Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
6-12, 0
Akron
5-13, 0
Ypsilanti Becomes Hitsville as Baseball Erupts for 28 Runs, Downs Akron Twice
3/25/2022 4:44:00 PM | Baseball
Senior Daniel Warkentin recorded three home runs en route to a career day
Game 1: EMU 10, AKR 9
Game 2: EMU 18, AKR 6
Highlight Video | Photo Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Move over Motown, because for at least the night, Ypsilanti will be known as Hitsville, U.S.A. The nickname is fitting after the Eastern Michigan University baseball team erupted for 28 runs on 29 total hits as it took a pair of games from the University of Akron today, March 25, at Oestrike Stadium.
Eastern (7-12, 3-3 MAC) was challenged in game one as Akron (5-14, 4-6 MAC) brought a seven-run, 10-3 deficit, down to just one in the ninth before EMU ultimately closed with a 10-9 victory. It was the Eagles who played comeback in game two. After going down 5-0 in the first inning, the Green and White cruised at the dish, scoring 12 unanswered runs en route to an eventual, 18-6 victory.
Senior right-hander Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee (Lansing C.C.)) (2-2) started game one on the mound and picked up the win for Eastern Michigan (6-12, 2-3 MAC). The Lansing, Mich. native went six innings, racking up a career-best six strikeouts along the way while only allowing four free passes. Three of his frames were scoreless. Offensively, the Eagles put together an explosive game. Senior Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill.-La Salle-Peru (Northern Illinois)) went 2-for-4 to tie for the team lead in hits, including a triple. His effort was highlighted by his EMU-career-high four RBIs, which paced all players in the contest. Elsewhere, upperclassman Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and a career-high-tying three RBIs. Junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) also helped out for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding two RBIs.
Junior Zach Gillig (Valley Center, Kan.-Valley Center ((Pratt)) (1-2) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Eastern Michigan in game two. The right-hander went 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits, allowing no walks and striking out seven. Junior Mason Marquis (Stanford, Ill.-Olympia (Heartland)) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing one shutout inning while allowing one hit, with no walks and one strikeout.
How it Happened - Game 1
Trailing 2-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the third inning. Eastern Michigan plated two runs when Warkentin left the yard with freshman Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich.-Essexville Garber) aboard.
The Zips then scored one run to retake their advantage heading into the fifth inning, when the Eagles responded by getting back on the scoreboard themselves. The Eastern Michigan offense erupted for four runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Huebbe, which brought the score to 6-3 in favor of the Eagles.
Eastern Michigan kept Akron without a run before expanding their lead to 10-3 the following inning. The Eagles bats heated up in the inning, scoring four runs, including a two-run triple from Huebbe. Akron put six runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Eastern Michigan still held on for the 10-9 win.
Game Notes - Game 1
» Fruit struck out a career-best six hitters in the first game of the Friday doubleheader. His previous career-high came earlier in 2022, when he dusted five Ball State Cardinals, May 13.
» Fruit tied his career-high with 6.0 innings pitched against the Zips. It marks the third consecutive game in which Fruit has hit that number, the first time in his career he has gone six-or-more innings in three straight outings.
» Fruit earned his second win of the season with his decision over Akron. He now has multiple wins in a season for the first time in his career, and is tied for the team lead in total wins.
» The Eagles power output was led by Warkentin, who picked up two extra base hits in the ballgame. It marked the second multiple extra-base of Warkentin's career. His last game of the sort came in 2020, when he notched two doubles in a game against Villanova, Feb. 29.
» Huebbe drove in four runs for Eastern Michigan. That is a new EMU-career-high for the first-year Eagle. Prior to the game against the Zips, his previous RBI high was two, which came in his first game with the club, Feb. 18 at Winthrop. Additionally, the four RBIs is a single-game season-high for any Eastern Michigan player.
» Every Eastern Michigan starter reached base safely in the win.
» Four Eagles had multiple hits in the ballgame. The game was the sixth of the season for the Green and White in which four-or-more players recorded multiple hits. EMU's season-high in the category came March 5, at Morehead State, when seven different Eagles recorded multiple hits.
» EMU put double-digit runs on the board for the third time during the 2022 campaign in game one against the Zips. The 10 runs falls behind previous outputs of 15 and 14 runs, respectively. Additionally, it was EMU's first 10+-run game since March 19, when it scored 15 against Butler.
» The Eagles out-hit the Zips at a 13-10 clip. It marks the 10th game of the season in which the Eagles have outhit their opponent. It was EMU's sixth win when accomplishing the feat.
» Despite giving up nine runs, EMU was still able to emerge victorious in the contest. The win was the first of the season for EMU in which had given up six or more runs. The team was previously 0-8 in such situations.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 35 Akron hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and six fly balls while striking out seven.
» Warkentin contributed three RBIs for the Eagles in game one of their series against Akron. The output ties his second-highest total of his career, which he previously set in a game against Bowling Green, May 7, 2021.
