Baseball Set to Open 2022 Campaign at Winthrop

Baseball at Winthrop
Date	Friday-Sunday, Feb. 18-20
Venue	The Winthrop Ballpark \| Rock Hil, S.C.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Game 1. Game 2. Game 3.
Live Audio	Game 1. Game 2. Game 3.
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

ROCK HILL, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) - At long last, baseball is back! The Eastern Michigan University dirt diggers are set to escape the cold of Michigan as they head south to take on Winthrop University in a three-game, season-opening stretch beginning Friday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. Games two and three of the series will follow suit Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m., with each competition taking place inside The Winthrop Ballpark in Rock Hill, S.C.
   Fans can follow the action through live stats, which can be found at EMUEagles.com/livestats. The team's Twitter account, @EMU_Baseball, will also provide inning-by-inning updates throughout the games.

EMU IN SEASON OPENERS: Eastern Michigan is entering its 74th season in 2022, with its start dating back to 1949. In its 73 previous seasons, Eastern is 36-37 in season openers. The Eagles are looking for three straight opening day wins after defeating Austin Peay, 16-8, to open the 2020 season, Feb. 14, and defeating Alabama State, 2-1, to begin the 2021 season, Feb. 27. Eastern has not won three consecutive lid-lifters since it did so between 2004-06.

NEW YEAR, NEW FACES: With every year, a crop of new talent arrives in Ypsilanti. There are 17 newcomers on this season's roster, nine of which are "true" freshmen. Another eight Eagles have joined by way of transfer, with a trio of players (Grant Reising - Missouri, Aaron Dolney - Nebraska, and Jarett Bach - Pittsburgh) coming to EMU after stops at the 'Power Five' level.

KEEPING THEM IN THE MITTEN: Nearly half of the Eastern Michigan roster consists of Michigan-born players in 2022. A total of 17 of the team's 38 players are from the Great Lakes State, while the next largest represented group comes from neighboring Ohio, with eight.

THE SEASON AHEAD: The Eagles are scheduled to play 57 contests in 2022, with 22 games at Oestrike Stadium. EMU will begin the season with a nine-game non-conference slate, visiting Winthrop, Tennessee Tech., and Morehead State, before beginning Mid-American Conference play at Ball State, March 11. EMU's 22 scheduled home games are the most since the 2007 season, when EMU hosted 25 games at Oestrike Stadium.

THIS YEAR'S ROSTER BREAKDOWN: EMU features a mix of upperclassmen and fresh faces this season. Of the 38 roster spots for the Eagles, 10 are occupied by freshmen, seven are sophomores, 10 are juniors, and 11 are seniors.

THE LEAGUES EMU WILL FACE: EMU will face teams from five different Division I conferences in 2022. In addition to its MAC slate, the Green and White will face opponents from the Big South (Winthrop), Ohio Valley Conference (Tennessee Tech, Morehead State), Big East Conference (Butler), and Big Ten Conference (Michigan State).
   Eastern will also play a trio of games against non-Division I teams. The Eagles are set to host Concordia University-Ann Arbor, March 22, and Siena Heights, April 19, before taking on Alma College, April 27, at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

RETURNING PRODUCTION: The Eagles have tremendous returning production at the plate this season, as 71 percent of the team's overall hitting is back from a season ago. A total of 287 of EMU's 407 total knocks came from players that return in 2022, while a whopping 73 percent (160-of-219) of the squad's overall RBIs were produced by players that are on this year's team. EMU hit 38 long balls during the 2021 campaign, 33 of which (87%) were hit by returning players in 2022.
   Senior Gabe Denton is poised for a big season after leading the team in batting average (.318), slugging percentage (.606), RBIs (35), and home runs (10) in 2021. EMU also returns senior Taylor Hopkins, the team's 2021 leader in hits (56), runs (38), stolen bases (9), doubles (9), and at-bats (183).
   Defensively, EMU returns all but two everyday starters in the field. On the mound, the Eagles have lost four starting pitchers (Davis Feldman, Justin Meis, Luke McGuire, Scott Granzotto), but welcome back players who combined to toss 154.1 innings last season (38% of EMU's total innings pitched). Senior Thomas House is set to return to the bump after being sidelined due to injury last season. He enters the 2022 season with 91.2 innings of experience in 52 outings for the Green and White. House has racked up 86 strikeouts in his career and has issues just 53 free passes. Junior Cameron Wagoner returns with the most innings of any player who threw last year for the Eagles. He tossed 49 innings over 18 appearances, allowing just 19 earned runs and holding batters to a .285 average. He fanned 56 opposing hitters while allowing just 22 walks, and was second on the team with a 3.49 ERA.

