Baseball Readies for Critical Weekend Series at Bowling Green

Baseball at Bowling Green
Date	Friday-Saturday, April 14-15
Venue	Steller Field \| Bowling Green, Ohio
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Listen	BGSU Falcon Media

BOWLING GREEN, OHIO (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will head to Bowling Green, Ohio for a three-game weekend series versus the Bowling Green State University Falcons, April 14-15. The Eagles will look to continue their offensive prowess as the Green and White are coming off a 2-0 series sweep of the Western Michigan University Broncos, where they outscored their cross-state foes, 34-15 in two games.
   The Falcons will aim to get their season back on track as they currently ride a five-game skid headed into this weekends' series, with their most recent loss being a 8-2 decision in favor of the Ohio State University Buckeyes, April 12.
   Last season, the Eagles took three games out of four at Oestrike Stadium versus the Falcons, April 29-May 1, 2022. Moreover, Eastern Michigan holds an 8-2 record in the previous 10 games of the series. Additionally, Eastern Michigan has won 11 straight series versus the Falcons since 2005.

HISTORIC OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE: Eastern's 21 runs scored against Western Michigan, April 11 are the most in the program since the Green and White shutout the West Virginia University Mountaineers, 23-0, in the second game of a doubleheader, March 20, 2010.

SEASON HIGH IN HOMERS: The Eagles sent six home runs over the walls of Robert J. Bobb Stadium in a 21-5 win over WMU, April 11. This marks the most home runs of the 2023 season for the Eagles, and the most since they homered eight times in a 19-4 victory over BGSU, May 1, 2022.

KRAFT KEEPS COOKIN': After having an amazing week last week, hitting .538 with a 1.000 slugging percentage, two homers, and seven RBIs, Darren Kraft continues to dominate the plate. The junior notched his first multi-homer game of his career, April 11, in a 21-5 win over WMU. Furthermore, the Mount Pleasant, S.C., native tied a career-high in both hits (3), and RBIs (4) in Tuesday's win. Kraft has now tallied both a hit and an RBI in his previous three games, by far the most productive stint offensively for the 6-foot-1 infielder in his collegiate career.

CAREER DAY FOR DOLNEY: After coming in to catch in the bottom of the fifth inning April 11, versus WMU. Aaron Dolney singled to right field to score Evan Sines and Taylor Hopkins in the top of the sixth inning. Dolney followed that up with a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning, scoring Darren Kraft, Blake McRae and Evan Sines. The homer marks Dolney's fifth this season, and 12th of his EMU career, while also being the first grand slam of the season for EMU. The Plymouth, Mich. native would end the day with a career-high in RBIs with six. Six RBIs is also the most from any individual Eagles batter in a single game this season, and the most since former Eagle Brady Huebbe also drove in six in a 15-8 win over Kent State University, May 21, 2022.

MULTIPLE SEASON HIGH'S IN ONE GAME: The Eagles set season-highs in multiple offensive statistics in Tuesday afternoon's 21-5 blowout of the Broncos, April 11. EMU set a season-high in home runs (6), runs scored (21), and RBIs (19). Today's team performance marks the most home runs from the Eagles since they blasted eight in a 19-4 win over Bowling Green State University, May 1, 2022. The Green and White also had 19 RBIs in that same game versus the Falcons.

HUGO'S FIRST TRIPLE: Logan Hugo sent a two-run shot over the center field wall against WMU, April 11. The home run scored Ryan Lux, marking the second homer of the season for the sophomore outfielder, and sixth of his collegiate career. Tuesday's performance marks the first multi-RBI game of the season for the Essexville, Mich. native, and the first since he drove in two runs in a 7-6 loss to the Michigan State University Spartans, April 20, 2022. Hugo continued his great play into the sixth inning where he blasted the first triple of his collegiate career to right-field. The sophomore outfielder would end the day with four RBIs, one off his career high as the then freshman drove in five runs in a 14-10 win over Miami University, April 10, 2022.

HOPKINS REACHES SEVEN IN 30: Taylor Hopkins got the Eagles offense humming in the bottom of the third with a two-run shot to right-center field in the bottom of the third inning to score Glenn Miller, April 12, in a 13-10 win over Western Michigan. The homer goes down as Hopkins' seventh of the season, and brings his RBI total up to 29 on the season. Additionally, Hopkins had seven homers the entirety of the 2022 season, meanwhile it took the Mason, Ohio native just 30 games this season to reach the seven home run mark.

KROSS GETS TWO IN ONE: Josh Kross singled through the right side to score Glenn Miller and Logan Hugo in the bottom of the fifth, April 12 versus the Broncos. Finishing the day 3-for-5 at the plate, Kross crushed two solo home runs with one each coming in the seventh and eighth inning. This marks the first baseman's first collegiate game with multiple home runs, joining Matt Kirk, Taylor Hopkins, Aaron Dolney, and Darren Kraft as the only Eagles to reach the multi-homer mark in a single game this season. The sophomore increased his team lead in hits to 44 and RBIs to 35. Lastly, this marks the Brunswick, Ohio native's second game with four RBIs this season, and his 11th overall game with multiple runs driven in, the most on the team.

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 full 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 had five players with a multi-hit game 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.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Eastern Michigan has had no problem finding second base this year. The Green and White average 2.03 doubles per contest in 2023, which ranks 83rd 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 T-19th 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.

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.

FUN RUN: Eastern Michigan is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the nation, ranking 35th nationally and third in the Mid-American Conference with 57 stolen bases this season. EMU is 31st nationally with a 1.90 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.

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 BGSU: EMU enters the series holding a 110-75 record versus the Falcons, and has had a surplus of success versus BGSU as of late as the Green and White have taken eight of their last ten games against the Falcons.

EMU TIES: BGSU Assistant Baseball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Matt Rembielak previously spent time at Eastern Michigan where he worked with EMU's hitters and outfielders. Also, previous Bowling Green Head Coach Danny Schmitz is a member of EMU's Hall of Fame. Schmitz earned four letters as a second baseman at Eastern Michigan between 1974-77. During his career at EMU, he played a big role in the Hurons (now Eagles) winning back-to-back MAC titles in 1975 and 1976, thus earning the right to host the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will return to Oestrike Stadium after their three game set versus Bowling Green to face the University of Akron Zips in a stand alone game Tuesday, April 18, at 3 p.m.

Baseball Readies for Critical Weekend Series at Bowling Green

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Players Mentioned

Aaron Dolney

Taylor Hopkins

Brady Huebbe

Logan Hugo

Matt Kirk

Darren Kraft

Josh Kross

Ryan Lux

Blake McRae

Glenn Miller

Luke Russo

Kyle Schroedle

Evan Sines

Eastern Michigan Athletics