Baseball Hosts Alma at Comerica Park Tuesday

Baseball vs. Alma College
Date	Tuesday, April 25 \| 6:30 p.m.
Venue	Comerica Park (Detroit, Mich.)
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Listen	Eagle All-Access

DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team is set to host Alma College in a non-conference affair in Downtown Detroit Tuesday, April 25. The game, which will be played inside Comerica Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers, will get underway at 6:30 p.m.
   Fans can attend the game for just $10 at the gate, which will open at 5:30 p.m. No advance sales will take place. Once inside, fans should keep in mind that Comerica Park is a cash-free facility. All major forms of debit and credit cards are accepted. Additionally, prepaid debit cards can be purchased with cash (to be used on concessions, etc.) in various locations throughout the stadium.
   The game will be aired on Eagle All-Access and on the Varsity Network app. As always, Greg Steiner and Alex Jewell will bring you all the action, starting 15 minutes prior to first pitch, at 6:15 p.m.

HISTORY AT COMERICA PARK: Tuesday will be the third time the Eagles have played at Comerica Park. The last meeting in Detroit came against Alma, April 27, 2022, a game EMU won, 5-2. Eastern's inaugural trip to Comerica saw the team battle Michigan State University, May 11, 2016. EMU fell to MSU, 3-2, in the late-season non-conference matchup.
Eastern was scheduled to meet the Spartans at Comerica Park in 2020, but the contest was canceled due to COVID-19. EMU and MSU were scheduled to meet inside the aforementioned Tigers Stadium in 2018 but the game was also canceled, due to rain.

TIGER TIES: An 18th-round draft selection by Detroit in the 2009 MLB Draft, Head Coach Eric Roof has ties in the Detroit Tigers organization. Roof played three seasons in the minor leagues (2009-11) for the Tigers organization. He began his professional career in 2009 with the Oneonta Tigers in the Class A New York-Penn League before playing in the New York-Penn League for the Connecticut Tigers in 2010 as well as the West Michigan Whitecaps in the Class A Midwest League. Wrapping up his playing career in 2011, Roof appeared in 40 games with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A Advanced Florida State League.
EMU's Director of Player Personnel Gene Roof also has ties to the Tigers ball club. Gene was the first base coach for the Tigers from 1992-95 and then spent 20 seasons as Detroit's outfield and base running coordinator (2001-20).

COMERICA FACTS: Opened for play in 2000, groundbreaking for the $300 million Comerica Park project took place on October 29, 1997. The stadium holds 41,083 at full capacity.
   The first game at Comerica Park was held Tuesday, April 11, 2000, with 39,168 spectators attending. The temperature that afternoon was 36° F. The Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 5–2. The winning pitcher, as in the final game at Tiger Stadium, was Brian Moehler.

COMERICA DIMENSIONS: (See PDF)

GONE IN GRAND FASHION: EMU left fielder Matt Kirk delivered the hit of his career against Toledo Sunday, April 23. With EMU down, 11-8, Kirk blasted his first-career grand slam to lift the Eagles past the Rockets, 12-11, inside Oestrike Stadium.
   The grand slam was the third for Eastern this season. Darren Kraft notched one against Toledo in game two of the series, April 22.
   For Eastern, it marked the first walk-off winner since April 29, 2022, when former Eagle Daniel Warketin drove in the game-winner in a 6-5 decision over Bowling Green. Additionally, it was the first walk-off home run for the Green and White since Taylor Hopkins did it against Kent State, May 28, 2021 (5-4 victory).
   The EMU slugger finished the day with six RBIs, tying a season-high for the Eagles as a team and setting a career-high for the Milford, Ohio, native.

TWO HOME RUN DAY: Matt Kirk's heroics against Toledo were part of a two-home run day for the graduate student. It was the first by an Eagle since Aaron Dolney notched a pair of long balls against Oakland, April 19. The second multi-homer day of the season for Kirk, he previously did it against Akron, March 11. The reigning MAC player of the year has four career games with two home runs.

RECORD WATCH: One year after tying the all-time EMU record in single-season doubles (25), a number which led the country, Matt Kirk is on pace to break his own record in 2023. The second-year Eagle currently leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks ninth in the nation with 18 doubles this season, a 0.49 doubles per game average. If Kirk keeps pace over the Eagles' final 16 contests, he would finish the season with 26 two-baggers this season.

KIRK'S BIG WEEK: Matt Kirk had an impressive four-game stretch against Oakland, April 19, and Toledo, April 21-23. The reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year defended his crown, totaling eight hits including five for extra bases (two doubles and three home runs), producing 10 RBIs and 19 total bases. Moreover, Kirk posted a slugging percentage of 1.118 and an on-base percentage of .550. Lastly, Kirk proved difficult to strike out the past week as he tallied three base-on-balls to his two strikeouts for the Eagles. Those numbers led all Eagles.

COMEBACK COMPLETE: EMU came back from down 11-6 in the ninth inning to win, 12-11, over Toledo Sunday, April 23. It marked the seventh comeback win of the season after being down three or more runs for EMU. 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. The five runs overcome is the second-largest comeback for the Eagles this season. EMU erased a 6-0 hole to defeat Towson, 11-6, March 5.

SCORING IN BUNCHES: Eastern scored four or more runs in a frame in each of its three games against Toledo last weekend. The Green and White have now tallied 23 innings of four or more runs this season. The three-game streak of accomplishing the feat is tied for the team's longest of the season. In fact, EMU has now scored at least four runs in an inning in three consecutive games at three different points in the season.

STREAK OF SIGNIFICANCE: Five different Eagles (Josh Kross, Matt Kirk, Aaron Dolney, Logan Hugo, Blake McRae) are currently riding three-game hit streaks, the most of any point this season for the Green and White. Additionally, eight EMU players are in the midst of at least a two-game stretch of hits.

BASHING AND MASHING: Eastern Michigan has seen 111 multi-hit performances amongst its players in its first 38 games this season. On average, the team sees 2.9 multi-hit efforts per game, by far the highest average for the program in the modern statistical era (1998-Pres.). The 2009 EMU team totaled 164 such efforts in 60 games, a 2.73 per-game average.
   Josh Kross leads Eastern Michigan with 20 multi-hit games this season, just ahead of Matt Kirk (17), and Taylor Hopkins (14).

TOP-5 WATCH: Taylor Hopkins is approaching EMU's all-time top-5 list in multiple categories. With 748 at-bats, he is just 11 away from overtaking Mike Mioduszewski (2014-17) for the No. 5 spot. Additionally, his 208 hits leave him just 25 away from Lee Longo (2011-14), who notched 233 in his storied career. Hopkins (121) is 17 RBIs away from cracking the list, and six long balls away (currently 26) from the fifth spot in the EMU record book. Matt Kirk currently has 26 home runs as well.

SKID SNAPPED: Eastern's 12-11 win over Toledo, April 23, ended an eight-game win streak for the Rockets in the series. The stretch began with a 10-2 win for Toledo, May 11, 2021, and was the longest skid for EMU in the series since the turn of the century.

FOUR-HIT FUN: First-year Eagle Blake McRae notched a career-best four hits against Toledo, April 23. The second multi-hit game of the season for McRae, four hits tie the single-game high by any Eagle this season (Matt Kirk vs. Toledo, April 22). Additionally, EMU has now seen back-to-back four-hit performances for the first time since former Eagle Max Schuemann recorded back-to-back games with four hits each to start the 2018 season, Feb. 16, in doubleheader action versus Florida Gulf Coast.

ADDED MORE RUNS: Eastern Michigan scored 12 runs in the win against Toledo, April 23. It is the ninth time this season the Eagles have scored double-digit runs. EMU possesses a record of 8-1 in those games. Moreover, the Eagles scored 10 or more runs in 10 games in 2022, producing a record of 9-1.

THREE-HOMER PERFORMANCE: Eastern Michigan hit three home runs in the win against Toledo, April 23. It is the eighth time this season the Eagles have hit three or more home runs in a game this season. The team has a record of 7-1 in those games.

VANCE REFRIGERATION: The weather was cold but the bat was hot for Cooper Vance against Toledo, April 22-23. Vance made his first two collegiate starts Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and knocked the first two hits of his collegiate career, both doubles. He tied for the third most extra-base hits of any Eagle in the series.

NICE OUTING, NICK: Nick Chittum proved to be a bright spot this week for Eastern Michigan pitching out of the bullpen, April 21. The 6-foot-2 right-hander had a career-long six-inning outing, allowing just six hits, giving up one earned run, while walking
one Rocket batter, and striking out six, two behind his career-best eight.

DANCES WITH WOLFF: Right-handed pitcher Dylan Wolff came on in relief Saturday, April 22 and had a career-best outing against Toledo. The first-year Eagle tossed a personal-best 3.1 innings and recorded a career-best six strikeouts. Entering the outing, his career-best in strikeouts was three.

FOUR-PITCH WIN: First-year Eagle Joe Grassi faced just one batter and threw only four pitches en route to his first collegiate win Sunday, April 23. Grassi game on in relief with two outs in the top of the ninth inning before watching his offense complete a six-run comeback in the bottom half of the frame. Grassi was 0-0 in 16.1 innings heading into the contest.

FUN RUN: Eastern Michigan is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the nation, ranking tied for 43rd nationally and fifth in the Mid-American Conference with 65 stolen bases this season. Last season, EMU was 157th in the country with just 52 stolen bags for the season.

HISTORY VERSUS ALMA: Eastern Michigan holds a 38-10 advantage over Alma in the all-time series. Last season, it was Eastern who prevailed in a 5-2 effort inside Comerica Park, April 27. Prior to 2021, EMU had not faced Alma since 2011, when it defeated the Scots, 7-6 in 10 innings at Oestrike Stadium, March 19.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU will spend a weekend away from Mid-American Conference play when it travels to Niagara Falls, N.Y. for a three-game set at Niagara University. Game one is set for 3 p.m. Friday, April 28, with two more contests to follow Saturday-Sunday, April 29-30.

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Players Mentioned

Nick Chittum

Aaron Dolney

Joe Grassi

Taylor Hopkins

Logan Hugo

Matt Kirk

Darren Kraft

Josh Kross

Blake McRae

Cooper Vance

Dylan Wolff

Eastern Michigan Athletics