Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
13-18, 0
Ohio
15-15, 0
Baseball Clipped by Ohio in Saturday Doubleheader
4/16/2022 7:33:00 PM | Baseball
Eastern looks to prevail in series finale Sunday afternoon
GAME 1 | Ohio 12, Eastern Michigan 4
GAME 2 | Ohio 14, Eastern Michigan 8
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped two games in a Saturday doubleheader featuring Ohio University inside Oestrike Stadium.
The Eagles fell in the first contest, 12-4, and dropped the backend of the doubleheader, 14-8.
Freshman Adam Falinski (Howell, Mich.-Detroit Catholic Central) (4-3) got the ball to start for Eastern Michigan (13-19-9-10 MAC) and took the loss in game one. Junior Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen and throwing 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing no hits, with one walk and one strikeout in his season debut.
In addition to his three hits, junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford (Toledo)) had a home run and two RBIs to lead the Eagles. Senior Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill.-La Salle-Peru (Northern Illinois)) added a home run and two RBIs to his three-hit performance as well.
In game two, senior Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee) struck out 11 Ohio hitters over 3.2 innings of work. In addition to his 11 strikeouts, Fruit (3-3) gave up eight runs, five earned, on eight hits and walking three for Eastern Michigan.
At the plate, the Eagles were paced by Kirk, who went 2-for-4 on the day with two doubles, a walk and two RBIs. Junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) furnished a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Huebbe also contributed for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding two doubles and two RBIs.
How It Happened - Game One
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Eastern Michigan got an RBI single from Huebbe, scoring Kirk from first base.
The Bobcats then rallied to score nine runs and take a 9-1 lead before the Eagles got back on the board in the fifth. Eastern Michigan scored three times, with an output that included back-to-back homers from Kirk and Huebbe, which brought the score to 9-4 in favor of the Bobcats. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as Ohio added three runs to their tally on the way to a 12-4 final.
Game Notes - Game One
» The Eagles got three-hit games from both Kirk and Huebbe. The performance is Kirk's 14th multi-hit game of the season and his eighth multi-RBI contest. Kirk added his 10th homer of the season while Huebbe earned his fourth. As for Huebbe, the three base knocks is his 11th multi-hit game of the season and his fifth multi-RBI game on the year.
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 40 Ohio hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and five fly balls while striking out nine.
» Kirk led the Eagles at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI.
» Huebbe and Kirk hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth. It is the second time this season Eastern has hit back-to-back jacks. Kirk and Warkentin did so against Western Michigan, April 2.
How It Happened - Game Two
The Eagles were trailing 2-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. Eastern Michigan plated a run on a based-loaded walk by sophomore Glenn Miller (Pentwater, Mich.-Pentwater (Spring Arbor)).
The Bobcats expanded their lead to 8-1 before the Eagles offense got back to work, cutting into that lead in the fourth. Freshman Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day) came across to score the lone run of the inning for Eastern Michigan, which tightened the Bobcats lead to 8-2.
Eastern Michigan held the Bobcats off the scoreboard before narrowing the gap to 8-4 in the fifth. The Eagles scored two runs off of Ohio pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Huebbe.
The Bobcats expanded their lead to 10-4 before the Eastern Michigan offense got back in gear, cutting into that lead in the sixth. The three-run frame for the Eagles was punctuated by a two-RBI double from Kirk, tightening the Ohio lead to 10-7.
Ohio built on their lead to 14-7 before the Eagles offense got rolling, reducing that lead to 14-8 in the ninth. Eastern Michigan picked up a run on Denton's leadoff home run. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.
Game Notes - Game Two
» Fruit struck out a career-best 11 Bobcat hitters. The 11 K's is tied for a game-high by an Eagles pitcher this season (Falinski, 11; Luke Russo (Howell, Mich.-Howell). Fruit also made a notable occurrence in the game when he struck out 10 batters in the first three innings of the game.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 50 Ohio hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out 12.
» Eastern Michigan got multiple extra-base hits from both Huebbe and Kirk. The performance is Kirk's 15th multi-hit game of the season and his ninth multi-RBI contest. As for Huebbe, the two base knocks is his 12th multi-hit game of the season and his sixth multi-RBI game on the year.
» Four Eastern Michigan hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame (Kirk 2, Huebbe 2, Dolney 2, Denton 2).
» Denton notched his ninth homer of the season in the nightcap.
Historical Notes
» Captain Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) tallied a base hit in each contest on Saturday. The pair of hits gives the corner infielder 99 career hits while donning the Green and White. Easter needs just one hit to hit the 100-hit mark.
Up Next
The Eagles will stay at home to play against the Bobcats Sunday, April 17, in the series finale. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. inside Oestrike Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tate, Jacob (2-3)
L: Falinski, Adam (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Rausch, AJ 1 ; Kasperbauer, Colin 1 ; Baker, Cael 1
3B: Kasperbauer, Colin 1
HR: Baker, Cael 1
RBI: Peterson, Isaiah 2 ; Rausch, AJ 1 ; Kasperbauer, Colin 2 ; Minzey, Mason 1 ; Harbert, Spencer 1 ; Sturek, Will 1 ; Richardson, Michael 1 ; Baker, Cael 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Peterson, Isaiah 2 ; Rausch, AJ 1 ; Kasperbauer, Colin 2 ; Minzey, Mason 2 ; Harbert, Spencer 1 ; Richardson, Michael 2 ; Baker, Cael 2
SB: Harbert, Spencer 1 ; Sturek, Will 1
Batting:
HR: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Huebbe, Brady 1
RBI: Kirk, Matt 2 ; Huebbe, Brady 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Warkentin, Daniel 1 ; Kirk, Matt 2 ; Huebbe, Brady 1
