Eastern Michigan Athletics
Baseball Splits Doubleheader With Toledo
5/11/2021 8:47:00 PM | Baseball
Gabe Denton went 5-for-7, including his ninth home run of the season
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team split a midweek doubleheader with the University of Toledo, May 11, at Oestrike Stadium. Eastern took game one, 6-0, and dropped game two, 10-2.
The Eagles' first win of the day marked the team's second-straight shutout, after blanking Bowling Green, 3-0, in the series finale, May 8. The back-to-back shutouts mark the first time an EMU team has accomplished the feat since April 13-14, 2007, when the Eagles blanked Ohio, 2-0 and 1-0, at Oestrike Stadium.
At the plate, the Eagles were paced by junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)), who went 5-for-7 with three extra-base hits, and tied for the team lead with two RBIs over the two games.
Game One: Eastern Michigan 6, Toledo 0
Notching its second shutout in as many games, Eastern Michigan defeated Toledo, 6-0 in game one of Tuesday's doubleheader.
Getting the start was veteran Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice), who tossed eight straight outs before allowing a hit to the Rockets in the third. Despite the base knock, Feldman got the final out via groundout to finish out his three scoreless innings on the mound.
Handing the ball over to Justin Meis (Pittsbugh, Pa.-Bethel Park), the junior posted a scoreless inning in the fourth.
The winning run for Eastern came in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, Denton blasted his ninth home run of the season, sending the ball over the right field wall for the 1-0 Eagle advantage.
Changing hurlers in the fifth, senior John Holt (Saline, Mich.-Saline) took the mound, recording two outs via groundout and looking strikeout, before turning the ball over to sophomore Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross), who struck out the final Rocket batter to keep the Eagles in front, 1-0.
House returned to the mound in the sixth, holding the Rockets scoreless and sending the Green and White back to the plate.
A leadoff walk to junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) led off the bottom of the sixth, and followed by a single to shallow center by senior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) to put two Eagle runners on the bases.
Next to the plate was senior Christian Bault (Maineville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller (Lincoln Trail)), who sent a deep base knock to center field, bringing Hopkins home for the first run of the inning. Bringing Denton back to the plate, the Clare, Mich. native doubled with a fly ball that landed on the left field line, scoring Jones and moving Bault to third, forcing Toledo to its first pitching change of the afternoon.
After a quick popout recorded the first out of the inning, senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) laid down a perfectly-placed bunt towards the first base line. Despite being out himself, two runs were able to score.
Holding a 5-0 lead, designated hitter Mike Monahan (Saline, Mich.-Saline) stepped in to the box. With the 3-1 count, Monahan launched his first-career home run over the fence in right center field, extending his hitting streak to a team-best 10 games, and plating the final run of the contest for Eastern Michigan, 6-0.
Just three outs away from the first win of the afternoon, Toledo led the seventh off with a single. Despite the early setback, House settled in, forcing a flyout and striking out the final two batters to secure his first save of the season and the Eastern Michigan win, 6-0.
Game Two: Toledo 10, Eastern Michigan 2
The Rockets jumped out in the lead in the first, hitting back-to-back singles and capitalizing on an Eagle error to plate their first run of the day.
Looking for a response in the bottom of the frame, Jones got himself aboard via single, and was followed by a walk to Bault to put two runners on. However, Eastern was unable to move them any further, and went in to the second inning down, 1-0.
Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) took over on the mound for the second inning, sitting the next three Rocket batters down in order to bring the Green and White back to the plate.
Unable to find any offensive momentum in the second, Toledo returned to the plate and increased its lead to 2-0 with a solo home run.
Able to break the shutout in the third inning, Eastern saw Hopkins drive a short ground ball to the right side of the infield, forcing the Rockets infield to converge and getting Hopkins on base safely. A subsequent walk to Jones paved the way for Denton, who loaded the bases with a single to the shortstop.
Senior Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) used his trip to the plate to hit a grounder, which was bobbled by the shortstop, allowing Hopkins to score and the Eagles to pull back within one, 2-1, after three innings of play.
Toledo controlled the game from thereon out, plating eight more runs over the next four innings to take a 10-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Down to its final at-bats, Denton began the seventh with a single to third base. Making his first appearance at the plate of the season, freshman Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville) turned his 3-2 count into a walk, putting two on for Eastern. After a groundout advanced both runners, Monahan returned to the plate, and despite grounding out to the first baseman, plated Denton for the Eagles' final run of the evening. EMU ultimately fell in game two to Toledo, 10-2.
