Eastern Michigan Soars Past Butler Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) --The Eastern Michigan University baseball team poured on 10 runs in the final two innings, defeating Butler, 15-4, Saturday afternoon inside Bulldog Park in the series-opening game.

Senior Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee (Lansing Community)) (1-2) started on the mound and picked up the win for Eastern Michigan (4-10). The right-hander went six innings, giving up one run on seven hits, allowing one walk, and striking out two. Junior Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings while allowing one hit, with no walks and four strikeouts, earning his first save of the season.

Junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame with a home run, a walk, and two RBIs. Junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford (Toledo)) furnished a noteworthy effort as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs. Senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) also helped out, going 2-for-4 for Eastern Michigan with a double, a walk, and an RBI.

How It Happened
The Eagles put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the second inning. Sophomore Glenn Miller's (Pentwater, Mich.-Pentwater) run-scoring single highlighted a two-run inning for Eastern Michigan.

The Eagles then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the fifth inning after the Bulldogs cut it to 2-1. Eastern Michigan brought home a pair, with one run driven in by senior Brady Huebbe's (Peru, Ill.-La Salle-Peru (Northern Illinois)) single, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan held Butler without a run before building their lead to 5-1 in the seventh inning. The Eagles picked up a run on Denton's one-out solo home run off senior John MacCauley.

The Bulldogs gained ground, closing the gap to 5-4 until Eastern Michigan added some insurance in the eighth. The Eagles scored five runs in the inning, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of senior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller), bringing the score to 10-4 in favor of Eastern Michigan.

The Eagles held Butler off the board before expanding their lead to 15-4 the following inning. The Eastern Michigan offense piled up five runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Kirk. The score remained 15-4 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.

Game Notes
» EMU's 15 runs scored is a season-high for the Eagles. The last time Eastern scored 15 runs-or-more came in a 20-5 victory over St. Bonaventure, May 1, 2021.
» Eastern Michigan amassed 10 runs in the final two innings on Saturday, scoring five runs in both the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
» Denton tallied his seventh home run of the season on Saturday. The Clare, Mich. native came into the weekend leading the Mid-American Conference in home runs and his seven round-trippers paces EMU. Additionally, it is the second time this season Denton has blasted homers in consecutive contests (at Ball State, March 13).
» Kirk went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a double, and a run scored. The outfielder rides an eight-game hitting streak, dating back to March 4, at Morehead State. Since the game against Morehead State, Kirk has totaled 14 hits in that eight-game span. Additionally, Kirk has tabbed nine multi-hit games this season, a mark that leads the team.
» Fruit earned his first win on the season, striking out two batters and allowing just one earned run in 6.0 innings of work. It is the second time this season Fruit has gone 6.0 innings, tying a career-high for the senior (6.0 IP at Ball State, March 13).
» House tallied his first save of the season, going 2.1 innings, striking out four, and allowing no earned runs and just one hit. Additionally, the four K's is a career-high for the Okeana, Ohio native.
» Eastern Michigan out-hit the Bulldogs at a 16-11 clip. It is the second time this season EMU has recorded 15 hits-or-more in a game (18 at Morehead State, March 5). Furthermore, the Eagles have totaled 10-plus hits in six contests this season. Additionally, Eastern Michigan went 7-for-14 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» Eastern pitchers faced 37 Butler hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out six.

Historical Notes
» With Eastern's home run on Saturday, the Eagles have hit 23 home runs in 14 games this season. That number equates to a 1.64 home runs per game average. EMU has not had a season with a home run per game average of better than 1.0 since 2009, when the Eagles belted 100 total home runs, a 1.69 per game average.
» Five different Eagles tallied multiple RBIs in the contest on Saturday. The last time five Eagles hit that mark came in a 20-5 victory over St. Bonaventure, May 1, 2021.

Up Next
The Eagles and Bulldogs will continue their series with a Sunday doubleheader, March 20, with first pitch for game one scheduled for noon.

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Team Stats

Gabe Denton

Matt Kirk

Taylor Hopkins

Shane Easter

Players Mentioned

Gabe Denton

Zach Fruit

Taylor Hopkins

Trevor House

Brady Huebbe

Matt Kirk

Glenn Miller

Daniel Warkentin

Players Mentioned

Gabe Denton

Zach Fruit

Taylor Hopkins

Trevor House

Brady Huebbe

Matt Kirk

Glenn Miller

Daniel Warkentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics