Baseball Heads to Central Michigan for Crucial Conference Series

Baseball at Central Michigan
Date	Friday-Sunday, May 5-7
Venue	Mount Pleasant, Mich. \| Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium
Preview Info	Game Notes \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Listen	91.5 "The Mountain"

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will put its five-game win streak on the line when it travels upstate for a crucial Mid-American Conference series versus the Chippewas of Central Michigan University, Friday-Sunday, May 5-7.
    The Eagles enter the series riding a five game win streak, with single victories coming against the University of Toledo, April 23, and Alma College, April 25 plus a three game sweep of Niagara University, April 28-30.
CMU currently holds a 29-16 overall record, with a 15-6 conference record, ranking them second in the MAC behind Kent State University (31-12, 16-5 MAC).
    Despite dropping four games to the Chippewas last season, the Eagles still hold the all-time edge in the series, with a 95-81 record when matching up with Central Michigan. All three games can be streamed on Chippewas All-Access, with the first game getting underway Friday, May 5, at 3 p.m. Games two and three of the series will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

FIVE STRAIGHT: Eastern Michigan has won five consecutive games, dating back to a 12-11 win over the University of Toledo, April 23. The stretch also includes a win over Alma College, April 25, and a trio of victories over Niagara, April 28-30. The current stretch is the second-longest win streak for the Eagles this season. The team previously won six straight between March 3-11.
    Fueled by offense during its latest hot streak, Eastern has scored an average of 12 runs per game over its last five, up from a 7.6 runs per game average in games prior to the streak.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS: Eastern Michigan swept Niagara in a three-game weekend series, April 28-30. It marked the second series sweep of the season for EMU after it previously took four straight against Towson University, March 3-5. The series win is the fourth of the season for the Green and White.

15+ SEVEN TIMES: With its 17-hit outing against Niagara, April 29, Eastern Michigan has eclipsed the 15 hit mark seven times in the 2023 campaign. The Green and White hold a perfect 7-0 record in those games this season. Last season, EMU tallied just five games of 15+ hits in its 54 outings.

PLENTY OF POP: Eastern Michigan has recorded 10 or more hits in six consecutive games, dating back to its April 22 game against Toledo. The six-game stretch is the team's second-longest of the season, one away from tying the seven such games it recorded between April 9-18. Prior to this season, EMU had not recorded seven consecutive games of 10+ hits since 2011.

WRITE IT IN THE RECORD BOOK: Senior Taylor Hopkins moved into fourth all-time at Eastern Michigan in at-bats (765) during EMU's weekend series at Niagara. The Mason, Ohio native now sits behind Brent Ohrman (2009-12), who is third all-time with 772 at-bats. Eastern's program record holder in the category is Zack Leonard, who recorded 927 at-bats between 2008-11.

BEAT HIS STREAK?: Last season, Matt Kirk tied the all-time EMU record with 25 doubles. With 11 games left in the 2023 campaign, it appears Kirk is well on his way to toppling his own record. The Milford, Ohio native has 22 doubles this season, a pace of 0.55 per game. Both his total doubles (22), and doubles per game (0.55) rank as the top marks in the Mid-American Conference, and second-best number amongst all NCAA Division I players.

MORE ON MATT: Matt Kirk continued to turn heads nationally last week, putting together one of the best three-game stretches in the nation against Alma, April 25, and Niagara, April 28-29. Kirk hit an incredible .500, with more extra-base hits than singles, and a slugging percentage of 1.064.
    Kirk's impressive week included an Eastern Michigan-record four doubles in the team's game against the Purple Eagles, April 29. That number is also tied for the most among any NCAA Division I player this season, and has only been accomplished five times total in 2023. Kirk's hit total (61) is more than double that of his strikeout total (25) in 2023.

HOUSE DELIVERS: Senior right-hander Thomas House picked up a win for Eastern Michigan in its series-opening game at Niagara, April 28. The Ross, Ohio native went 5.0 innings, allowing three runs while striking out six. The win was House's first victory since March 4 and his second of the season. Furthermore, it is the first time in his entire Eastern Michigan career that House won a game while pitching at least six innings.

STREAK SNAPPED: Eastern Michigan pitching got back on track in its April 28 win over Niagara. The Eagles won, 9-4, to mark the first time in 12 games that the Green and White did not give up at least five runs. EMU made it two straight games of the sort with a 12-2 victory Saturday, April 29, before giving up five runs in another win, 12-5, Sunday, April 30.

RUSSO ROLLS OVER NIAGARA: Luke Russo was incredible on the mound against Niagara, April 29, as he picked up his team-leading fifth win of the season and helped Eastern Michigan pick up a victory to keep what was then a four-game win streak alive. The streak has since moved to five.
    Dialed in from the start, Russo went 6.2 innings without issuing a free pass or giving up an earned run. Additionally, he struck out an EMU season-best and career-best 12 Niagara hitters. Batters hit just .091 against Russo in the game as he dominated from the moment he took the mound. He now leads the Mid-American Conference in both strikeouts (85) and looking strikeouts (31).

STILL PERFECT: With its three wins over Niagara last weekend, Eastern Michigan remained perfect in its all-time bouts with the Purple Eagles. The Green and White is 6-0 against Niagara, with the first three-game set played in 2012. Moreover, the Eagles have outscored Niagara, 79-27, in those six games.

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: Eric Roof has never lost a game coached in the state of New York. After his team's sweep of Niagara, Roof is now 5-0 in the Empire State. Roof's Eagles swept St. Bonaventure University in a short, two-game series, May 1, 2022.

SCORING IN BUNCHES: Eastern scored four or more runs in a frame three times in its weekend series at Niagara. The Green and White have now tallied 28 innings of four or more runs this season.

BASHING AND MASHING: Eastern Michigan has seen 129 multi-hit performances amongst its players in its first 42 games this season. On average, the team sees 3.1 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 23 multi-hit games this season, just ahead of Matt Kirk (20), and Taylor Hopkins (16).

TOP-5 WATCH: Taylor Hopkins has already notched himself into the top-five all-time in at-bats at EMU, and could still add his name to multiple other lists. His 215 hits leave him just 18 away from Lee Longo (2011-14), who notched 233 in his storied career. Hopkins (125) is 13 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 27 home runs and could place himself in the top-five as well.

ALL TIME VS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Friday's contest marks the 177th all-time meeting between the Eagles and Chippewas. Eastern holds the all-time advantage with a 95-81 record versus CMU.

ON THE HORIZON: Next, the Eagles travel to East Lansing, Mich. for a matchup with another in-state foe, this time, the Michigan State University Spartans. It will be a standalone game for the Eagles and Spartans, the game will take place Wednesday, May 10, the first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Baseball Heads to Central Michigan for Crucial Conference Series

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Hopkins

Thomas House

Matt Kirk

Josh Kross

Luke Russo

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