WELCOME HOME, HILT: Eastern Michigan welcomed a new pitching coach during the offseason, as Aaron Hilt assumed the position. A former standout college baseball player at NCAA Division II Ashland University, Hilt spent nearly a decade climbing the coaching ranks and adding responsibilities with Ashland. After returning to his alma mater in 2014, he was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2018.
   The Eagles reached the NCAA Division II postseason four times in Hilt's seven seasons, and made a run to the College World Series in 2019. Hilt has been part of two College World Series teams, also reaching the final stage as a player in 2008. Ashland posted a 230-149 (.607) record during Hilt's run with AU.
   The 2019 season was a record-setting year for Ashland's hurlers. Eagle pitchers combined for a program-record-tying 48 wins, and set a program and GLIAC standard for team strikeouts in a season with 537. Hilt was directly responsible for the mentorship of numerous award-winning and now-professional pitchers while at Ashland. A pair of his players, Art Warren and Brandyn Sittinger, were selected in the MLB Draft in 2015 and 2016, respectively. A 2015 All-GLIAC selection, Warren is with the Seattle Mariners. Sittinger, a former GLIAC Pitcher of the Year, Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year, and First Team All-American while at Ashland, plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

KENDALL'S TOP PROSPECTS: Kendall Rogers, Co-Managing Editor for the highly-touted baseball publication, DIBaseball, announced his top Mid-American Conference draft prospects for the 2022 season Feb. 10. Two Eagles cracked the list, as junior Cameron Wagoner and senior Zach Fruit are named as the number three and five top draft-eligible prospects in the league, respectively, by Rogers.

RETURNING ALL-MAC SELECTION: EMU is set to return senior Taylor Hopkins to the roster this season, the lone First Team All-MAC selection back from last year's lineup. Hopkins' selection made him the first Eagle to appear on the league's first team since Zachary Owings in 2018.

HOPKINS THE IRONMAN: Eastern Michigan shortstop Taylor Hopkins was the only Eagle to play in, and start, all 51 games in the Green and White in 2021. Over his 51 games, the Mason, Ohio native recorded a .306 batting average, team-leading 56 hits, eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .486 slugging percentage.

PERFECT GAME PICKS TAYLOR: Perfect Game, a leading baseball-focused publication, released its 2022 Preseason All-MAC team Feb. 3. EMU senior shortstop Taylor Hopkins made the list in one of two "middle infielder" positions on the poll.

LOOKING BACK AT 2021: Eastern Michigan baseball finished the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 21-30, and 15-25 in conference play.
   The team's 21 wins mark the most since the 2018 team's 22. In addition, EMU has now recorded 20-or-more wins in all but three full seasons since 1999. The Eagles did not reach 20 wins in 2008 (17), 2014 (19), and 2019 (11). The 2020 season is excluded as 20 games were not played.

MAC PRESEASON POLL: Eastern was selected to finish eighth overall in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll, as announced by the league office, Feb. 15.

MAC Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Central Michigan — 115 points (6 first place votes)
2. Ball State — 103 points (1)
3. Kent State — 102 points (2)
4. Western Michigan - 75 points
5. Toledo — 73 points (1)
6. Miami — 68 points (1)
7. Ohio — 58 points
8. Eastern Michigan - 45 points
9. Bowling Green — 40 points
10. Northern Illinois — 36 points
11. Akron — 11 points

Tournament Champions: Central Michigan (4), Kent State (3), Ball State (2), Miami (1), Toledo (1)

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH: Eastern Michigan has limited experience against teams from the Big South Conference, but it has played contests against four different members of the Charlotte, N.C.-based group of institutions. EMU is 4-4 overall against the Big South and has played games against Campbell (2-1), USC Upstate (0-1), Presbyterian (2-0), and Winthrop (0-2).

ALL-TIME AGAINST WINTHROP: EMU and Winthrop will meet for the third time Friday, Feb. 18. Despite meeting twice previously, Eastern is still searching for its first win against Winthrop, who leads the series, 2-0.

LAST GAMES AT WINTHROP: EMU last met Winthrop during the 2009 campaign, playing a pair of games over two days, Feb. 20-21, as part of the Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament.

Game 1 - EMU 9, WU 17: Already behind 2-0 in the top of the fourth, the Eagles would pull within a run, as a leadoff triple by Jim Gulliver and a single by Andrew Marshall made it a 2-1 game. Gulliver went 4-for-5 in the loss with three RBI and two runs scored. The Winthrop offense exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a three-run RBI triple by Tyler McBride, to put EMU down, 7-1. Down 17-4 in the top of the ninth, the Eagles rallied for five in the final frame, but could not complete the comeback.

Game 2 - EMU 1, WU 8: The Eagles went ahead early, as a double in the top of the first by Zack Leonard drove home Jim Gulliver, giving EMU a 1-0 advantage. Leonard finished 1-for-4 at the plate with one RBI, while Gulliver notched his third consecutive multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 on the day. Despite the efforts, Winthrop was able to cruise to an 8-1 win.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan remains on the road to battle Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn. First pitch in the series-opening game is set for 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, with games two and three to follow Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26-27, at 1 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jarett Bach

Gabe Denton

Davis Feldman

Zach Fruit

Scott Granzotto

Taylor Hopkins

Thomas House

Luke McGuire

Justin Meis

Grant Reising

Cameron Wagoner

Eastern Michigan Athletics