EMU baseball Will Meet Akron in Midweek Game

Baseball at Akron
Date	Tuesday, April 4
Venue	Skeeles Field \| Akron, Ohio
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Live Stats

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team is set for a midweek game at the University of Akron Tuesday, April 4. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Skeeles Field. The game will not count towards Mid-American Conference records, as the two schools have already played three league games against each other, March 10-12. The game will count towards the teams' respective overall records.
   Eastern (11-13, 4-8 MAC) is coming off the wrong side of a series sweep at Ohio University, April 1-2. Meanwhile, Akron (12-15, 5-7 MAC) is looking to get back on track after dropping the final two contests of its series against Ball State University, March 31-April 2.
   The game can be followed through live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats. EMU's Twitter accounts, @EMU_Baseball, will also provide updates throughout the game.

BACK TO BACK WITH BACK TO BACK: The Green and White hit home runs in consecutive at-bats twice in its three-game series at Ohio. Kyle Schroedle and Aaron Dolney went back-to-back in the fourth inning of game one, April 1, before Josh Kross and Taylor Hopkins accomplished the feat in the first inning of game two, April 2. Prior to its series against the Bobcats, EMU had not had players go back-to-back with long balls since May 15, 2022, when Matt Kirk and Dolney did it against Central Michigan University.

HOME RUN FUN: Eastern Michigan tabbed three home runs in game one against Ohio, and followed that up with two more in game two against the Bobcats. The Green and White now have 30 home runs on the season, which ranks fifth in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles have hit multiple home runs in nine contests this season, including in three of the team's last four games. Eastern's eight home runs in its last four games is a season-best stretch for the squad.
   Eastern Michigan's five home runs ties for the team's single-series high this season. The Green and White also hit five homers against Akron, March 10-12, and Western Michigan, March 18-19.

DOLNEY DINGERS: Aaron Dolney homered twice in game one against Ohio, April 1, marking his third multi-hit performance of the season and first career multi-home run game. His multi-homer game was the third of the season for EMU after Matt Kirk did it at Akron, March 11, and Taylor Hopkins accomplished the feat at Oakland, March 28.

KROSS IT OFF THE LIST: First-year Eagle Josh Kross continued his impressive play at the dish against Ohio, going 2-for-3 in game two of the series against the Bobcats. That performance, which featured a home run and two RBIs, was his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season and third in a row. He made it four in a row and 13 overall with a 3-for-5 series finale against the Bobcats, April 2.

EIGHT MORE FOR RUSSO: Senior pitcher Luke Russo tallied a season-high-tying eight strikeouts in his start against Ohio, April 2. Moreover, he has hit that total, which ties an EMU single-game high this season, in two of his last three outings. He is the only EMU pitcher to record that total twice this season, and currently ranks third in the MAC with 49 strikeouts this season.

KRAFT(Y) PERFORMANCE: Junior Darren Kraft had a good day at the dish in a doubleheader of games against Ohio, April 2. The Mount Pleasant, S.C. native notched three total hits (two in game one, one in game two), marking the first time in his career he has recorded hits in multiple games. Kraft has a career-high six hits thus far in 2023.

SCHROEDLE LOOKING STRONG: After recording just 12 hits and hitting .240 overall in his first 15 games as an Eagle, Kyle Schroedle has found a groove in EMU's last four outings. The Redding, Calif. native is 6-for-15 (.400) over that stretch, with three extra-base hits, two home runs, seven RBIs, and a .867 slugging percentage. In his first 15 games, he notched just two extra-base hits, with no home runs, three RBIs, and a .280 slugging percentage.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Eastern Michigan has had no problem finding second base this year. The Green and White average 2.3 doubles per contest in 2023, which ranks 39th 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 11th in the nation and first in the MAC with 13 doubles this season. He ranks sixth in the nation with a doubles per game average of 0.54.

NINE FOR ERIC: Eastern Michigan had nine wins in March, the most in the month for Head Coach Eric Roof, in his fifth season at the helm of the program (2018-Pres.). Prior to 2023, Roof's best month-of-March total was seven, which came in 2022. EMU has not had nine wins in March since the 2013 season, when the team recorded 11 wins en route to a 26-28 season.

FUN RUN: Eastern Michigan is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the nation, ranking 31st nationally and second in the Mid-American Conference with 50 stolen bases this season. EMU is 20th nationally with a 2.1 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.

PICK YOUR POISON: The Green and White have displayed the ability to score in bunches in a single inning this season. EMU has scored four runs or more in a single inning 12 times this season. Eastern's best single inning of the season came in its series against Western Michigan, where it pushed across seven runs in the third inning of the series finale, March 19.

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.

GOOD EYE JOSH: Josh Kross is one of the hardest players in the nation to strike out in 2023. The first-year Eagle has fanned just once every 13.9 at bats this season, the 22nd-best figure in the nation.
ALL-TIME AGAINST AKRON: EMU and Akron will meet for the 64th time Tuesday. Eastern leads the all-time series by a record of 37-25. After falling in seven of 10 contests between 2014-21, EMU took back series momentum in 2022, winning three of the four games between the Eagles and Zips. EMU took two of the three games between the teams this season as well, March 10-12 in Akron.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns home for a crucial Mid-American Conference series against Miami University. Game one is set for Friday, April 7 at 3 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aaron Dolney

Taylor Hopkins

Matt Kirk

Darren Kraft

Josh Kross

Luke Russo

Kyle Schroedle

Eastern Michigan Athletics