Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, May 7
Bowling Green, Ohio
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
14-19, 0
8
at
0
Bowling Green
13-23, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Eastern Michigan
2
1
0
0
0
2
3
8
11
0
Bowling Green
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
Baseball Soars in Two Wins Over Bowling Green
5/7/2021 6:20:00 PM | Baseball
Eastern's offense continued its recent tear in Friday's doubleheader
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dominated nearly every inning of its pair of games with Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green State University as it took the opening two contests of a four-game weekend series between the two schools at Gary Haas Stadium today, May 7.
Eastern (15-19, 9-14 MAC) took game one, a seven inning affair, 8-0, before racing out to another big lead, 7-0, against Bowling Green (13-24, 11-16 MAC) in the nine-inning, game two and finishing the contest off 10-8. The wins moves EMU's current hot streak to five games, its best stretch since April 6-13, 2012 when it won five straight over Western Michigan, Michigan State, and Central Michigan, respectively.
Offensively, Eastern put together 18 runs on 28 hits, including nine for extra bases. Five of the hits were home runs, including four in game two, the most deep shots in a game for Eastern since it hit the same number March 27, 2016, against Bowling Green. Individually, junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) and senior Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) paced the teams, as they each went 5-for-9 on the day. Hopkins led the Eagles with five RBIs.
Defensively, Eastern got a pair of stellar outings out of its starting pitchers in the respective games. Senior right hander Luke McGuire (Shelby Twp., Mich.-Stevenson) offered arguably the best performance of his career in game one, as he tossed Eastern's first complete-game shutout since April 2, 2017, when Brent Mattson did it against Butler in a 4-0 win. Game two saw junior Justin Meis (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Bethel Park) go five scoreless innings and earn his second win of the season.
Game One: Eastern Michigan 8, Bowling Green 0
Heading into Friday's first game with the claim of scoring 46 runs in its last 21 trips to the plate, the Eastern offense continued its impressive hot streak early on against the Falcons. Hopkins led off the game with a single, one of three he went on to collect in the contest, before stealing second base two batters later. His extra base proved unnecessary, as junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) cleared the sacs with a two-out, two-RBI blast to left field in the fourth at-bat of the game. The homer, Denton's team-leading seventh of the season, put the Eagles ahead, 2-0. Eastern added one more in the second inning via a Hopkins RBI-single, to go ahead, 3-0.
With run support in hand early, McGuire went to the mound with a majority-green clad crowd, which included his parents, in attendance. The Shelby Twp., Mich. native dominated from the start, needing just four batters to breeze through the first inning.
Following his quick first frame, McGuire was even more dominant as the game continued on. He tossed 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, respectively, before allowing two hits in the fourth. Still though, even when BGSU threatened, the composed McGuire matched every challenge, and was aided by incredible defense. A sharp 6-4-3 double play and fly out grounded the Falcons in the fourth, before McGuire bounced back with yet another 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the fifth.
Unable to score in the middle innings, Eastern's bats continued to grind. Still up, 3-0, in the top of the sixth, it was none other than Hopkins who came through again. With runners on second and third and two outs gone, the third-year Eagle, also playing in front of family and in his home state, smacked his third knock of the day, a two-RBI single that plated two more and put EMU well ahead, 5-0.
After a quick sixth frame that saw McGuire need just his 70th pitch of the game to bench the Falcons, his teammates were able to add another three runs in the top of the seventh, all with two outs. Again with two runners on, senior first baseman Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) plated one with an RBI-single, his second hit of the game. After another run came home via a BGSU miscue, it was senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) that capped EMU's scoring efforts. His second triple in his last four games plated the Eagles' eighth run of the game and lifted the advantage to 8-0.
The run support was more than enough for the still-firing McGuire, who erased any chances of a Falcon comeback with his fourth 1-2-3 frame of the game, giving him his first-career complete-game shutout and giving Eastern its first team shutout of the season, 8-0. The shutout was the first for Eastern since April 7, 2019, versus Bowling Green.
Game Two: Eastern Michigan 10, Bowling Green 8
Picking up right where he left off in game one, Hopkins opened game two with a leadoff home run. The shot, one of five for the Green and White on Friday, was EMU's first leadoff homer since March 17, 2013 when Daniel Russell did it at Northern Kentucky.