» Hugo tied his career-high with two knocks against the Zips in game one. The freshman finished 2-for-4 at the plate.
How it Happened - Game 2
The Eagles scored in six different innings on the way to a 12-run, 18-6 victory. After erasing a 5-0 deficit to tie the game at five, the Eagles took the lead for good at 6-5 in the third inning. The Eagles hit two home runs in the inning on the way to scoring their six runs in the frame. After that, it was all Eastern, as the home team finished the day with 18 runs to match a season-high.and finish off the two-game sweep.
Game Notes - Game 2
» The Eagles belted five home runs in game two against the Zips. The total is the second-most in a game during the 2022 campaign. EMU's single-game season high is six, which it hit against Morehead State, March 5.
» Denton belted his eighth home run of the season during the contest, a number which leads all Eagles. Last season, the Clare, Mich. native total 10 in the season and averaged 0.25 per game. This season, Denton has averaged 0.47 home runs per contest.
» Warkentin drilled his second home run of the day in game two of Friday's doubleheader. His third of the season, it marks the first time in his three-year career with Eastern Michigan that Warkentin has notched home runs in back-to-back contests.
» Warkentin was not finished after his initial home run in game two. He finished the game with yet another long ball, his second of the game, to record his first-ever multiple home-run game with the Green and White. It is the third time this season that an EMU player has recorded multiple home runs in a game.
» Warkentin finished the game with a career-high four RBIs. His previous best mark was three, which he had accomplished twice, including in game one of Friday's doubleheader.
» Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio.-Milford ((Toledo)) connected with a home run to dead center field for his sixth home run of the season. The swing also marked his 17th and 18th career RBIs.
» Eastern Michigan scored a total of 18 runs for the contest. It is the most runs it has scored in a game this season. Breaking a previous mark of 15 runs at Butler, March 19.
» Gillig came in the game in the top half of the first inning, and pitched a total of 6.1 innings. The effort is the right hander's longest outing of the season and the most innings a pitcher has thrown this year in relief in one outing for Eastern Michigan.
» Denton drew three walks for Eastern Michigan. It marks the first time in his EMU career that he accomplished three walks in a contest.
» Eagle hitters racked up 16 hits for the game. The effort is tied for the second-most hits EMU has put up as a team in a season (at Butler, March 19).
»Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) contributed two doubles for Eastern Michigan in the second game against Akron, March 25. It is the second time this season the third baseman accrued multiple extra base hits in a game. Eastern also did so at Morehead State, March 5.»
Historical Notes
» The Eagles have scored 10+ runs in back-to-back contests for the first time since the 2021 season, when they did so in games against St. Bonaventure, May 1, and Toledo, May 4, respectively.
» Eastern Michigan overcame a five-run deficit in the second game of the doubleheader against the Zips. The last time the Green and White overcame a deficit of that size was May 4, 2018. The Eagles were down 6-1 in the seventh inning and won the game 7-6 in 12 innings against Central Michigan, in Mount Pleasant.
» EMU hitters were very productive in the plate discipline aspect as well, registering 10 walks. It is the first time the Green and White have recorded 10 walks this season, breaking their previous mark of eight, done on Feb. 18 at Winthrop, and Feb. 26 at Tennessee Tech. The last time Eastern Michigan registered 10+ walks in a game was March 5, 2021 at Bellarmine, when it recorded 11 walks.
» EMU scored 12 unanswered runs against the Zips in game two of the doubleheader. That total is the most unanswered runs the team has scored since it hit the same mark at St. Bonaventure, May 1, 2021.
Up Next
EMU will close its series with Akron tomorrow, March 26, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Game one will be seven innings, with game two set to be played in a full-nine inning fashion.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fruit, Zach (2-2)
L: Taed Heydinger (1-5)
Batting:
2B: Michael Sprockett 1
HR: Cameron Benson 1
RBI: Tate Wargo 2 ; Cameron Benson 2 ; Nick Arrivo 1 ; Bryant Shellenbarger 1 ; Michael Sprockett 2 ; Jerry Reinhart 1
SH: Ian Pennington 1
SF: Tate Wargo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tate Wargo 1 ; Kaito Hara 1 ; Cameron Benson 2 ; Nick Arrivo 1 ; Michael Sprockett 2 ; Jerry Reinhart 1 ; Jackson Haas 1
HBP: Jackson Haas 1
Batting:
2B: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 1
3B: Huebbe, Brady 1
HR: Warkentin, Daniel 1
RBI: Warkentin, Daniel 3 ; Huebbe, Brady 4 ; Easter, Shane 1 ; Denton, Gabe 2
SH: Hugo, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 3 ; Huebbe, Brady 1 ; Easter, Shane 2 ; Gora, Eli 2 ; Hugo, Logan 1
SB: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Warkentin, Daniel 1 ; Easter, Shane 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
HBP: Gora, Eli 1