The Eagles return to action Friday, May 14, hosting Northern Illinois University. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
To stay up to date on all things EMU baseball, continue to check EMUEagles.com, or follow the team on Twitter, @EMU_Baseball.
The Eagles' first win of the day marked the team's second-straight shutout, after blanking Bowling Green, 3-0, in the series finale, May 8. The back-to-back shutouts mark the first time an EMU team has accomplished the feat since April 13-14, 2007, when the Eagles blanked Ohio, 2-0 and 1-0, at Oestrike Stadium.
At the plate, the Eagles were paced by junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)), who went 5-for-7 with three extra-base hits, and tied for the team lead with two RBIs over the two games.
Game One: Eastern Michigan 6, Toledo 0
Notching its second shutout in as many games, Eastern Michigan defeated Toledo, 6-0 in game one of Tuesday's doubleheader.
Getting the start was veteran Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Brother Rice), who tossed eight straight outs before allowing a hit to the Rockets in the third. Despite the base knock, Feldman got the final out via groundout to finish out his three scoreless innings on the mound.
Handing the ball over to Justin Meis (Pittsbugh, Pa.-Bethel Park), the junior posted a scoreless inning in the fourth.
The winning run for Eastern came in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, Denton blasted his ninth home run of the season, sending the ball over the right field wall for the 1-0 Eagle advantage.
Changing hurlers in the fifth, senior John Holt (Saline, Mich.-Saline) took the mound, recording two outs via groundout and looking strikeout, before turning the ball over to sophomore Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross), who struck out the final Rocket batter to keep the Eagles in front, 1-0.
House returned to the mound in the sixth, holding the Rockets scoreless and sending the Green and White back to the plate.
A leadoff walk to junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) led off the bottom of the sixth, and followed by a single to shallow center by senior captain Nick Jones (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) to put two Eagle runners on the bases.
Next to the plate was senior Christian Bault (Maineville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller (Lincoln Trail)), who sent a deep base knock to center field, bringing Hopkins home for the first run of the inning. Bringing Denton back to the plate, the Clare, Mich. native doubled with a fly ball that landed on the left field line, scoring Jones and moving Bault to third, forcing Toledo to its first pitching change of the afternoon.
After a quick popout recorded the first out of the inning, senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) laid down a perfectly-placed bunt towards the first base line. Despite being out himself, two runs were able to score.
Holding a 5-0 lead, designated hitter Mike Monahan (Saline, Mich.-Saline) stepped in to the box. With the 3-1 count, Monahan launched his first-career home run over the fence in right center field, extending his hitting streak to a team-best 10 games, and plating the final run of the contest for Eastern Michigan, 6-0.
Just three outs away from the first win of the afternoon, Toledo led the seventh off with a single. Despite the early setback, House settled in, forcing a flyout and striking out the final two batters to secure his first save of the season and the Eastern Michigan win, 6-0.
Game Two: Toledo 10, Eastern Michigan 2
The Rockets jumped out in the lead in the first, hitting back-to-back singles and capitalizing on an Eagle error to plate their first run of the day.
Looking for a response in the bottom of the frame, Jones got himself aboard via single, and was followed by a walk to Bault to put two runners on. However, Eastern was unable to move them any further, and went in to the second inning down, 1-0.
Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) took over on the mound for the second inning, sitting the next three Rocket batters down in order to bring the Green and White back to the plate.
Unable to find any offensive momentum in the second, Toledo returned to the plate and increased its lead to 2-0 with a solo home run.
Able to break the shutout in the third inning, Eastern saw Hopkins drive a short ground ball to the right side of the infield, forcing the Rockets infield to converge and getting Hopkins on base safely. A subsequent walk to Jones paved the way for Denton, who loaded the bases with a single to the shortstop.
Senior Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) used his trip to the plate to hit a grounder, which was bobbled by the shortstop, allowing Hopkins to score and the Eagles to pull back within one, 2-1, after three innings of play.
Toledo controlled the game from thereon out, plating eight more runs over the next four innings to take a 10-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Down to its final at-bats, Denton began the seventh with a single to third base. Making his first appearance at the plate of the season, freshman Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville) turned his 3-2 count into a walk, putting two on for Eastern. After a groundout advanced both runners, Monahan returned to the plate, and despite grounding out to the first baseman, plated Denton for the Eagles' final run of the evening. EMU ultimately fell in game two to Toledo, 10-2.
The Eagles return to action Friday, May 14, hosting Northern Illinois University. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
To stay up to date on all things EMU baseball, continue to check EMUEagles.com, or follow the team on Twitter, @EMU_Baseball.
Players Mentioned
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