Although it did not score in the second inning, the Eastern offense was far from done for the day. In fact, it put up runs in five consecutive frames, beginning in the third, when senior infielder Christian Bault (Maineville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller (Lincoln Trail)) put yet another Falcon pitch over the fence. The Eagles followed with three more runs in the fourth. Senior Mike Monahan (Saline, Mich.-Saline) got the party started with a one-out double to center field. Monahan, who has been on a tear in recent weeks, was walked on four straight pitches in his first plate appearance game one, a decision BGSU likely wishes it would have considered in game two. He later came around to score on a Hopkins RBI-single. Junior Will Oberg (Wayzata, Minn.-Wayzata (Heartland)) crossed the plate later in the inning, before a Hopkins score capped the three-run fourth, a frame that put Eastern up, 5-0.
With his offense continuing to support him, Meis continued to impress in his 10th start of the 2021 campaign. After working out of no-out, two-runner-on jams in both the first and second innings, the Steel City product tossed nearly flawless frames in his final three trips to the bump. He allowed only two hits in innings three-through-five, to preserve Eastern's lead.
With Eastern up 7-0, Meis exited the game before the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately for EMU, Bowling Green was able to string together enough offense to plate four in the frame, and cut the Eagles' lead to three, 7-4. Undeterred by the challenge, the Eastern bats answered yet again in the top of the seventh. With Gora on base, Warkentin etched his name onto the EMU blast list, as he went deep for the first time in his Eagle career, a two-run shot that put Eastern ahead, 9-4.
With the game still too close for comfort, Head Coach Eric Roof went to an unusual relief arm in four-year starter Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Warren), a choice that proved successful as the sixth-year stud blanked BGSU in the seventh.
Eastern added one more in the eighth, again via the long ball, this time by Denton, to build its advantage to six, 10-4, a lead it eventually took into the bottom of the ninth.
Bowling Green refused to quit as it plated four runs in its final trip to the plate. With the pressure on, junior hurler Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee (Lansing)) came in to toss the final out of the game, and give Eastern its second win of the day, 10-8.
Eastern will close its series with the Falcons Saturday, May 8, when the two teams meet for a second day of doubleheader play. The same format as today's contest, a seven-inning contest will be played at noon and will be followed by a nine-inning series finale.
Eastern (15-19, 9-14 MAC) took game one, a seven inning affair, 8-0, before racing out to another big lead, 7-0, against Bowling Green (13-24, 11-16 MAC) in the nine-inning, game two and finishing the contest off 10-8. The wins moves EMU's current hot streak to five games, its best stretch since April 6-13, 2012 when it won five straight over Western Michigan, Michigan State, and Central Michigan, respectively.
Offensively, Eastern put together 18 runs on 28 hits, including nine for extra bases. Five of the hits were home runs, including four in game two, the most deep shots in a game for Eastern since it hit the same number March 27, 2016, against Bowling Green. Individually, junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) and senior Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) paced the teams, as they each went 5-for-9 on the day. Hopkins led the Eagles with five RBIs.
Defensively, Eastern got a pair of stellar outings out of its starting pitchers in the respective games. Senior right hander Luke McGuire (Shelby Twp., Mich.-Stevenson) offered arguably the best performance of his career in game one, as he tossed Eastern's first complete-game shutout since April 2, 2017, when Brent Mattson did it against Butler in a 4-0 win. Game two saw junior Justin Meis (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Bethel Park) go five scoreless innings and earn his second win of the season.
Game One: Eastern Michigan 8, Bowling Green 0
Heading into Friday's first game with the claim of scoring 46 runs in its last 21 trips to the plate, the Eastern offense continued its impressive hot streak early on against the Falcons. Hopkins led off the game with a single, one of three he went on to collect in the contest, before stealing second base two batters later. His extra base proved unnecessary, as junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) cleared the sacs with a two-out, two-RBI blast to left field in the fourth at-bat of the game. The homer, Denton's team-leading seventh of the season, put the Eagles ahead, 2-0. Eastern added one more in the second inning via a Hopkins RBI-single, to go ahead, 3-0.
With run support in hand early, McGuire went to the mound with a majority-green clad crowd, which included his parents, in attendance. The Shelby Twp., Mich. native dominated from the start, needing just four batters to breeze through the first inning.
Following his quick first frame, McGuire was even more dominant as the game continued on. He tossed 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, respectively, before allowing two hits in the fourth. Still though, even when BGSU threatened, the composed McGuire matched every challenge, and was aided by incredible defense. A sharp 6-4-3 double play and fly out grounded the Falcons in the fourth, before McGuire bounced back with yet another 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the fifth.
Unable to score in the middle innings, Eastern's bats continued to grind. Still up, 3-0, in the top of the sixth, it was none other than Hopkins who came through again. With runners on second and third and two outs gone, the third-year Eagle, also playing in front of family and in his home state, smacked his third knock of the day, a two-RBI single that plated two more and put EMU well ahead, 5-0.
