Eastern Readies for Weekend Series at Morehead State

Baseball at Morehead State
Date	March 15-17
Venue	Morehead, Ky. \| Allen Field
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Video	Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4
Live Stats	Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4
Social Media	@EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – Coming off a 2-1 conference opening series win against Ball State University, March 8-10, the Eastern Michigan University Eagles are set to hit the road yet again, this time to face Morehead State University in a four-game series at Allen Field, in Morehead, Ky., March 15-17.
Fans can follow the action everyday via live stats and a live stream, all of which can be found on the EMU baseball schedule page at emueagles.com/baseball.
Following the series at MSU, Eastern will return home to historic Oestrike Stadium to open the home-portion of its 2024 season against the University of Michigan Wolverines Tuesday, March 19, at 4 p.m.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: HITS PER NINE
Eagle pitchers have made getting on base via a hit difficult on their opponents in 2024, as Eastern ranks 87th nationally and second in the MAC in hits allowed per nine innings, permitting 8.69 knocks per nine.

CORY TAYLOR'S SERIES AT BALL STATE
Senior Cory Taylor is coming off one of the best series of his college career against Ball State, March 8-10. In 13 at-bats, Taylor batted .385, with five hits, one double, and two home runs. In the process, Taylor sent home six EMU baserunners. The Shelbyville, Ind., native displayed his power, recording a .923 slugging percentage, and a 1.308 OPS, while totaling 12 bases throughout the three-game set.
With a home run in the first and second game of the series, Taylor notched consecutive games with a homer for the second time in his career. Coincidentally, the first occurrence came in the first two conference games of the 2023 season, where the Eagles won two games against the University of Akron, March 10-11.

DREW BECKNER: NATIONALLY RANKED IN STRIKEOUTS/HITS PER NINE
Lefty hurler Drew Beckner has been on a tear this season, as the junior ranks nationally in hits allowed per nine (23rd – 4.44) and strikeouts (74th – 27), figures that also rank him first and second in the MAC, respectively. Beckner also ranks first in the conference in opposing batting average (.145) and innings pitched (24.1), while standing second in strikeouts and hits allowed (12). He also ranks fourth in ERA (3.70) and triples allowed (1), as well as fifth in runs allowed (10).

STRONG IN THE MAC RANKINGS
Through its first 12 contests, Eastern Michigan ranks inside the Mid-American Conference top-four in nine statistical categories, including standing second in the league in WHIP (1.52), stolen bases (24), and hits allowed per nine innings (8.69), while also ranking fourth in stolen bases per game (1.60).

COMPLETE GAMES NATIONWIDE
Senior Nick Chittum is one of just 35 pitchers in Division I baseball to have notched a complete game so far in the 2024 season, doing so against the University of Southern Indiana, Feb. 25. Chittum pitched eight innings, allowing four hits, no earned runs, and struck out four Screaming Eagles. Furthermore, he is the only MAC student-athlete on the list.

RUN, RUN, RUN
Junior Logan Hugo ranks second in the MAC and stands 34th nationally with nine stolen bases in the team's first 15 games. Hugo leads an Eagles team that ranks 72nd nationally in stolen bags, and third in the conference with 24, EMU also ranks high in stolen bases per game, averaging 1.60 swipes per contest.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SIXTH
The Eagles post a 5-0 record when leading after six innings of play. Conversely, when trailing after six, EMU is 0-9.

BOBBY ON THE BUMP
Junior Bobby Jones is in the midst of a breakout season. The righty currently ranks first in the conference in WHIP (1.07) and walks allowed (1st – 3). He also ranks inside the MAC's top-five in opposing batting average (4th - .224), Innings pitched (2nd – 23.1), strikeouts (5th – 25), doubles allowed (2nd – 1), and triples allowed (T5th – 1). Additionally, Jones' strikeout-walk ratio is one of the best in the country, standing at 34th, fanning 8.33 opposing batters for every one walk.

13 HITS = WINS
The Eagles have a 4-0 record when recording 13 or more hits in a single game this season. Most recently, EMU knocked a season-high 15 hits in a 10-9 win over Ball State, March 8.

SCORING FIRST
The Eagles scored first in the first two games of the series against Ball State, March 8-10. When scoring first, Eastern posts a 5-2 record. The trend continues when Eastern Michigan scores in the first inning of the game, as the Eagles hold a 3-1 record in such occurrences, all coming on the road.

BEATING THE MAC's BEST
Grabbing a series win against the Ball State Cardinals, March 8-10, EMU won a series against the defending MAC Tournament Champion for the first time since they took two-of-three games from the Ohio University Bobcats in Athens in the 2018 season, April 13-14.

CONSECUTIVE WINS & SERIES WIN
The Eagles took the first two games of the series against Ball State, March 8-9. Marking the first consecutive wins and first series win of the 2024 season. Additionally, both go down as a first for Head Coach Robbie Britt's Eastern Michigan tenure.

WINNING IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
Eastern claimed victory in its conference opening series against the defending MAC Tournament Champions, Ball State University, March 8-10. The series marked Eastern's second consecutive season winning its conference opening game and series for the first time since the 2016 and 2017 seasons, where it accomplished both feats against Bowling Green State University.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE OVC
Friday's game against Morehead State will mark Eastern's 51st against an OVC opponent. Overall, EMU holds a competitive 24-26 all-time record when playing against the OVC.

SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE
MSU enters the series with a 7-8 record, coming off a 6-5 win over the Ohio University Bobcats, March 12. Morehead was picked to finish second in the Ohio-Valley Conference, with five of its student-athletes named preseason All-OVC. MSU also has the reigning OVC Player of the Year, Ryley Preece on its roster, as he is predicted to garner the award again this season.

LAST TIME AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE
Eastern and MSU last met for a three-game series in the 2022 season. A series that saw MSU take two-of-three games from EMU. Interestingly, each team scored 24 runs in the series.

IN THE SERIES: MOREHEAD STATE
Eastern holds a 4-8 all-time record when facing Morehead State. The two institutions first met on the baseball diamond in the 1977 season for a two-game series, where MSU would claim both games by a combined score of 18-16.

ON THE HORIZON
Next, the Eagles will return home to Oestrike Stadium to open the home portion of the 2024 schedule, as Eastern is set to face the University of Michigan, Tuesday, March 19, at 4 p.m.

FOLLOW US
For all things EMU Baseball, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMU_Baseball on X (formerly Twitter), emu_baseball on Instagram, and emu.baseball on TikTok.

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Players Mentioned

Drew Beckner

Nick Chittum

Logan Hugo

Cory Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics