Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Morehead State
Eastern Drops Doubleheader to Morehead State
3/16/2024 6:58:00 PM | Baseball
Eastern and MSU will play the series finale tomorrow, Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m.
GAME 1| Morehead State 23, Eastern Michigan 12
GAME 2 | Morehead State 17, Eastern Michigan 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader to Morehead State University, at Allen Field, Saturday, March 16. EMU now holds a 5-13 (2-1 MAC) record while Morehead State improved to 11-8 (0-0 OVC).
How it Happened (Game One)
Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville) started the scoring with a two-run shot to right center in the first, scoring Blake McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C.) in the process. After giving up nine runs in the ensuing half inning, the Eagles responded with three more runs in their half of the second as Aidan Arbogast (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson/Mid-Michigan C.C./Kellogg C.C.) and Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) hit consecutive homers.
In the third, Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale Secondary/Wright State) recorded his second home run of the season, tabbing two more EMU runs, before Jones drove in another Green and White baserunner via a base hit up the middle.
After MSU scored seven runs total in the third and fourth, Eastern scored four runs in the fifth, bringing its run total to 12 for the game.
Eastern didn't score the remaining two innings, resulting in a 23-12 Morehead State victory.
Game Notes (Game One)
» Hugo sent a two-run shot to left center to start the scoring in the first inning. The homer marked the junior's fourth of the season, bringing him up to 12 RBI. The runs went down as the fifth time Eastern has scored in the first inning, they hold a 3-2 record when doing so.
» Arbogast and went back-to-back in the second inning. The two long balls are the first consecutively since teammates Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) and Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif./University Prep/Crown College) did so in a 16-6 win over Belmont University, in the first game of a doubleheader, Feb. 18. Furthermore, the home runs mark the first respective Division I dinger for both Eagles.
» With five home runs in the game, the Eagles set a season-high in homers. They previously hit three in a single game against Belmont, Feb. 18, and Ball State University, March 8. EMU now holds a 2-1 record when hitting three or more homers.
» Johnson cranked EMU's fourth home run and third two-run blast of the game in the third inning. Johnson's homer goes down as his second of the season, and brings his RBI total up to seven.
» EMU tied a season-high with 15 hits in the game, marking their seventh double-digit hit outing of the season. Eastern is 4-3 when knocking 10 or more hits.
» The Eagles finished the game with 12 RBI, one shy of tying their season-high (13), set against Belmont, Feb. 16. Additionally, Eastern's 12 RBI in the contest marks its third time this season eclipsing the double-digit mark. The Green and White also finished the game with double-digit runs for the fourth time in the 2024 campaign, scoring 12.
» Freshman Jack Topolski (Seven Hills, Ohio/Holy Name) registered the first strikeout of his college career, fanning reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, Rylee Preece, in the bottom of the third inning. Topolski ended his day striking out a career-best three Morehead State batters.
» McRae homered to center field in the fifth inning for his second home run of the season, elevating his RBI total to 13. McRae grabbed three hits in the game, his first time doing so this season and second time as an Eagle. McRae joins Hugo and Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville) as Eagles to record three knocks in a game this year.
» Arbogast and Jones each notched their first multi-hit and multi-RBI outing as Eagles, respectively. Arbogast finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and a dinger, while Jones went 2-for-3 from the dish with two RBI and a home run.
» Jad Oestrike (Tomball, Texas/Tomball Memorial) knocked the first base hit of his career in the seventh inning, putting one in between the first and second basemen.
» Reaching base safely via a hit, Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) has reached base in ten consecutive games, marking both the longest streak of his career and the longest on the team this season.
» Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) recorded his second multi-hit day as an Eagle while Arbogast and Jones each notched their first, respectively.
Historical Notes (Game One)
» Game one marks the 14th all-time between Eastern Michigan and Morehead State, after the result, Eastern holds a 4-10 record when facing MSU.
» Eastern played its 52nd game against an OVC opponent in the first game, with the result, the Eagles hold a 25-28 record when facing the OVC.
How it Happened (Game Two)
Trailing 7-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the third inning. Eastern Michigan scored twice in the inning, with one run coming across on Schroedle's single after Jones scored on a throwing error by the MSU catcher.
Morehead State expanded its lead to 9-2 before the Eastern offense got back to work, cutting into that lead in the fourth. Eastern Michigan scored once on an RBI single off the bat of McRae, which brought the score to 9-3 in favor of Morehead State.
MSU built their lead to 10-3 before the Eastern offense got back in action, reducing that lead to 10-4 in the fifth. The Eagles recorded a run on Schroedle's leadoff home run. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as Morehead State added seven runs to their tally on the way to a 17-4 final.
Game Notes (Game Two)
» McRae and Schroedle each recorded multiple hits, marking their eighth and seventh multi-hit performance of the season, respectively.
» One of Schroedle's hits went yard to left field, marking his fourth home run of the season and tying him for the team-lead. Schroedle also drove in two runs for the Eagles in the contest for his fourth multi-RBI day of the season.
» Jimmy Kunst (Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands) got his second start of the season, and set a career-high with three strikeouts. Kunst's start was also the longest of his young career as he pitched 3.1 innings.
» Senior Evan Sines (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) knocked the first hit of his season, as he grounded one through the left side of the infield in the top of the fourth inning.
» Cam'Ron McCoy (St. Louis, Mo./St Mary's) saw his first appearance of the season in the game.
» Johnson walked twice for the third time this season. Johnson stands third on the team in base-on-balls with seven.
Historical Notes (Game Two)
» Game two marks the 15th all-time between Eastern Michigan and Morehead State, after the result, Eastern holds a 4-11 record when facing MSU.
» Eastern played its 53rd game against an OVC opponent in the second game, with the result, the Eagles hold a 25-29 record when facing the OVC.
Up Next
Eastern and MSU will conclude their four-game series tomorrow, Sunday, March 17, with the first pitch being tossed at 1 p.m.
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