Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
24-26
Oakland
25-28
Schroedle Homers Twice in Eastern Michigan's 17-8 Victory Over Oakland
5/16/2023 9:34:00 PM | Baseball
Eagles tally season-high in hits with 20
Re-Watch the Game.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Graduate student Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif.-University Prep-Crown College) put together an outstanding performance at the plate Tuesday, May 16, hitting two homers to help power the Eastern Michigan University baseball team past Oakland University, 17-8 at Oestrike Stadium.
Senior Trevor House (Okeana, Ohio-Ross) (3-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Eastern Michigan (24-26). The southpaw went 2.1 innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on four hits, allowing one walk and striking out four. Senior Zach Gillig (Valley Centre, Kan.-Valley Center-Pratt C.C.) also pitched well, going four shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking two and striking out three.
Schroedle went 3-for-5 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with four RBIs. Senior Matt Kirk (Milford, Ohio-Milford-Cypress-Toledo) added to Schroedle's tuned power-hitting performance by going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI along with two walks. Junior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.-Shelbyville) also chipped in for the Eagles, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.
How it Happened
Trailing 2-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the second inning. Eastern Michigan hit three home runs in the inning on the way to scoring six runs.
The Eagles then lost some of their lead, expanding on their advantage in the third inning after the Golden Grizzlies cut it to 6-5. The Eastern Michigan offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of senior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller), which brought the Eagles lead to 10-5.
Oakland narrowed Eastern Michigan's lead to 10-7 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 17-7 in the fifth inning. The Eagles bats heated up in the inning, scoring seven runs, including a two-run home run off the bat of Schroedle. Oakland put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Eastern Michigan still coasted to the 17-8 win.
Game Notes
» Taylor, Schroedle, and Kirk each homered in the bottom of the second inning. For Taylor it was his sixth long ball of the season, Schroelde's fourth, and Kirk's 11th bomb of the 2023 campaign.
» Kirk tallied three RBIs Tuesday evening, three of which came off his three-run shot to right center field in the second inning. The Milford, Ohio native now has 46 RBIs on the season. Now with 28 home runs as an Eagle, Kirk joins Hopkins in ninth place for ninth place for career homers in Eastern Michigan baseball history.
» Josh Kross (Brunswick, Ohio-Brunswick-Toledo) was productive in his at bats as the switch hitter recorded another multi-hit day, going 2-for-2 from the plate for the Brunswick, Ohio native's 28th contest with multiple knocks. The switch hitter also drove in two runs tonight, notching his 20th multi-RBI day and tying for fifth place in the EMU baseball single-season record books with former Eagle, Matt Skirving, who also drove in 64 runs back in the 2009 campaign. The first baseman's two RBIs today makes him just one away from tying the current MAC leader, Kent State University's Aidan Longwell.
» Schroedle and Taylor also tallied multiple-hit outings, Schroedle's 10th of the 2023 campaign and Taylor's 12th. Schroedle would end the day with four RBIs as the former junior college standout captured his sixth contest with multiple runs driven in as an Eagle. Taylor would also drive in two throughout the game for his ninth multi-RBI day of the regular season.
» Eastern Michigan pushed across six runs in the second inning Tuesday night, marking the fourth time the Eagles have plated six in a single inning this season. The Green and White's season-high for runs in a single inning is seven, doing so twice, first, versus Western Michigan University, April 11, and again in the first inning versus Alma College at Comerica Park, April 25.
» Hopkins went 1-for-4 from the dish today with three RBIs. His outing today makes him tied with former Eagle Bryon Horn (1978-81) with 222 hits in his Eastern Michigan career. The Mason, Ohio native's three RBIs tonight brings his season total up to 49. The shortstop's lone hit was a double to deep left field for his 11th two-bagger of the season.
» Blake McRae (Armada, Mich.-Romeo-Lansing C.C.) continued his strong offensive play with another multi-hit night Tuesday evening, the senior's seventh of the season. Additionally, it was the Armada, Mich. natives, first three-hit game as an Eagle.
» House came in to relieve Tyler Helgeson (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern) in the top of the third inning, the senior left-hander proceeded to toss a season-high four strikeouts during his time on the bump.
» With five doubles as a team tonight, the 2023 squad now passes the 2002 team for fourth place in team doubles in a single season as the Eagles have slapped 117 two-baggers in the 2023 campaign. EMU would need to knock 14 more doubles in its remaining three games to break the single-season record, set by the 1996 team, who hit 131.
» Schroedle would homer again in the fifth inning for the fifth time this year. The Redding, Calif. native ended his day with four RBIs marking a Division I career-high for the graduate student.
» The Green and White crushed four home runs Tuesday night, bringing the EMU season-total up to 72 in the 2023 season. This moves the 2023 team up to fourth place in single-season home runs as a team in EMU baseball history. The Eagles would need eight more home runs in their remaining three contest to reach 80 long balls on the year. If they reach 80, it will mark the first time in program history EMU has recorded 80 homers in consecutive seasons as they knocked 81 last season.
» Aaron Dolney (Plymouth, Mich.-Detroit Country Day-Nebraska-Hillsborough C.C.) recorded multiple doubles tonight for the first time this season and second overall in his Eastern Michigan career. The senior catcher smashed three two-baggers last season versus Ohio University, April 15, 2022.
» With seven strikeouts tonight, Eagles pitching has totaled to 413 punch outs in the 2023 season. Just four more EMU strikeouts would vault the 2023 squad into first place all-time in single-season strikeouts as a team in EMU baseball history. Currently, last seasons' team sits atop the rankings, striking out 416 batters in the 2022 season.
Historical Notes
» Tuesday evening's contest marks the 68th all-time meeting between Eastern and Oakland, after today's game, the Eagles hold a 48-20 record when facing the Golden Grizzlies.
» The Eastern bats popped off in a big way in Tuesday evening's third inning, as the Green and White smashed three homers in the inning. This marks the first time EMU has sent three out of the park in a single inning since they did so last season, in a 19-4 thrashing of Bowling Green State University, May 1, 2022.
Up Next
Next, the Eagles will invite the Northern Illinois University Huskies to Oestrike Stadium to put a lid on conference play for the 2023 campaign. The series will be Thursday-Saturday, May 18-20, the first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday evening. The game can be streamed live on EMUEagles.com/watch. Fans can also follow @EMU_Baseball on Twitter for live in-game updates.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: House, Trevor (3-1)
L: Jaxson Easterlin (2-4)
S: Gillig, Zach (2)
Batting:
2B: Gabe Lux 1 ; Luke Malmanger 1
RBI: Lucas Loos 2 ; Thomas Green 1 ; Jared Miller 3 ; Reagan Paulina 1
SF: Lucas Loos 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gabe Lux 1 ; Brandon Heidal 1 ; Brandon Nigh 1 ; Lucas Loos 2 ; Ian Cleary 1 ; Thomas Green 1 ; Luke Malmanger 1
HBP: Lucas Loos 1 ; Ian Cleary 1
Batting:
2B: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Kross, Josh 1 ; Hopkins, Taylor 1 ; Dolney, Aaron 2
HR: Kirk, Matt 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 2
RBI: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Kirk, Matt 3 ; Kross, Josh 2 ; Hopkins, Taylor 3 ; Taylor, Cory 2 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, Glenn 2 ; Kirk, Matt 3 ; Kross, Josh 2 ; Taylor, Cory 2 ; Dolney, Aaron 2 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 3 ; McRae, Blake 2
HBP: Hopkins, Taylor 1 ; Dolney, Aaron 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1
