Baseball Rallies Late to Knock Off Oakland, 7-5

ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team rallied in the eighth inning to win in breathtaking fashion, earning a 7-5 non-conference victory over the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies Tuesday, March 28.

Senior Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross) (2-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Eastern Michigan (11-10). The left-hander went 1.2 shutout innings while giving up one hit, allowing no walks and striking out three.

In the batter's box, the Eagles were paced by senior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller), who went 3-for-4 on the day with two home runs, a walk and two RBI. Graduate student Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif.-University Prep-Crown College) furnished a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Sophomore Josh Kross (Brunswick, Ohio.-Brunswick-Toledo) also chipped in for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding an RBI.

How it Happened
The Eagles put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the fourth inning. Hopkins put Eastern Michigan on the board with a leadoff home run off freshman J. Easterlin.

The Eagles then held the Golden Grizzlies scoreless before expanding their lead in the sixth inning. Eastern Michigan picked up a run on Hopkins' one-out solo home run off of senior N. Stants, which brought the score to 2-0 in favor of the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan's lead had disappeared by the time the eighth inning came around and turned into a 5-2 Oakland advantage, when the Eagles tied up the game at five. The Eagles scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Schroedle that scored Hopkins and junior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville).

The game stayed tied until the very next inning, when Eastern Michigan got rolling again on offense. Kross' run-scoring single brought home one run in a two-run output for the Eagles, bringing the score to 7-5 in favor of Eastern Michigan. The score remained 7-5 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles held on for the win.

Game Notes
» Hopkins spearheaded the Eastern Michigan offense Tuesday afternoon as the 6-foot infielder hit two homeruns for the third time in his career, one in the fourth and sixth inning, respectively. Hopkins homered twice in the 2020 season opener versus St. Bonaventure, Feb. 15, 2020, along with two homers in a 5-1 win over Alma, April 27, 2022. The homers go down as the Mason, Ohio, native's fourth and fifth of the 2023 campaign and brings his career total up to 24. Hopkins finished the day with three hits, marking the third time this season Hopkins has tallied three hits in a single game as he accomplished the feat versus Towson on March 4, and against Western Michigan, March 18. Hopkins leads all current Eagles with 12 career games with three or more hits.
» Freshman pitcher Sam Reed (Carmel, Ind.-Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) had the best performance of his young collegiate career for the Eagles as the left-hander struck out a season high six batters on six hits and four runs in six innings of work. Reed's 6.0 IP in today's contest is the longest stint on the bump in his EMU career.
» Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day-Nebraska-Hillsborough C.C.) doubled to left field in the top-half of the seventh inning in today's contest. Today's double marks the second double of the 2023 season and the 14th of his EMU career.
» Schroedle came up big against Oakland, March 28. The Redding, Calif. native blasted a game-tying, three-run home run in the top half of the eighth inning. In addition to keeping EMU's comeback hopes alive, it marked the first home run of Schroedle's EMU career, and the team's third of the day. Schroedle finished the day with two hits, his first since EMU's game at Butler, March 21.
» Kross singled through the left-side of the infield in the top-half of the ninth inning to score Cole Wilcox (Shiocton, Wisc.-Shiocton-Lake County), giving the Eagles the late lead en route to their victory. The RBI goes down as Kross' 25 on the season, making him the first EMU batter to reach 25 driven in on the 2023 regular-season. Additionally, with two hits today, Kross tallied his 10 multi-hut game of the season, the most of any Eagle so far in the 2023 campaign.
» The Eagles hit three homeruns today, one off their season high of four that came versus Western Michigan, March 18. This marks the second time this season the Eagles have hit three homers as they sent three over the wall in an 8-3 win over Akron, March 11.

Historical Notes
» Eastern Michigan erased a three-run, 5-2 deficit to defeat Oakland, 7-5, March 28. The victory marked the fifth come-from-behind win of three or more runs this season by the Eagles, and first since it erased a five-run deficit to defeat Western Michigan, 12-11, March 18. Last season, EMU did not come back from any such deficits, and only came back from a deficit (one run or more) to win in six total games.
» Today's game marked the 47 all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Oakland. Eastern improved their record in the series with today's victory, making their all-time-record versus the Golden Grizzlies 29-18.

Up Next
The Eagles will make the trek out to Athens, Ohio. To take on the Bobcats in their fourth conference series of the 2023 campaign. The series will be a three-game set from March 31-April 2, with the first game slated to begin at 6 p.m. Friday evening.

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Team Stats

Taylor Hopkins

Josh Kross

Kyle Schroedle

Aaron Dolney

Players Mentioned

Aaron Dolney

Taylor Hopkins

Trevor House

Sam Reed

Cory Taylor

Cole Wilcox

Players Mentioned

Aaron Dolney

Taylor Hopkins

Trevor House

Sam Reed

Cory Taylor

Cole Wilcox

Eastern Michigan Athletics