Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 5
Louisville, Ky.
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
3-0
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Bellarmine
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Eastern Michigan
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Bellarmine
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Photo by: Jermaine Bibb
Feldman Cruises, Bats Heat Up as EMU Improves to 3-0
3/5/2021 6:19:00 PM | Baseball
Eight eagles combine for eight hits; Feldman off to a career-best 2-0 start
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team stayed red hot today, March 5, as it opened its second series of the season with a 7-2 win over Bellarmine University at Knights Field.
After recording its best start to a season since 2005 (2-0) last week at Alabama State, Eastern (3-0, 0-0 MAC) secured the best start in program history since 1989 with today's win over Bellarmine (1-5, 0-0 ASUN).
The Eagles have also begun their season with three straight games without committing any errors, the first time the team has done so in three straight games since the 2019 season (Feb. 21-24 at the Irish Alamo Classic, vs. Incarnate Word, Notre Dame, and Incarnate Word).
On the hill for his second start of the young season was veteran ace and team captain Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice) who turned in yet another impressive performance for the Green and White. Feldman tossed 6.0 innings of no run baseball to keep his season ERA at a perfect 0.00 and earn his second consecutive win. Feldman's two wins already tie his career-high, set in 2017, and with today's victory, he has notched wins in consecutive appearances for the first time during his collegiate career.
Senior Justin Reinkall (Superior, Wisc.-Superior (Southeast Community)) relieved Feldman in what were his first two frames of the season. Bellarmine failed to record a hit against the second-year Eagle, who needed just 27 pitches, 15 of which were strikes, to get through his 2.0 innings of work. Sophomore Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) also got an inning on the bump for Eastern.
Offensively, the Eagles were successful by committee. Although no player in the Eastern lineup recorded multiple hits, eight different squad members recorded one-hit outings for the visiting team. Junior Will Oberg (Wayzata, Minn.-Wayzata (Heartland Community College)) paced the team with two RBIs, his fist runs batted in of his EMU career. Eastern set season-highs in hits (8), runs (7), walks (11), RBIs (6), triples (2), and stolen bases (4) with its effort at the plate today.
Feldman faced trouble early, with Bellarmine getting its first two batters on base via single and a walk in the bottom of the first. Despite the challenge, Feldman proceeded to strikeout the next batter, followed by a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.
Making his first appearance of 2021, senior Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) stepped to the plate in the second inning and singled to center field. Advancing to second on a walk by senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) and to third on a fielder's choice by Oberg, Oberg and Gora executed the double steal of home and second to put the Eagles on the board first.
The Eagles opened the third inning with a pair of walks. With two outs, senior Christian Bault (Mainville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) hit a single to center field to score junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller).
In the fifth, senior Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) and fellow upperclassman Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview), also both captains with Feldman, each notched their first hits of the season, both to left field. Jones' single scored Timko to give EMU the 3-0 advantage.
Showing discipline at the plate, Bault drew a walk just moments to load the bases. After a pitching change, EMU remained poised and drew two more bases-loaded walks to extend its lead to five, 5-0, heading to the bottom half of the fifth.
Taking the phrase 'two out rally' to heart, Warkentin singled to left field with two outs in the seventh. Oberg took advantage of the base runner, sending a triple down the right field line to push the Eagles ahead, 6-0. If that were not enough, graduate student Drake Peggs (Knightstown, Ind.-Knightstown) notched a triple of his own, also down the right field line, to score Oberg for the final EMU run of the afternoon, 7-0.
Entering to pitch for the Green and White in the seventh was Reinkall, who needed just seven pitches to put the Knights down in order. Coming back in to pitch the eighth, the Superior, Wis. native got a quick two outs before allowing a walk. Staying composed, Reinkall struck out the final batter to send the game to the ninth.
With a seven-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, it was Helgeson who took the bump for Eastern. Although Bellarmine was able to plate a pair of runs, it was far from enough to come back against EMU, who took the game, 7-2.
EMU will be back in action tomorrow, March 6, for a doubleheader against Bellarmine. Game one is set to begin at 12 p.m., with game two of the Saturday slate set for 3 p.m. The four-game weekend series will conclude Sunday, March 7.
For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU baseball, visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on social media at @EMU_Baseball.
After recording its best start to a season since 2005 (2-0) last week at Alabama State, Eastern (3-0, 0-0 MAC) secured the best start in program history since 1989 with today's win over Bellarmine (1-5, 0-0 ASUN).
