Baseball Continues Home Stand, Will Host Western Michigan in Weekend Series

Baseball vs Western Michigan
Date	Saturday-Sunday, March 22-24
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Oestrike Stadium
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Video	Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Live Stats	Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Social Media	@EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

**Due to the weather, game one will now take place Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m. The teams will play two games Sunday, March 24, with the first scheduled for 1 p.m. and the second beginning at 3:30 p.m.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – After a triumphant 14-4 home opening win against the University of Michigan, March 19, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team aims to maintain its strong play as it enters its second conference series of the season. The Eagles will welcome the Broncos of Western Michigan University to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game set, Friday-Sunday, March 22-24.
   Friday's game will start at 3 p.m., while Saturday's and Sunday's will begin at 1 p.m. Fans can follow along with the game via a live stream and live stats link, both of which can be accessed on the EMU baseball schedule page at EMUEagles.com/baseball/schedule.
   After the series against WMU, the Eagles will remain in southeast Michigan, as they will face another in-state rival at home, hosting Central Michigan University, Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30.

FIRST PITCHES
» The Eagles' most recent win over Michigan, March 19, marked the program's first "Power 5" win since the 2019 season. It also marked the first time beating a "Power 5" by 10+ runs since the 2013 campaign.
» Head Coach Robbie Britt captured his first home opening win as the Eagles' skipper, and first "Power 5" victory with the win over Michigan.
» The Eagles and Broncos will meet for the 193rd time Friday. Overall, Eastern holds a 95-97 when facing its cross-state foe.
» Next, the Eagles will remain home to host Central Michigan, Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30.

A HOME OPENER OF NOTE
The Eagles kicked off the home portion of their season with a convincing 14-4 win over Michigan, March 19. The win marked the Eastern's first win over a "Power 5" opponent since the 2019 season, when EMU topped Notre Dame University of the Atlantic Coast Conference in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 22, 2019. The win also went down as the first time the Eagles beat a "Power 5" 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.

ROBBIE BRITT: WINNING IN HOME OPENERS
Not only did the win against Michigan mark the first home win for Head Coach Robbie Britt, it also marked the fifth home opening win of his head coaching career, as he improved to 5-0 in such games. The Eagles run-ruling triumph over the Wolverines also marked Britt's first win over a "Power 5" opponent in his career. Britt coached teams have faced a "Power 5" opponent just one other time, as his University of Charleston (W. Va.) Golden Eagles were narrowly defeated by the West Virginia University Mountaineers, 3-2, May 4, 2022.

ZUCCARO: CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH FOUR HITS
First-year Eagle Giano Zuccaro has knocked four hits each in Eastern's previous two wins (at Morehead State, 3/17, vs Michigan, 3/19). It is the first time since an Eagle has done so since former Eagle and current Oakland Athletics' minor-leaguer Max Schuemann did it in a doubleheader to open the 2018 season at Florida Gulf Coast University, Feb. 16, 2018.

BOB GETS THE NOD
Senior Bobby Jones started in Tuesday's win over Michigan, March 19, marking his sixth start of the season. Jones' six starts rank as the most in the conference thus far, and fourth most in the nation. The senior took the ball for Eastern Michigan to start the game against the Wolverines. He 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.

MOVE 'EM UP
Glenn Miller has excelled this season in advancing EMU baserunners via the sacrifice bunt. Miller has notched five sacrifice bunts on the season, ranking him at the top of the MAC and inside the top-10 in the country, at No. 9. The senior executed two sacrifice bunts in the Eagles' latest victory over Michigan, March 19.

NATIONALLY RANKED IN HOMERS
EMU checks into the top-100 nationally in both home runs and home runs per game, totaling 29 this season (third in the MAC), ranking 54th in the country. Eastern averages 1.45 homers per game (third in the MAC), also slotting 54th nationally. When it comes to home runs, the Eagles have picked up the pace as of late, rocketing nine long balls in its previous four games.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: CORY TAYLOR
Cory Taylor sent a home run over the center field wall to give the Eagles an 8-3 lead in the fifth inning against the Wolverines. Taylor now has four home runs for the season, the second-most on the team. The infielder had seven home runs in all of 2023.

STRONG IN THE MAC RANKINGS
Through its first 20 contests, Eastern Michigan ranks inside the Mid-American Conference top-four in nine statistical categories.

COMPLETE GAMES NATIONWIDE
Senior Nick Chittum is one of just 48 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 33rd nationally with 11 stolen bases in the team's first 20 games. He also stands 52nd in the country and second in the conference in stolen bases per game (0.55). Hugo leads an Eagles team that ranks 74th nationally in stolen bags, and third in the conference with 30. EMU also ranks high in stolen bases per game, averaging 1.50 swipes per contest (81st nationally, fourth in MAC).

SCORING FIRST
When scoring first, Eastern posts a 6-4 record. The trend continues when Eastern Michigan scores in the first inning of the game, as the Eagles hold a 4-2 record in such occurrences. The Eagles scored first, and in the first inning, sending two home runs over the wall in the first frame of the 14-4 win over Michigan, March 19.

13 HITS = WINS
The Eagles have a 6-1 record when recording 13 or more hits in a single game this season. Most recently, EMU tabbed 14 hits in its 14-4 win over Michigan, March 19.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SIXTH
The Eagles post a 7-0 record when leading after six innings of play. Conversely, when trailing after six, EMU is 0-12. The trend continued in Eastern's latest win over Michigan, March 19, as the Eagles entered the seventh inning leading the Wolverines, 9-4, eventually winning, 14-4.

SCOUTING WMU
The Broncos were predicted to finish fourth in the conference's pre-season poll. Currently holding a 9-10 (2-1 MAC) record, Western, like Eastern, also won its first MAC series of the season, taking two of three games from the University of Toledo Friday-Saturday, March 15-16.

IN THE SERIES: WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Eagles and Broncos will meet for the 193rd time Friday. Overall, Eastern holds a 95-97 when facing its cross-state foe. The Eagles have taken the last four games against the Broncos, producing a 4-1 record when facing WMU last season. EMU's longest winning streak in the series was 10 games from 2010-13, while its longest losing streak was six games from 2005-06.

ON THE HORIZON
Next, Eastern will host another in-state rival when it welcomes Central Michigan University to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game series Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30.

Baseball Continues Home Stand, Will Host Western Michigan in Weekend Series

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Players Mentioned

Nick Chittum

Logan Hugo

Bobby Jones

Glenn Miller

Cory Taylor

Giano Zuccaro

Eastern Michigan Athletics