Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
0-2
Winthrop
2-0
Baseball Rallies, Falls Short at Winthrop
2/19/2022 5:41:00 PM | Baseball
Matt Kirk added another two hits to lead EMU at the plate
ROCK HILL, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University put together a spirited comeback, scoring three runs in the ninth inning, but its late-game rally came up short as it fell, 8-6, to Winthrop University today, Feb. 19.
Senior Thomas House (Ross, Ohio-Ross) (0-1) got the ball to start for Eastern Michigan (0-2, 0-0 MAC) and took the loss. The right-hander went 4.2 innings, giving up four runs, zero earned, on three hits, allowing four walks and striking out six.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were led, in part, by junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa), who went 1-for-4 on the day with a home run and an RBI. Senior Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) put together a noteworthy day at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs.
How It Happened
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, starting in the second inning. Eastern Michigan plated a run on a based-loaded walk by senior Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock).
Winthrop failed to push any runs across before the Eagles offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Senior Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill.-La Salle-Peru (Northern Illinois)) came across to score the lone run of the inning for Eastern Michigan, which brought the Eagles lead to 2-0.
Eastern Michigan's lead had disappeared by the time the sixth inning came around and turned into a 5-2 Winthrop advantage, when the Eagles cut that deficit to 5-3. The Eagles picked up a run on Denton's leadoff home run.
The Winthrop Eagles expanded their lead to 8-3 before the Eastern Michigan offense got back to work, cutting into that lead in the ninth. The three-run frame for the Eagles was punctuated by a two-RBI double from Gora, bringing the score to 8-6 in favor of Winthrop. The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 37 Winthrop hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and five fly balls while striking out 11.
» House earned the start for the Eagles on the bump in today's game. It was House's first appearance since March 8, 2020, when he tossed 4.0 innings in a game against Cincinnati. House has had to battle back from injury to return to the diamond.
» House went a game-high 4.2 innings in the contest, his longest outing with EMU since Feb. 29, 2020, when he tossed five innings of shutout baseball against Northeastern.
» House struck out six Winthrop hitters in today's outing, which ties his career-high. He hit the same total in a game against Toledo, April 27, 2019.
» Junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford (Toledo)) continued his red hot start to the 2022 campaign against Winthrop in today's contest. The first-year Eagle added two more hits to bring his two-game total up to six, a number that leads EMU. Additionally, he has led the Green and White in terms of single game hit total in both of Eastern's game this season. He is also the squad's leader in batting average, with a .667 clip in his pair of games as an Eagle.
» Easter notched one hit, and one RBI, in the game against Winthrop. Eastern has racked up four hits in EMU's first two games, and has hits in consecutive games for the first time since May 7, 2021 at Bowling Green, when he notched hits in both games of a doubleheader against the Falcons.
» Gora helped spark a late-game comeback attempt when he drilled a bases-clearing, two-RBI double in the top half of the ninth to bring EMU within three runs of Winthrop, 8-5. He has RBIs in back-to-back games for the first time since he recorded a single run-batted-in in consecutive games versus Toledo, May 4, and Bowling Green, May 7, during the 2021 campaign. The game was Gora's sixth-career multiple-RBI game, and first since he drove in two runs in a game against Ball State, April 17, 2021.
» Sophomore Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville) had a memorable moment against Winthrop when he notched his first-career hit and RBI via a late-game single in the ninth inning of today's contest. Today's game also marked Taylor's first-ever start after three games of experience as a reserve during the 2021 season.
» Eastern's offense recorded nine hits off the bats of eight different players in today's contest. The game is the first for Eastern featuring knocks from at least eight players since May 23, 2021, when that number notched hits against Central Michigan.
» Denton hit the first home run of the season for the Green and White after blasting a team-high 10 long balls a season ago. It was his first round-tripper since May 14, 2021, when he hit a shot against Northern Illinois.
Up Next
EMU will conclude its season-opening series with Winthrop tomorrow, Feb. 20. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. inside The Winthrop Ballpark.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: GAINEY, G. (1-0)
L: House, Thomas (0-1)
S: LEVENSON, M. (1)
Batting:
2B: Gora, Eli 1
3B: Easter, Shane 1
HR: Denton, Gabe 1
RBI: Denton, Gabe 1 ; Bault, Christian 1 ; Gora, Eli 2 ; Easter, Shane 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huebbe, Brady 1 ; Denton, Gabe 1 ; Kirk, Matt 2 ; Miller, Glenn 1 ; Gora, Eli 1
SB: Huebbe, Brady 1 ; Kirk, Matt 1
CS: Huebbe, Brady 1
Batting:
2B: TEPPER, J. 1 ; SPYKE, J. 1 ; MILLER, K. 1 ; FLANNERY, S. 1
HR: AMES, E. 1
RBI: SPYKE, J. 2 ; CONRAD, C.J. 1 ; AMES, E. 3 ; FLANNERY, S. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TEPPER, J. 1 ; HOOKS, T. 2 ; STRAUSS, J. 1 ; MILLER, K. 2 ; AMES, E. 1 ; FLANNERY, S. 1
CS: STRAUSS, J. 1
HBP: HOOKS, T. 1
PO: FLANNERY, S. 1
