Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Sanford, Fla.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1-4
4
vs
10
Pittsburgh
5-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Eastern Michigan
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
0
4
9
0
Pittsburgh
0
1
0
0
2
7
0
0
X
10
14
1
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.
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
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballIF
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Oestrike Stadium Upgrades Reveal
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