Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
15-20
Michigan State
15-19
Baseball Loses Tightly-Contested Wednesday Night Clash with Michigan State
4/20/2022 9:44:00 PM | Baseball
Matt Kirk records his 11th homer of the season
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- An outstanding offensive output was not enough for Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night as the Eagles fell to Michigan State University, 7-6, inside McLane Stadium.
Freshman Brendan Alvord (Fenton, Mich.-Fenton) (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Eastern Michigan (15-20) and took the loss. Redshirt junior Zach Gillig (Valley Center, Kan.-Valley Center (Pratt)) was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing one scoreless inning, allowing no hits.
Junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford (Toledo)) led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a home run and an RBI. Freshman Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich.-Essexville Garber) compiled a standout effort as well, going 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Freshman Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day) also helped out, going 2-for-4 for Eastern Michigan with a double.
How It Happened
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the second inning. Eastern Michigan scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Hugo.
The Eagles then held the Spartans scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Eastern Michigan picked up a run on Kirk's two-out solo home run, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Eagles.
Michigan State narrowed Eastern Michigan's lead to 4-3 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 6-3 in the fifth inning. The Eagles were unable to hold the lead, as Michigan State scored four times over the remaining four innings to grab the 7-6 win.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the second, when it pushed three runs across.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 37 Michigan State hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and 13 fly balls while striking out three. The game saw five different EMU hurlers take the bump.
» Kirk led the Eagles at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. The dinger is the outfielder's 11th of the year. That mark is tied for a team-high (Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland), 11) and a Mid-American Conference lead. The homer also extends Kirk's hitting streak to six games.
» Hugo tallied a pair of RBIs on Wednesday night. It is the fourth time this season Hugo has earned multiple RBIs in a contest. Additionally, it is Hugo's 16th RBI on the year. Hugo's base knock extends his hitting streak to three games.
» Junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. The performance is Hopkins' ninth multi-hit game of the 2022 season.
Up Next
Eastern will continue its road run with a four-game series at the University of Toledo Friday, April 22. First pitch for Friday is slated for 12 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rush,Wyatt (2-2)
L: Alvord, Brendan (0-1)
S: Bischoff,Kyle (8)
Batting:
2B: Huebbe, Brady 1 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1
HR: Kirk, Matt 1
RBI: Easter, Shane 1 ; Kirk, Matt 1 ; Hugo, Logan 2 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
SF: Easter, Shane 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Huebbe, Brady 1 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Miller, Glenn 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
CS: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
HBP: Kirk, Matt 1
Batting:
2B: Jebb,Mitch 1 ; Ahn,Peter 1 ; Iverson,Zach 1 ; Walker,Zaid 1
RBI: Jebb,Mitch 1 ; Frank,Jack 2 ; Ahn,Peter 2 ; Broecker,Bryan 1 ; Walker,Zaid 1
SF: Frank,Jack 1 ; Ahn,Peter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jebb,Mitch 2 ; Farquhar,Trent 1 ; Frank,Jack 1 ; Kark,Dillon 1 ; Walker,Zaid 2
SB: Jebb,Mitch 1
CS: Mayes,Casey 1
HBP: Farquhar,Trent 1
