Baseball Set to Face Western Michigan in Midweek Home-and-Home

Baseball at/vs Western Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Aprill 11 \| Wednesday, April 12
Venue	Robert J. Bobb Stadium (Kalamazoo, Mich.) \| Oestrike Stadium (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Tuesday Stats \| Wednesday Stats
Watch	Tuesday - Bronco All-Access \| Wednesday - Eagle All-Access

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will look to take a pair of games against in-state and Mid-American Conference foe, Western Michigan University, when the two teams tangle in a home-and-home Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12. Game one of the midweek double-dip is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday in Kalamazoo, Mich. Game two will be played Wednesday, April 12, at 6 p.m. inside Oestrike Stadium.
   Eastern (13-15, 5-10 MAC) is coming off an 8-1 victory against Miami University, April 9, while Western (9-20, 6-6 MAC) defeated the University of Akron, 12-7, the same day.
   Both games will be streamed. Fans can catch Tuesday's action on Bronco All-Access, while Wednesday's game will be streamed on Eagle All-Access and through the Varsity Network App. Coverage for Wednesday's contest will begin at 5:45 p.m.

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?: The midweek games between EMU and WMU will not count towards Mid-American Conference records or standings. The games were scheduled by the institutions to serve as normal midweek contests and are separate for league-scheduled play. The games will count towards the teams' overall records. Eastern and Western previously played an official MAC series, March 18-19, in which the Eagles took two of the three games.

FIVE-TIME FACE-OFF: Eastern and Western will play its fourth and fifth games of the season as like opponents this week. It marks the first time the squads have played five games against one another in a season since 2017, when the rivals matched up three times in regular-season play, April 21-23, before meeting twice in the MAC Tournament, May 24 and May 26.
   Western earned three wins that season over EMU, but it was the Eagles who bested the Broncos in the most important matchup, defeating WMU, 12-6, to end Western's season and move on to the MAC Tournament semifinal round.
   Prior to 2017, the teams had not matched up five times in a season since 1999, when the Eagles and Broncos played five regular-season contests, all at Oestrike Stadium.

TURN UP THE LIGHTS IN HERE, BABY: EMU and WMU will play at 6 p.m. Wednesday, the first "true" night game of the season for EMU. Last season, the Eagles were 1-2 in games that featured a first pitch at 6 p.m. or later.

KRAFT'S BIG WEEK: Junior Darren Kraft had a breakout week for the Eagles in four games against Akron, April 4, and Miami, April 7-9. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native boasted a .538 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage, adding seven hits, two home runs, seven RBIs, and 13 total bases for Eastern Michigan. All of those numbers were team-highs for the Green and White, and personal bests for Kraft in a four-game stretch. The 6-foot-1 infielder played a pivotal role in EMU's win over Miami Sunday, April 9, as he went 2-for-3 from the plate with four RBIs, a run scored, and a walk. Kraft blew the game open with a three-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving the Eagles a 7-1 lead after four innings of play. The Eagles cruised their way through the remainder of the contest, eventually winning, 8-1.
   Kraft's four RBIs in a game tie for the second-most in a single game by an Eagle this season. Prior to the performance, he had just one multi-RBI game in two years at EMU, which came earlier in the week at Akron (2). Additionally, he has six RBIs in his last four games. He previously had six total RBIs in 21 career games heading into last week.

ROCKIN' RUSSO: Senior right-hander Luke Russo was outstanding against Miami, April 9. The Howell, Mich. native went a career-high 7.0 innings on the mound, surrendering just two hits and one earned run en route to his team-best fourth win of the season. He tallied a season-best nine strikeouts along the way, which is also a game-high by any Eastern hurler this season. Prior to his Easter Sunday-win, Russo's previous best outing in terms of length was six innings, which came against Ohio University, April 17, 2022. He had not recorded nine or more strikeouts since April 11, 2022, when he sat down a career-high 11 RedHawks in a game against Miami.