After a quick sixth frame that saw McGuire need just his 70th pitch of the game to bench the Falcons, his teammates were able to add another three runs in the top of the seventh, all with two outs. Again with two runners on, senior first baseman Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) plated one with an RBI-single, his second hit of the game. After another run came home via a BGSU miscue, it was senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) that capped EMU's scoring efforts. His second triple in his last four games plated the Eagles' eighth run of the game and lifted the advantage to 8-0.
The run support was more than enough for the still-firing McGuire, who erased any chances of a Falcon comeback with his fourth 1-2-3 frame of the game, giving him his first-career complete-game shutout and giving Eastern its first team shutout of the season, 8-0. The shutout was the first for Eastern since April 7, 2019, versus Bowling Green.
Game Two: Eastern Michigan 10, Bowling Green 8
Picking up right where he left off in game one, Hopkins opened game two with a leadoff home run. The shot, one of five for the Green and White on Friday, was EMU's first leadoff homer since March 17, 2013 when Daniel Russell did it at Northern Kentucky.
Although it did not score in the second inning, the Eastern offense was far from done for the day. In fact, it put up runs in five consecutive frames, beginning in the third, when senior infielder Christian Bault (Maineville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller (Lincoln Trail)) put yet another Falcon pitch over the fence. The Eagles followed with three more runs in the fourth. Senior Mike Monahan (Saline, Mich.-Saline) got the party started with a one-out double to center field. Monahan, who has been on a tear in recent weeks, was walked on four straight pitches in his first plate appearance game one, a decision BGSU likely wishes it would have considered in game two. He later came around to score on a Hopkins RBI-single. Junior Will Oberg (Wayzata, Minn.-Wayzata (Heartland)) crossed the plate later in the inning, before a Hopkins score capped the three-run fourth, a frame that put Eastern up, 5-0.
With his offense continuing to support him, Meis continued to impress in his 10th start of the 2021 campaign. After working out of no-out, two-runner-on jams in both the first and second innings, the Steel City product tossed nearly flawless frames in his final three trips to the bump. He allowed only two hits in innings three-through-five, to preserve Eastern's lead.
With Eastern up 7-0, Meis exited the game before the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately for EMU, Bowling Green was able to string together enough offense to plate four in the frame, and cut the Eagles' lead to three, 7-4. Undeterred by the challenge, the Eastern bats answered yet again in the top of the seventh. With Gora on base, Warkentin etched his name onto the EMU blast list, as he went deep for the first time in his Eagle career, a two-run shot that put Eastern ahead, 9-4.
With the game still too close for comfort, Head Coach Eric Roof went to an unusual relief arm in four-year starter Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Warren), a choice that proved successful as the sixth-year stud blanked BGSU in the seventh.
Eastern added one more in the eighth, again via the long ball, this time by Denton, to build its advantage to six, 10-4, a lead it eventually took into the bottom of the ninth.
Bowling Green refused to quit as it plated four runs in its final trip to the plate. With the pressure on, junior hurler Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee (Lansing)) came in to toss the final out of the game, and give Eastern its second win of the day, 10-8.
Eastern will close its series with the Falcons Saturday, May 8, when the two teams meet for a second day of doubleheader play. The same format as today's contest, a seven-inning contest will be played at noon and will be followed by a nine-inning series finale.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McGuire, Luke (4-4)
L: ABRAHAMOWICZ (3-4)
Batting:
2B: Bault, Christian 1
3B: Warkentin, Daniel 1
HR: Denton, Gabe 1
RBI: Hopkins, Taylor 3 ; Denton, Gabe 2 ; Gora, Eli 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hopkins, Taylor 1 ; Denton, Gabe 1 ; Peggs, Drake 1 ; Easter, Shane 1 ; Gora, Eli 2 ; Monahan, Mike 2
SB: Hopkins, Taylor 2 ; Easter, Shane 1 ; Gora, Eli 1
CS: Easter, Shane 1
PO: Denton, Gabe 1
Batting:
2B: GAYTAN 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
cf/lf
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
C/IF
/ BaseballIF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballDrew Beckner's Comments After BGSU Win in MAC Tournament
Friday, May 23
Robbie Britt's Comments After MAC Tournament Win over BGSU
Friday, May 23
EMU Stuns BGSU for First Postseason Win Since 2017
Friday, May 23
Baseball 2025 MAC Tournament Practice Day Recap
Wednesday, May 21