hopkins RBI was his ninth, with is also a team-high.
As Eastern's offense elevated so too did Pitt's. The Panthers followed EMU's two-run sixth-inning with a seven-run explosion of their own, which gave the Steel City-based team a commanding 10-3 advantage.
After leaving the bases loaded in the seventh, EMU was able to add a pair of additional runs in the eighth. With Hopkins and Timko aboard first and second base, respectively, it was junior college transfer Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) who came through with an RBI-single. The hit was his first as an Eagle. Redshirt sophomore Stephen Karis (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community) registered his first hit of the season in the next at-bat. He found an opening on the left side of the infield that scored Hopkins and brought the score within six, 10-4.
Although it held Pitt without a score in their half of the eighth inning, EMU was unable to carry momentum into the ninth. The Green and White went down in 1-2-3 fashion in the ninth inning as Pitt closed out the day with a 10-4 win.
Eastern will be back on the diamond tomorrow, Feb. 23, at 12 p.m. for the third and final game against the Panthers at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Myers (1-1)
L: Meis, Justin (0-1)

Batting:
2B: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Bault, Christian 1
RBI: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 1 ; Karis, Stephen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Timko, Jeff 2 ; Hager, Devin 1 ; Jones, Nate 1
CS: Timko, Jeff 1
HBP: Jones, Nate 1

Batting:
2B: Popa 1 ; Yanni 1 ; Washington 1 ; Hess 1
HR: Yanni 1
RBI: Popa 1 ; Yanni 5 ; Washington 1 ; Hess 1 ; Frontino 1 ; Duff 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Anderson 1 ; Popa 2 ; Yanni 2 ; Washington 1 ; Hess 1 ; Frontino 1 ; Hulett 1 ; Vera 1
CS: Hess 1
PO: Anderson 1
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