Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
21-32, 0
Kent State
22-28, 0
Baseball Clipped by Kent State Thursday Night
5/19/2022 10:33:00 PM | Baseball
Matt Kirk blasted his team and MAC-leading 16th home run of the season during the contest
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell to Kent State University, 6-5, Thursday night in Kent, Ohio.
Senior Thomas House (Ross, Ohio-Ross) was mowing batters down on Thursday, striking out 10 Kent State hitters over six innings of work. In addition to his 10 strikeouts, House went six innings, giving up three runs, on two hits and walking two for Eastern Michigan (21-32, 15-22 MAC).
Offensively, the Eagles were led by junior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-MIlford (Toledo)), who went 2-for-3 on the day with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Freshman Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Nebraska)) compiled a noteworthy effort as well, going 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, a walk and an RBI.
How It Happened
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, starting in the fifth inning. Miller came across to score the lone run of the inning for Eastern Michigan and get them on the board.
The Eagles then held the Golden Flashes scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Eastern Michigan scored twice on Kirk's two-run homer, which brought the Eagles lead to 3-0.
Eastern Michigan's lead had disappeared by the time the eighth inning arrived and turned into a 5-3 Kent State advantage, when the Eagles tied up the game at five. The Eagles notched two runs in the frame, punctuated with an RBI triple off the bat of Dolney. Kent State then scored one time over the remaining one inning to break the tie and grab the 6-5 win.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Four Eastern Michigan hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 32 Kent State hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out 11.
» Kirk blasted his team and Mid-American Conference-leading 16th home run of the season during the contest. He has hit home runs in consecutive games for the first time since April 15 and 16, when he blasted long balls in a pair of games against Ohio University.
» House put together one of the best outings of his career. The Ross, Ohio native recorded 10 strikeouts, a career-best mark. His previous high water mark was six, which he accomplished five times, including four this season.
» House's 6.0 innings pitched mark consecutive appearances of six-or-more frames hurled. It is the first such pair of games for House since April 9th and 15th, when he went 6.0 and 7.0 innings in appearances against Miami and Ohio, respectively.
» Dolney lined his third triple of the season, all in the last six games, to move into a tie for the team lead in that category (Huebbe – 3). Dolney now has 15 multiple-hit games, the fourth-most of any player on the team.
» Kirk added another multiple-hit contest to his resume, his 22nd of the season. That number, which leads the team, is the most by any Eastern Michigan player since 2019, when Zachary Owings notched 26 games of the kind.
» With his home run, the 16th of the season, Kirk moved into a tie for seventh all-time in single-season home runs at Eastern Michigan. Ryan Goleski hit a program-best 22 during the 2002 campaign.
» Kirk is the first Eagle to hit 16 home runs in a season since 2009, when a pair of EMU players hit the mark (Andrew Marshall – 18, Matt Skirving – 16). Overall, he is just the ninth player in program history to hit the mark during a single season.
» House's 10 strikeouts are tied for third all-time in a single game by an Eastern Michigan pitcher (record kept since 1999). Seven other players have hit that mark during the aforementioned span.
Up Next
Eastern continues its clash with the Golden Flashes in a Friday doubleheader, May 20. First pitch for game one is set to begin at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Romel, Collin (5-4)
L: Reinkall, Justin (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Huebbe, Brady 1
3B: Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Miller, Glenn 1
HR: Kirk, Matt 1
RBI: Kirk, Matt 2 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Oberg, Will 1 ; Easter, Shane 1
SF: Oberg, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Warkentin, Daniel 1 ; Kirk, Matt 2 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Miller, Glenn 1
Batting:
HR: Kirby, Justin 2
RBI: Kirby, Justin 4 ; Casey, Jacob 1 ; Pennington, Payton 1
SH: Timbrook, Mack 1
SF: Casey, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathews, Collin 1 ; Kirby, Justin 2 ; Miknis, Justin 1 ; Johnson, Josh 1 ; Casey, Jacob 1
CS: Casey, Jacob 1
HBP: Ashby, Connor 1
