Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
10-9, 0
Ball State
16-6, 0
Kirk Tabs Three Extra-Base Hits, EMU Falls to Ball State
3/25/2023 6:38:00 PM | Baseball
The series concludes Sunday, March 26 at 1 p.m.
Re-Watch the Game | Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Graduate student Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio.-Milford-Cypress-Toledo) collected three extra-base hits, but the Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell to the Ball State University Cardinals, 16-5, Saturday, March 25 inside Oestrike Stadium.
Junior Nick Chittum (Grosse Ile, Mich.-Grosse Ile) (1-1) started and took the loss on the mound for Eastern Michigan (10-9, 4-4 MAC). Senior Gavin King (Bluffton, ind.-Bluffton-Kankakee C.C.) was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit, walking two and striking out three.
Kirk's three extra-base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-3 day, and included two doubles, a home run, two walks and two RBIs. Senior Ryan Lux (Shelby Twp., Mich.-Stevenson) put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Junior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville) also chipped in for the Eagles, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding a double and a walk.
How it Happened
The Eagles were trailing 2-0 in the first inning when they first put runs on the board. Eastern Michigan scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Lux.
The Eagles lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the sixth trailing 11-3. Eastern Michigan scored once on an RBI-single off the bat of sophomore Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich.-Essexville Garber), which brought the score to 11-4 in favor of the Cardinals.
Eastern Michigan kept the Cardinals off the board before narrowing the gap to 11-5 in the seventh. The Eagles picked up a run on Kirk's leadoff home run off senior Tanner Knapp. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as Ball State added five runs to their tally on the way to a 16-5 final.
Game Notes
» Kirk recorded an RBI-double in the first inning to get Eastern Michigan on the board. With the double, Kirk is the first Eastern Michigan player this season to reach 10 doubles. In addition to his double, Kirk homered in the bottom of the seventh for his fifth long-ball of the season and doubled to left-field in the bottom of the ninth, marking the first time this season he has recorded three extra-base hits in a game and the second time in his career. The lefty recorded three extra-base hits against Northern Illinois University, May 8, 2022.
» Lux produced on the offense for Eastern Michigan with two RBIs on a single to center field. Lux now has six RBIs on the season, which is more than the previous two seasons he played at Eastern combined.
» Taylor drilled a double to deep left-field in the bottom of the sixth inning, marking his fifth double of the 2023 campaign. Taylor is currently tied for third in doubles this season by EMU hitters, and is one of four Eagles that have recorded five or more doubles this season. Kirk leads the way with 11.
» Hugo knocked a single through the middle of the infield in the bottom of the sixth to score Taylor. This marks Hugo's fourth RBI of the season and his first since he doubled to left field to score Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day-Nebraska-Hillsborough C.C.) in an 8-7 victory over the University of Akron, March 10.
» Dylan Wolf (Joliet, Ill.-Joliet West-Kankakee C.C.) had a career stint on the mound Saturday afternoon for the Green and White. After coming in to relieve Joe Grassi (Holidaysburg, Pa.-Holidaysburg Area-Harford C.C.) in the top of the sixth, Wolff tossed an EMU-career-high three strikeouts. His previous best was one, which he accomplished three times previous to today's outing.
» Senior Gavin King (Bluffton, Ind.-Bluffton-Kankakee C.C.) entered the game in the top-half of the ninth inning and proceeded to strikeout the side, marking a EMU-career high for the 6-foot-3 right hander with three strikeouts on no runs or hits.
Historical Notes
» This afternoon's contest marked the 78th all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Cardinals. After today's result, Ball State leads the all-time series 48-30.
Up Next
The Eagles will return to Oestrike Stadium for one more game to close out the homestand against the Cardinals, Sunday March 26. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m., and fans can tune in to Eagle All-Access and can follow all the action on EMUEagles.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ty Johnson (3-1)
L: Chittum, Nick (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Adam Tellier 1 ; Decker Scheffler 2 ; Blake Bevis 1
3B: Adam Tellier 1 ; Hunter Dobbins 1 ; Justin Conant 1
HR: Ryan Peltier 1
RBI: Nick Gregory 2 ; Jalen Martinez 1 ; Adam Tellier 1 ; Ryan Peltier 4 ; Aiden Hinds 1 ; Andrew Wilhite 1 ; Casey Turturici 1 ; Decker Scheffler 1 ; Justin Conant 1
SF: Nick Gregory 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Gregory 1 ; Adam Tellier 3 ; Ryan Peltier 3 ; Matthew Rivera 1 ; Decker Scheffler 2 ; Blake Bevis 1 ; Hunter Dobbins 2 ; CJ Horn 1 ; Justin Conant 1 ; Dylan Grego 1
SB: Ryan Peltier 1
HBP: Nick Gregory 1 ; Ryan Peltier 2 ; Matthew Rivera 1 ; Blake Bevis 1
Batting:
2B: Kirk, Matt 2 ; Taylor, Cory 1
HR: Kirk, Matt 1
RBI: Kirk, Matt 2 ; Lux, Ryan 2 ; Hugo, Logan 1
SF: Lux, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Kirk, Matt 2 ; Kross, Josh 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
SB: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Wilcox, Cole 1
CS: Wilcox, Cole 1
HBP: Kross, Josh 1
