Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
2-4
Evansville
2-5
Baseball Falls, 5-3, in Series Finale at Evansville
2/26/2023 5:22:00 PM | Baseball
The Green and White got home runs off the bats of McRae and Taylor in the setback
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team put together an admirable performance on Sunday, Feb. 26, but ultimately came up short, losing to the Evansville University Purple Aces by the score of 5-3 inside Charles H. Braun Stadium.
Junior Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio-St. Xavier-Xavier) (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Eastern Michigan (2-4, 0-0 MAC) and took the loss. Sophomore Cam'Ron McCoy (St. Louis, Mo.-St. Mary's) was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing one shutout inning, allowing one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts.
Senior Blake McRae (Armada, Mich.-Romeo-Lansing C.C.) led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-4 in the ballgame with a home run and two RBIs. Junior Corey Taylor (Shelbville, Ind.-Shelbyville) put together a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
How it Happened
The Eagles were trailing 3-0 in the fifth inning when they first put runs on the board. Eastern Michigan's offense produced a three-run output that included home runs from both McRae and Taylor. Evansville then scored two times over the remaining four innings to break the tie and grab the 5-3 win.
Game Notes
» Evansville scored the first run of today's contest, marking the first game this season in which Eastern Michigan failed to tally the first run. It ended a five-game stretch for EMU to begin the 2023 season, its longest stretch securing the first run of a game at any point since the 2021 season, when it did so in five straight games between April 18-May 7, against Ball State University (one game), St. Bonaventure (one game), the University of Toledo (one game), and Bowling Green State University (two games).
» McRae and Taylor each blasted a homer for the Eagles in the top-half of the fifth inning. For McRae, it was the first hit and long-ball of his Eastern Michigan career, and the third time sending one deep for Taylor. Furthermore, it is the first time EMU has hit two home runs in the same inning since Matt Kirk and Aaron Dolney went back-to-back versus Central Michigan University, May 15, 2022.
» EMU newcomer Joe Grassi (Hollidaysburg, Pa-Hollidaysburg Area-Harford C.C.) made his second go-around on the bump this afternoon for the Green and White. Grassi struck out one Evansville batter and allowed one hit to the Purple Aces Sunday afternoon. The strikeout goes down as Grassi's first as an Eagle and the lone hit allowed set an EMU career-best for the Holidaysburg, Pa. native.
» In his first appearance of the 2023 campaign, sophomore McCoy struck out two Evansville batters, marking a career-high for strikeouts in a single game for the six-foot-one right-hander.
Historical Notes
» Eastern Michigan falls to 1-3 in its all-time series against the Purple Aces. Prior to this weekend's set, EMU and Evansville had met just once prior, in 1999. The result was 10-2 in favor of the Purple Aces.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan returns to action Friday-Sunday, March 3-5, with a series at Towson University in Towson, Md. First pitch Friday is set for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Shane Harris (1-1)
L: Jones, Bobby (0-1)
S: John MacCauley (1)
Batting:
HR: McRae, Blake 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
RBI: McRae, Blake 2 ; Taylor, Cory 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kraft, Darren 1 ; McRae, Blake 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
SB: Wilcox, Cole 1
HBP: Kross, Josh 1
Batting:
3B: Brent Widder 1 ; Ty Rumsey 1
HR: Brendan Hord 1
RBI: Kip Fougerousse 1 ; Brent Widder 1 ; Eric Roberts 1 ; Brendan Hord 2
SH: Brent Widder 1 ; Ty Rumsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chase Hug 1 ; Simon Scherry 1 ; Eric Roberts 1 ; Danny Borgstrom 1 ; Brendan Hord 1
SB: Simon Scherry 1 ; Eric Roberts 2
HBP: Brendan Hord 1 ; Ty Rumsey 1
