Baseball to Meet Alma at Comerica Park Wednesday

Baseball at Alma
Date	Wednesday, April 27 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Comerica Park \| Detroit, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Game Notes (PDF)
Listen	Eagle All-Access
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will look to get back on track this Wednesday, April 27, as the Eagles will battle Alma College inside Comerica Park. First pitch inside the Detroit Tigers' stomping grounds is set for 7 p.m.
   Eastern's (15-24, 10-14 MAC) most recent series saw it drop four contests at the University of Toledo, just the second time Eastern has been swept this season. Meanwhile, Alma (9-20, 6-6 MIAA) is coming off a 16-5 loss to Kalamazoo College.
   Coverage of the contest will begin at 6:50 p.m. via Eagle All-Access where Greg Steiner and Alex Jewell will have the call. Fans can follow the action via live stats by visiting EMUEagles.com/livestats. The team's official Twitter account, @EMU_Baseball, will also provide inning-by-inning updates.

MATT'S BAT: Junior Matt Kirk has some of the best numbers in the Mid-American Conference this season. The Milford, Ohio native is first in the league in home runs (tied - 11), doubles (18), and slugging percentage (.665), and ranks inside the league's top-10 in hits (3rd - 54), OBP + slugging (3rd - 1.064), and RBIs (6th - 35).
   Kirk has tabbed a hit in nine of his last 10 games, batting 15-for-35 (.429), including three home runs and 11 RBIs.
   The outfielder finished with an RBI on a double in the fifth inning on Sunday, April 24, versus Toledo. The extra-base hit is Kirk's team-leading 29th of the season. Furthermore, the run batted in is the outfielder's 35th on the year, a mark that also paces the Eagles.

HUEBBE IS HOT: Eastern Michigan got a two-homer day from senior Brady Huebbe in the series finale against Toledo, April 24. The pair of dingers were Huebbe's fifth and sixth, respectively, of the 2022 campaign. The outfielder now has 11 career home runs. Additionally, it is Huebbe's first career multi-homer game.
   With the two home runs, Huebbe is the first Eagle to hit multiple homers in a game since teammate Daniel Warkentin tallied a pair of round-trippers in his historic series versus Akron, March 26.

DROPPIN' TANKS: EMU hit five more home runs in its weekend games against Toledo, April 22-24. Eastern Michigan has hit 53 home runs in its first 39 games of the 2022 season. That number equates to a 1.36 home runs per game average. EMU has not had a season with a home runs per game average better than 1.0 since 2009, when the Eagles belted 100 total homers, a 1.67 per game average.
   EMU leads the MAC in total home runs (53). Moreover, the Eagles rank 41st in the nation in dingers and 49th in home runs per game. Junior Matt Kirk and senior Daniel Warkentin pace the Mid-American Conference with 11 homers apiece (four-way tie). Senior Gabe Denton ranks fifth in the conference with 10 round-trippers.

HITTING THE 100-MARK: With a base hit on Sunday, April 17, senior captain Shane Easter tabbed his 100th career hit donning the Green and White. He now has 37 hits on the season for Eastern Michigan, which is the third-highest mark on the team.
   Classmate Brady Huebbe is also closing in on 100 career hits, as the outfielder is sitting at 94 career hits following the series at Toledo, April 22-24. Junior Matt Kirk sits at 75 career hits with 54 of those hits coming this season.

DANNY DEEPSHOTS: Senior Daniel Warkentin blasted three home runs in the four-game series versus Miami, April 9-11. The weekend performance included a homer in three consecutive games for the second baseman. Warkentin is tied for the team lead and conference lead in total home runs (11) this season.
   Warkentin blasted five home runs in the four-game series versus Akron, March 25-26. The weekend performance earned Warkentin his first career Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honor, March 29.
   He is the first Eastern Michigan player to hit five deep shots in a four-game stretch since the 2009 season, when Jim Gulliver did it between May 8-12. The senior finished the weekend 7-for-17 with 10 RBIs on five homers, including 10 runs scored and three walks. Warkentin has recorded two multi-home run games this season.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Captain Shane Easter is third on the team with 37 hits this season. Additionally, Easter is fourth on the team in RBIs (26) and third in doubles (8). Furthermore, the captain has started all 39 games this season and has a fielding percentage of .993.
   In the series finale against Miami, April 11, Easter drove in four runs for Eastern Michigan. The four RBIs tie a career-high for the captain (4 at Austin Peay, Feb. 15, 2020). It was Easter's fourth multi-RBI game of the 2022 season.

NABBING BASES: On the basepaths, sophomore Cory Taylor stole two bases in Sunday's game at Toledo, April 24. The two stolen bases were the first of the season for Taylor. Additionally, the two stolen bags is just the second time this season an Eagle has tabbed multiple steals in a game this season (Brady Huebbe - 3 vs. Akron, March 26).

GOOD EYE!: The Eagles have been disciplined at the plate as the Green and White are second in the Mid-American Conference in fewest strikeouts (263). Additionally, EMU owns the league lead in home runs (53).

SCORING IN BUNCHES: EMU scored four runs in the fifth inning of its game at Toledo, April 24. The Eagles have scored four-or-more runs in a single inning 18 times this season.

EMU BATS TOP THE MAC: Two Eagles lead the team and the league with 11 homers as senior Daniel Warkentin and junior Matt Kirk pace Eastern. Additionally, only five student-athletes in the Mid-American Conference have totaled double-digit homers thus far, three of which reside on Eastern's roster (Gabe Denton - 10).
   Additionally, Kirk (1st - .665) and Warkentin (2nd - .649) top the MAC in slugging percentage.

HISTORY AT COMERICA PARK: Wednesday will be the second time the Eagles have played at Comerica Park. The last meeting in Detroit came against Michigan State University, May 11, 2016. EMU fell to MSU 2-3 in the late-season non-conference matchup.
   Eastern was scheduled to meet the Spartans at Comerica Park in 2020, but the contest was canceled due to COVID-19. EMU and MSU were scheduled to meet inside the aforementioned Tigers Stadium in 2018 but the game was also canceled, due to rain.

TIGER TIES: An 18th round draft selection in the 2009 MLB Draft, Head Coach Eric Roof has ties in the Detroit Tigers organization. Roof played three seasons in the minor leagues (2009-11) for the Tigers organization. He began his professional career in 2009 with the Oneonta Tigers in the Class A New York-Penn League before playing in the New York-Penn League for the Connecticut Tigers in 2010 as well as the West Michigan Whitecaps in the Class A Midwest League. Wrapping up his playing career in 2011, Roof appeared in 40 games with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A Advanced Florida State League.
   EMU's Director of Player Personnel Gene Roof also has ties to the Tigers ballclub. Gene was the first base coach for the Tigers from 1992-95 and then spent 20 seasons as Detroit's outfield and base running coordinator (2001-20).

HISTORY AT OESTRIKE: Opening in 1971, Oestrike Stadium will hold its 51st season of baseball inside the park in 2022. EMU holds a 550-414-2 all-time record at the venue, and has compiled just 12 losing seasons at Oestrike since its opening.
   The home of EMU baseball is named after legendary EMU baseball head coach Ron Oestrike, who led the Green and White from 1965-87, winning an NAIA national championship and four Mid-American Conference titles during his tenure leading the Green and White.

HISTORY VERSUS ALMA: Eastern Michigan holds a 37-10 advantage over Alma in the all-time series. The Eagles and the Scots have played one another since March 19, 2011. In that meeting, EMU defeated Alma 7-6 in extras.
   Eastern won on a walk-off single by former Eagle Robert Wendzicki. Junior Ken Battiston turned in a monster day at the plate, going 5-for-5 in the leadoff spot with a pair of triples and trio of singles to go along with an RBI and three runs scored in the victory.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan hosts Bowling Green State University in a four-game set inside Oestrike Stadium, April 29-May 1.

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Players Mentioned

Gabe Denton

Shane Easter

Brady Huebbe

Matt Kirk

Cory Taylor

Daniel Warkentin

Eastern Michigan Athletics