Baseball Travels South to Clash with Morehead State

Baseball at Morehead State
Date	Friday-Sunday, March 4-6
Venue	Allen Field \| Morehead, Ky.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Watch (ESPN+)	Game 1. Game 2. Game 3.
Live Stats	Game 1. Game 2. Game 3.
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team returns to the diamond this weekend, heading south yet again to battle Morehead State University in a three-game series starting Friday, March 4 at 3 p.m. Games two and three will follow, Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, with both beginning at 1 p.m. at Allen Field.

Fans can watch the action via ESPN+, and can follow the action through live stats, which can be found at MSUEagles.com. The team's Twitter account, @EMU_Baseball, will also provide inning-by-inning updates throughout the games.

Eastern (1-5) finished its most recent series, dropping three against Tennessee Tech, Feb. 25-27. Morehead State (3-5) earned two wins in that same weekend, defeating Canisius twice (4-3; 5-2). MSU's most recent clash came against the University of Louisville, March 1. In the contest, Morehead State held the lead into the ninth inning, but could not complete the upset as Louisville belted a three-run walk-off home run to clip the Eagles.

DROPPIN' TANKS: EMU has hit home runs in five consecutive games, its longest streak since the Eagles hit deep shots in six straight games between March 13-21, 2021. EMU players hit nine home runs during the 2021 streak, while this year's five-game stretch has seen the Green and White belt seven home runs.
   Senior Christian Bault tallied two homers in the final two contests against Tennessee Tech, Feb. 26-27, while junior Matt Kirk belted a pair of round-trippers Saturday, Feb. 26. Senior Eli Gora also added a homer for the Eagles in the three-game series, Feb. 25.
   With Bault's home run on Sunday, the Eagles have hit seven homers in the young season. Comparatively, the Green and White rounded the pillows just four times in the first six games of the 2021 season.
   Senior Gabe Denton and sophomore Cory Taylor each belted a homer in the Eagles' season-opening series versus Winthrop, Feb. 18-20. Denton's round-tripper came in game two, Feb. 19, while Taylor's home run came in the final contest of the series, Feb. 20.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Captain Shane Easter currently rides a six-game hitting streak, earning a hit in every game this season. Easter is currently second on the team in hits (10), batting average (.435), total bases (12), and leads the team in on-base percentage (.500). Easter's 10 hits rank him 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

MATT'S BAT: Junior Matt Kirk has begun his EMU career on fire at the plate. The outfielder currently leads the team in batting average (.440), hits (11), slugging percentage (.760), total bases (19), runs scored (6), and extra base hits (4). Additionally, Kirk is tied for the team lead in home runs (2) and RBIs (5).
   Kirk's .440 batting average (11-for-25) is good for third in the Mid-American Conference, while his 11 hits is tied for second in the league. The Milford, Ohio native's two homers is also tied for first in the MAC.
   Furthermore, the junior has averaged 1.83 hits per game through the first two weeks of the season. That number is tied for 59th in the nation and is tied for third in the MAC. William and Mary's David Hogarth leads the nation with 2.5 hits per game average this season.

HITTING FOR POWER: With seven homers in six games this season, Eastern Michigan's 1.17 home runs per game mark is currently tied for 46th in the nation. Additionally, only six other schools ahead of Eastern have played as few games as the Eagles (6).
   Eastern Michigan added five home runs in the series against Tennessee Tech, Feb. 25-27. It is the first time the team has tabbed five-or-more home runs in a three-game series since the Eagles launched six deep balls versus Ohio University, April 14-16, 2017.

GOOD EYE!: The Eagles have been disciplined at the plate as the Green and White currently sit second in the Mid-American Conference in fewest strikeouts (46). Additionally, EMU currently ranks fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.348) and second in home runs (7).

BAULT TO BAT: Senior Christian Bault launched a pair of home runs last weekend against Tennessee Tech, Feb. 26-27. The homers were the first of the season for Bault and he is tied for the team lead in home runs (2). Additionally, it marks the first time in his three-year career with the Eagles in which Bault has hit home runs in back-to-back contests.

DEALING IN DEBUT: Freshman hurler Adam Falinksi earned his first collegiate victory on Sunday over Winthrop, Feb. 20, in his collegiate debut, allowing no earned runs on just two hits, fanning six batters in 7.0 innings of work. Falinski helped his pitching staff record its first shutout victory of the season. The pitcher currently ranks sixth the league in ERA (2.25), third in opponent batting average (.150), second in innings pitched (12.0), and is tied for fourth in strikeouts (11).
   The right-hander's performance earned recognition by the Mid-American Conference, tabbing the Co-Pitcher of the Week honor the league announced, Feb. 21. The selection was the first of his collegiate career.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE: Eastern Michigan is 36-58 overall against the Ohio Valley Conference. Of the nine programs in the OVC, the Eagles have competed against Southern Illinois (30 games) the most. EMU has a winning record against three of the nine OVC programs.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE: EMU and Morehead State will meet for the 10th time this weekend, March 4-6. MSU leads the all-time series against EMU by a record of 3-6.

LAST GAMES VERSUS MOREHEAD STATE: The two programs have not met in a quarter of a century. In the last meeting between the two programs, Eastern defeated Morehead State, 10-8, March 9, 1997. In that series, MSU took the first two games of the three-game series.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan begins Mid-American Conference play with a four-game road series against Ball State University, March 11-13. First pitch in the series-opening game is set for 3 p.m. Friday, March 4. The Saturday doubleheader is set to begin at 11 a.m. while the Sunday contest is slated for noon.

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Players Mentioned

Christian Bault

Gabe Denton

Shane Easter

Eli Gora

Matt Kirk

Cory Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics