Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
17-25, 0
Bowling Green
13-26, 0
Baseball Takes One from Bowling Green in Saturday Doubleheader
4/30/2022 7:38:00 PM | Baseball
Hopkins tallies a career-high four hits in EMU's victory
GAME 1 | Bowling Green 2, Eastern Michigan 1
GAME 2 | Eastern Michigan 6, Bowling Green 3
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team split a Saturday doubleheader with Bowling Green State University, April 30, inside Oestrike Stadium. With the one victory on Saturday, the Eagles (18-25, 12-15 MAC) cannot lose the series against the Falcons after winning the series opener on Friday night.
In game one, freshman Adam Falinski (Howell, Mich.-Detroit Catholic Central) had everything working on Saturday, fanning 11 Bowling Green hitters over seven innings of work, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan Eagles lost to the Falcons 2-1.
In addition to his 11 strikeouts, Falinski (4-5) threw seven innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on eight hits without allowing a free pass for Eastern.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford (Toledo)), who went 1-for-3 on the day with a double. Senior Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill-Las Salle-Peru (Northern Illinois)) tallied the lone RBI for EMU in the loss.
In game two, senior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) racked up four hits to help propel the Eastern Michigan Eagles over the Bowling Green Falcons, 6-3.
Senior Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee) (4-4) started on the mound and picked up the win for Eastern. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on seven hits, allowing two walks, and striking out six. Junior Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing two shutout innings while allowing no hits, with no walks and three strikeouts, tallying his second save of the season.
In addition to his four hits, Hopkins had an RBI to lead the Eagles. Kirk put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs. Huebbe also helped out for Eastern Michigan, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a home run and an RBI.
How It Happened - Game 1
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Taylor Hopkins came across to score the lone run of the inning for Eastern Michigan and get them on the board. The Eagles were unable to hold the lead, as Bowling Green scored two times over the remaining six innings to grab the 2-1 win.
Game Notes - Game 1
» Falinski fanned 11 Falcons hitters. The 11 K's ties a season-high for Falinski and ties the most an Eagle hurler has notched in a contest this season (Falinski - 11; Luke Russo (Howell, Mich.-Howell) - 11)
» Eastern Michigan pitchers limited Bowling Green to just 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 29 Bowling Green hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and three fly balls while striking out 11.
» Kirk led the Eagles at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a double. The extra-base hit was Kirk's team-leading 30th of the season.
How It Happened - Game 2
The Eagles were trailing 1-0 in the first inning when they first put runs on the board. Eastern Michigan scored three times, all of them coming across on a three-run homer off the bat of Kirk.
The Eagles then held the Falcons scoreless before expanding their lead in the third inning. Eastern Michigan picked up a run on Huebbe's leadoff home run, which brought the score to 4-1 in favor of the Eagles.
Bowling Green narrowed Eastern Michigan's lead to 4-3 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 6-3 in the eighth inning. Hopkins' run-scoring single highlighted a two-run output in the frame for the Eagles. The score remained 6-3 for the rest of the game, as Eastern Michigan held on for the win.
Game Notes - Game 2
» Hopkins collected four hits on the day for Eastern Michigan. The four base knocks tie a career-high for Hopkins (4 vs. St. Bonaventure, May 1, 2021). Additionally, the shortstop is just the fourth Eagle this season to tab four hits in a contest (Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Nebraska)), Kirk, and Warkentin).
» Fruit struck out six Falcons hitters.
» Kirk led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBI. The homer was the outfielder's Mid-American Conference-leading 12th round-tripper of the season. The left fielder now has 39 RBIs on the year, a mark that is tied for fourth-best in the MAC. Furthermore, it is Kirk's 11th multi-RBI game of the season.
» The Eagles power output was led by Kirk, who compiled two extra-base hits in the ballgame. The pair of extra-base hits was Kirk's team-leading 31st and 32nd of the season. The pair of hits also extends Kirk's hitting streak to six games.
» Huebbe's homer in the third inning was the senior's seventh of the season, a mark that ranks fourth among the Eagles.
» Eastern Michigan's highest-scoring inning was the first when it pushed three runs across.
» The Eagles out-hit the Falcons at a 12-7 clip. EMU is 14-4 when outhitting its opposition.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers limited Bowling Green to just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position. EMU pitchers faced 36 Bowling Green hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out nine
Historical Notes
» The 11 punch outs by Falinski in game one is tied for second in EMU's modern statistical history (1999-Pres.) for strikeouts in an outing (Falinski - 11, Russo - 11, and Ryan Lavoie, 11).
» With Huebbe's hit on Saturday, the senior has registered 97 career hits (51 hits with Northern Illinois). The center fielder is just three hits shy of the 100 career hits-mark.
Up Next
Eastern will look for the series win over Bowling Green Sunday, May 1, in the series finale. First pitch at Oestrike Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ABRAHAMOWICZ, Andrew (2-2)
L: Falinski, Adam (4-5)
Batting:
2B: JOHNSTON, Ryan 1
RBI: FURNAS, Adam 1 ; ROSS, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ARCHER, Nathan 1 ; FURNAS, Adam 1
Batting:
2B: Kirk, Matt 1
RBI: Huebbe, Brady 1
SH: Easter, Shane 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hopkins, Taylor 1
HBP: Oberg, Will 2 ; Gora, Eli 2