The Eagles have also begun their season with three straight games without committing any errors, the first time the team has done so in three straight games since the 2019 season (Feb. 21-24 at the Irish Alamo Classic, vs. Incarnate Word, Notre Dame, and Incarnate Word).
On the hill for his second start of the young season was veteran ace and team captain Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice) who turned in yet another impressive performance for the Green and White. Feldman tossed 6.0 innings of no run baseball to keep his season ERA at a perfect 0.00 and earn his second consecutive win. Feldman's two wins already tie his career-high, set in 2017, and with today's victory, he has notched wins in consecutive appearances for the first time during his collegiate career.
Senior Justin Reinkall (Superior, Wisc.-Superior (Southeast Community)) relieved Feldman in what were his first two frames of the season. Bellarmine failed to record a hit against the second-year Eagle, who needed just 27 pitches, 15 of which were strikes, to get through his 2.0 innings of work. Sophomore Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) also got an inning on the bump for Eastern.
Offensively, the Eagles were successful by committee. Although no player in the Eastern lineup recorded multiple hits, eight different squad members recorded one-hit outings for the visiting team. Junior Will Oberg (Wayzata, Minn.-Wayzata (Heartland Community College)) paced the team with two RBIs, his fist runs batted in of his EMU career. Eastern set season-highs in hits (8), runs (7), walks (11), RBIs (6), triples (2), and stolen bases (4) with its effort at the plate today.
Feldman faced trouble early, with Bellarmine getting its first two batters on base via single and a walk in the bottom of the first. Despite the challenge, Feldman proceeded to strikeout the next batter, followed by a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.
Making his first appearance of 2021, senior Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) stepped to the plate in the second inning and singled to center field. Advancing to second on a walk by senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) and to third on a fielder's choice by Oberg, Oberg and Gora executed the double steal of home and second to put the Eagles on the board first.
The Eagles opened the third inning with a pair of walks. With two outs, senior Christian Bault (Mainville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) hit a single to center field to score junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller).
In the fifth, senior Jeff Timko (Rochester Hills, Mich.-Brother Rice) and fellow upperclassman Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview), also both captains with Feldman, each notched their first hits of the season, both to left field. Jones' single scored Timko to give EMU the 3-0 advantage.
Showing discipline at the plate, Bault drew a walk just moments to load the bases. After a pitching change, EMU remained poised and drew two more bases-loaded walks to extend its lead to five, 5-0, heading to the bottom half of the fifth.
Taking the phrase 'two out rally' to heart, Warkentin singled to left field with two outs in the seventh. Oberg took advantage of the base runner, sending a triple down the right field line to push the Eagles ahead, 6-0. If that were not enough, graduate student Drake Peggs (Knightstown, Ind.-Knightstown) notched a triple of his own, also down the right field line, to score Oberg for the final EMU run of the afternoon, 7-0.
Entering to pitch for the Green and White in the seventh was Reinkall, who needed just seven pitches to put the Knights down in order. Coming back in to pitch the eighth, the Superior, Wis. native got a quick two outs before allowing a walk. Staying composed, Reinkall struck out the final batter to send the game to the ninth.
With a seven-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, it was Helgeson who took the bump for Eastern. Although Bellarmine was able to plate a pair of runs, it was far from enough to come back against EMU, who took the game, 7-2.
EMU will be back in action tomorrow, March 6, for a doubleheader against Bellarmine. Game one is set to begin at 12 p.m., with game two of the Saturday slate set for 3 p.m. The four-game weekend series will conclude Sunday, March 7.
For the most up-to-date information on all things EMU baseball, visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on social media at @EMU_Baseball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Feldman, Davis (2-0)
L: Barringer, Shane (0-2)
Batting:
3B: Oberg, Will 1 ; Peggs, Drake 1
RBI: Jones, Nick 1 ; Bault, Christian 1 ; Gora, Eli 1 ; Oberg, Will 2 ; Peggs, Drake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Timko, Jeff 1 ; Kattula, Mark 1 ; Jones, Nick 1 ; Gora, Eli 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 1 ; Oberg, Will 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
SB: Timko, Jeff 2 ; Gora, Eli 1 ; Oberg, Will 1
HBP: Timko, Jeff 1
PO: Hopkins, Taylor 1
Batting:
2B: Higgins, Matt 1 ; Finerty, Josh 1 ; Ockerman, Jack 1
RBI: Mulcahy, Jacob 1 ; Crane, Davis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ockerman, Jack 1 ; Crane, Davis 1
HBP: Nelson, Noah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
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RHP
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballC/IF
/ Baseball
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/ Baseball
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RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
IF
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