Fly The Flag: Baseball Run-Rules Michigan in Home Opener

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Junior Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) racked up four hits to help power the Eastern Michigan University baseball team past the University of Michigan in EMU's home opener, 14-4, at Oestrike Stadium, Tuesday, March 19.

Senior Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio/St. Xavier) (3-2) started on the mound and picked up the win for Eastern Michigan (7-13). The right-hander went one shutout inning without giving up a hit, allowing no walks and striking out two. Sophomore Aaron Pirkle (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany/Akron) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing one scoreless inning while allowing one hit.

In addition to his four hits, Zuccaro had two doubles and two RBI to lead the Eagles. Junior Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale Secondary) also compiled a standout performance at the dish, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, and four RBI. Senior Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif./University Prep/Crown College) also helped out for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double, a home run, a walk, and three RBI.

How it Happened
McRae got the party started as he crushed a ball to center field for the first run of the game, followed by Johnson also homering, giving the Eagles a 2-0 edge after one. Schroedle would add a long ball of his own in the second before the Wolverines plated three in the third to tie the score at three.

The Eagles scored four runs over the next two innings, bringing the score to 8-3 after five frames. Michigan would score one run in the sixth, before the Eagles poured in four runs in the seventh, ending the game early, winning, 14-4.

Game Notes
» Jones took the ball for Eastern Michigan to start a bullpen game of pitching for the Eagles. Jones struck out two batters and retired the side in order on just 11 pitches. Jones only threw two non-strikes in the first inning, with the other nine pitches either being a strike or foul ball.
» McRae sent a home run over the center field wall to give Eastern Michigan a one-run lead in the first. With the homer, McRae tied for the team lead with his fourth home run of the season. McRae also went on to add an additional RBI for what was his fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
» McRae would go on to finish the afternoon with a multi-hit game of his own, going 2-for-4. It was his 10th multi-hit game this season and his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.
» Johnson added a homer, a two-run shot, in the first inning for Eastern Michigan. It was the catcher's third home run in his last seven games. Johnson also plated two more RBI in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was Johnson's third multi-RBI game of the season. Johnson would finish the game with a team-leading four RBI, Johnson also finished the game with three hits and additionally a double. The game was the first time this season in which Johnson recorded multiple extra-base hits.
» Schroedle added a third home run in the inning for Eastern Michigan to cap off a three-homer first inning. It was the outfielder's team-leading fifth home run of the season. Schroedle went on to reach base three times in the effort against the Wolverines, which included a walk, and two hits. Schroedle has now reached base safely in all but two games this season.
» Zuccaro recorded four hits in the win against Michigan, including a double in the second inning for his fifth extra-base hit of the season. In addition, Zuccaro also has seven multi-hit games this year. He added another double in the bottom of the seventh inning to finish the contest with four hits. It is the second consecutive game in which he has recorded four hits.
» Pirkle pitched a scoreless inning for Eastern Michigan in the fourth inning after facing just four batters. It is the second time this season that he has thrown one full inning of shutout baseball. The lefty also did so against Vanderbilt University, March 5.
» Taylor sent a home run over the center field wall to give the Eagles an 8-3 lead at the time. Taylor now has four home runs for the season. The infielder had seven home runs in all of 2023. In addition, the right-handed hitter would finish with two RBI in the game. It is his fourth multi-RBI game this season.
» Eastern Michigan won the hitting battle, 14-8. marking the 12th time this season that Eastern has out-hit their opponent on the season, possessing a 6-6 record in such games.
» As a team, the Eagles scored 14 runs in the victory over the Wolverines. It is the fifth time this season in which the Eagles have scored at least 10 runs in a game. Furthermore, in all three games Eastern has scored 14 or more runs, they won by 10 runs, 16-6 at Belmont, Feb. 18, and at 14-4 Houston Christian, Feb. 29.
» Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) reached base safely twice and recorded another stolen base to add to his team-leading total of 11 bags on 13 tries. The Essexville, Mich., native had just a combined 13 swiped bags in his first two seasons as an Eagle.
» As a team the Eagles hit four home runs in the win over the Wolverines. It is just the second time this season in which they have hit four home runs as a team, also doing so March 16, when they had five home runs at Morehead State.

Historical Notes
» The contest was the 189th all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Wolverines. With the win, Eastern improved its standing in the all-time series against Michigan, 65-122-2.
» Today marked Head Coach Robbie Britt's first home game as Eastern Michigan's skipper. In the last 25 seasons, Eastern Michigan has a 13-13 record in home openers since. With Tuesday's win, Britt has a 5-0 record in home openers as a collegiate head coach.
» With the win over Michigan, Eastern Michigan defeated the Wolverines for the first time since April 15, 2015, when they bested Michigan in Ann Arbor by a score of 4-3. It was also the first time the Eagles defeated the Wolverines at home since April 23, 2013, when Eastern won a high-scoring game, 15-10.
» Eastern Michigan defeated a power five opponent with the win against the Wolverines. It is the first time the Eagles have beat a power five team since they beat Notre Dame University of the Atlantic Coast Conference in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 22, 2019.
» With four hits in the victory, Zuccaro has now had four hits in back-to-back games. It is the first time since an Eagle has done so since Max Schuemann did it in a doubleheader to open the 2018 season at Florida Gulf Coast University, Feb. 16, 2018.
» The Eagles beat a power five team by 10 or more runs for the first time since May 14, 2013, when they beat up on the Purdue University Boilermakers, 20-2, in West Lafayette, Ind.

Up Next
The Eagles will return to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game weekend series against Western Michigan University Friday-Sunday, March 22-24.

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Team Stats

Giano Zuccaro

Lucas Johnson

Blake McRae

Kyle Schroedle

Players Mentioned

Logan Hugo

Lucas Johnson

Bobby Jones

Aaron Pirkle

Kyle Schroedle

Giano Zuccaro

Players Mentioned

Logan Hugo

Lucas Johnson

Bobby Jones

Aaron Pirkle

Kyle Schroedle

Giano Zuccaro

Eastern Michigan Athletics