Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
18-21
Alma
14-18-1
Eastern Tops Alma at Comerica Park, 15-12
4/25/2023 10:44:00 PM | Baseball
All EMU starters reached base, Eagles tied a season high with 16 hits
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DETROIT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team got contributions from every part of their lineup, as all nine starters reached base safely, helping the Eagles put 15 runs on the board and knock off the Alma College Scots, 15-12, Tuesday, April 25, inside Comerica Park.
Junior Jagger Jefferies (Barnesville, Ohio-Barnesville-Bryant & Stratton C.C.) (2-1) got the win for Eastern Michigan (18-21, 7-14 MAC). The left-hander went one shutout inning without giving up a hit, no walks and striking out three. Senior Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) also pitched well, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit, walking none and striking out two.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by sophomore Josh Kross (Brunswick, Ohio-Brunsiwck-Toledo), who went 2-for-6 on the day with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Graduate student Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif.-University Prep-Crown College) put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Graduate student Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford-Cypress-Toledo) also contributed for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a walk and two RBIs.
How it Happened
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting seven runs on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Eastern Michigan's offensive outburst included a two-run single off the bat of Kirk and a two-run single from junior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, nd.-Shelbyville).
After the Scots cut it to 7-2, EMU added four more runs, highlighted by a one-run single off the bat of senior Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day-Nebraska-Hillsborough C.C.), which brought the score to 11-2 in favor of the Eagles.
Alma narrowed Eastern Michigan's lead to 11-6 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 12-6 in the sixth inning. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Schroedle.
Eastern Michigan held the Scots scoreless before their offense got in gear the next inning. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Logan Milene (Rockester, Minn.-Rochester Century-North Iowa Area C.C.), bringing the score to 13-6 in favor of Eastern Michigan.
Alma got within 13-12 until the Eagles scored again in the eighth inning to stretch its lead to 15-12. Eastern Michigan picked up two runs, including one on a solo homer off the bat of Schroedle. The score remained 15-12 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles held on for the win.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan started the game off hot as they plated seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, tying their season high for runs in a single inning. This marks the third time this season the Eagles have reached the seven-run mark in a single inning, both other times coming against Western Michigan University, March 19 and April 11, respectively.
» Sophomore Darren Kraft (Mount Pleasant, S.C.-Oceanside Collegiate Academy) got the offense going for Eastern Michigan, hitting a long RBI-single to left center field to score two runs. Kraft now has 25 RBIs for the 2023 season. Finishing the day 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, Tuesday night's performance marked the designated hitter's seventh multi-hit game and fifth multi-RBI game of the 2023 season.
» Taylor hit a single in the bottom half of the first inning to score two more runs for the Eagles, giving the Shelbyville, ind. native 26 RBIs on the 2023 campaign. Moreover, Taylor recorded his eight multi-RBI outing of the season.
» Kirk had two RBIs in the first inning to conclude Eastern Michigan's first inning offensive explosion. Kirk now has eight multi-RBI games this season and 18 multi-hit outings.
» With his appearance in the top of the fourth inning, Cam'ron McCoy (St. Louis, Mo.-St Mary's) saw action as a relief pitcher for the first time since March 5 at Towson University. McCoy retired the side on just 11 pitches for the green and white. It was his fewest innings thrown in an outing where he's pitched at least one inning. McCoy has made three appearances so far in 2023 and made four appearances in the 2022 season.
» Kross sent a home run over the right field wall to push Eastern's lead up to six at the time. Kross has now pushed his team leading in home run total to twelve. With the home run, the switch hitter is now tied for fourth in the Mid-American Conference. Furthermore, Kross' fourth inning homer is the first home run hit to right field in Comerica Park since the walls were moved in prior to the start of the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
» Dolney went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and run scored. Dolney now has 29 RBIs on the season and nine multi-hit games.
» With Blake McRae's (Armada, Mich.-Romeo-Lansing C.C.) sixth inning walk, Eastern Michigan set a new season high with nine walks in Tuesday night's contest. McRae now joins Kirk and Schroedle as the only eagles to record three base-on-balls in a single game this season.
» Coming in off the bench, Schroedle drove in a run of his own and at the time it was the Green and White's 12th run of the game. The outfielder now has 13 RBIs on the season. The Redding, Calif. native also connected on a home run that hit off the foul pole in left field, for his third long ball of the season. After Tuesday night's performance, Schroedle now has nine multi-hit outings and five multi-RBI games on the season.
» Helgeson pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the top half of the fifth inning, recording two strikeouts. It is the fifth time in 13 appearances this season in which the right-hander has shut out his competition.
» Zach Gillig (Valley Center, Kan.-Valley Center) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Eastern Michigan. It is the fifth time that the Kansas native has had a scoreless outing in 2023.
» Dylan Wolff (Joliet, Ill.-Joliet West) threw a scoreless inning in the top of the seventh inning. It was Wolff's fourth scoreless outing this season, also doing so against Towson (March 5), at Akron (April 4), and in a home game against Miami (April 7).
» Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich.-Essexville Garber) was issued a walk in the first inning. Scoring Hopkins, the walk goes down as Hugo's 13th of the season, and his 17th driven in.
» The Eagles were hot from the dish tonight, tying their season high in hits with 16. Eastern has done this four other times this season, versus Towson, March 4, and Western Michigan three times (March 18-19, April 11).
Historical Notes
» Eastern Michigan holds a 38-10 advantage over Alma in the all-time series. After today's win, they improved to a 39-10 record when facing the Scots.
» Today's contest marks the third time Eastern Michigan has played at Comerica Park, Last season, the Eagles left downtown Detroit victorious with a 5-1 win over the Scots. The Eagles fell to Michigan State University in a nail biting 3-2 loss to the Spartans, May 11, 2016.
» With Tuesday night's victory, Eastern Michigan now holds a 2-1 record when playing at Comerica Park.
Up Next
The Eagles will head East to Niagara University for a three-game non-conference matchup versus the Purple Eagles, Friday-Sunday, April 28-30.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jefferis, Jagger (2-1)
L: McMANUS, Brendan (1-2)
Batting:
HR: CARNICORN, Avery 1
RBI: TUTTLE, Kevin 1 ; CARNICORN, Avery 2 ; HAWLEY, Mac 1 ; KRAFFT, Ethan 1 ; HALL, Dalton 1 ; BLEASDALE, Cameron 1 ; D'ALEXANDER, Dalton 2
Base Running:
RUNS: TUTTLE, Kevin 1 ; CARNICORN, Avery 1 ; SMITH, Tony 1 ; NYSWANGER, Wyatt 1 ; HAWLEY, Mac 2 ; WARREN, Kyler 1 ; McGLADE, Stephen 1 ; HALL, Dalton 1 ; BLEASDALE, Cameron 2 ; FOLEY, Mitch 1
HBP: McGLADE, Stephen 1
Batting:
2B: Kross, Josh 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1
HR: Kross, Josh 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1
RBI: Kirk, Matt 2 ; Kross, Josh 2 ; Kraft, Darren 2 ; Milene, Logan 1 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 2 ; Taylor, Cory 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Kirk, Matt 2 ; Kross, Josh 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 3 ; Kraft, Darren 2 ; Dolney, Aaron 2 ; McRae, Blake 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
SB: Miller, Glenn 1
HBP: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Kraft, Darren 1