AMONG THE MAC'S BEST: Luke Russo currently slots in the top-10 in numerous Mid-American Conference pitching categories. (See PDF for Chart)

THE RUNS RETURNED: Eastern Michigan produced eight runs Sunday, April 9, the most in a league game since it scored 14 against Western Michigan, March 19. It marked the 10th performance of the season with eight or more runs scored, but just the second in the last 12 games for the team.
   Moreover, Eastern scored six runs in the fourth inning, marking the 13th time this season that the Green and White have tallied four or more runs in a single frame. It was the first time accomplishing the feat since that same game against WMU. The six-run frame was is the second-highest single-inning total for Eastern this season. EMU scored seven runs in the third inning against the Broncos in that March 19 matchup.

MASHING MILLER: Senior Glenn Miller got back on track at the dish against Miami, April 9, going 3-for-5 with a pair of extra-base hits (home run, double). He now has nine EBH this season, a single-season career-high after notching six during the 2022 campaign. Moreover, he has a career-best two home runs this season, and now has three multi-hit games with three or more hits this season. He is one of just three Eagles to a have a three-hit game this season.

GOOD EYE, KYLE: Kyle Schroedle drew three walks against Miami, April 9. That matches the EMU single-game high this season. Matt Kirk walked three times at the University of Evansville, Feb. 27.
FIVE WITH A PAIR: Five Eagles tallied multi-hit games on Easter Sunday. It marked the first time EMU has seen five multi-hit performances in a game since the same number accomplished the feat at Butler University, March 21.

LAW OFFICES OF KIRK AND KROSS: The duo of Matt Kirk and Josh Kross continue to be one of the best offensive pairings in the Mid-American Conference this season. Together, the two occupy numerous top-10 marks among league hitters. (See PDF for Chart)

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Eastern Michigan has had no problem finding second base this year. The Green and White average 2.11 doubles per contest in 2023, which ranks 60th in the nation. Eastern averaged just 1.8 doubles per game a season ago.

MORE DOUBLE TROUBLE: One season after leading the nation in doubles (25), Matt Kirk is pacing towards similar numbers in 2023. The Milford, Ohio native ranks 17th in the nation and first in the MAC with 14 doubles this season. He ranks fourth in the nation with a doubles per game average of 0.50.

FUN RUN: Eastern Michigan is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the nation, ranking 20th nationally and second in the Mid-American Conference with 50 stolen bases this season. EMU is 20th nationally with a 2.08 steals per game average. Last season, EMU was 157th in the country with just 52 stolen bags for the season, a 0.96 steals per game average.

GOOD EYE GLENN: Glenn Miller is one of the hardest players in the nation to strike out in 2023. The second-year Eagle has fanned just once every 12.3 at bats this season, the 35th-best figure in the nation.

EASTERN ON EASTER: After its 8-1 win over Miami, April 9, EMU holds a 3-3 record when playing on Easter Sunday under Head Coach Eric Roof. Last season, EMU bested Ohio in a 3-1 decision at Oestrike Stadium where Gabe Denton sent a two-run homer to left-center to secure the win for the Green and White.

COMEBACK KIDS: EMU has come back to win four games when trailing by four or more runs this season. The most recent came against WMU, March 18, when the Eagles erased a five-run deficit to secure a 12-11 victory. 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.

ALL-TIME AGAINST WMU: EMU and WMU will meet for the 191st and 192nd times, respectively, Tuesday-Wednesday. Western leads the all-time series by a record of 97-93. The Eagles have played the Broncos more than any other team in program history (190). EMU's second most common opponent is the University of Michigan (188).

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan heads to Bowling Green, Ohio for a pivotal Mid-American Conference series against the Falcons of Bowling Green State University, Friday-Sunday, April 14-16.

Baseball Set to Face Western Michigan in Midweek Home-and-Home

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Players Mentioned

Gabe Denton

Matt Kirk

Darren Kraft

Josh Kross

Glenn Miller

Luke Russo

Kyle Schroedle

Eastern Michigan Athletics