Eastern Heads to Muncie to Open MAC Play Against Ball State

Baseball at Ball State
Date	March 8-11
Venue	Muncie, Ind. \| Ball Diamond
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF)
Live Video	Watch Live
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Social Media	@EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics

MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team continues its early season road trip, as they are set to open Mid-American Conference play at Ball State University, Friday-Sunday, March 8-11.
Eastern enters the series with a 3-9 (0-0 MAC) mark following a 6-2 loss at the hands of No. 9 Vanderbilt, March 5. Conversely, the Cardinals enter the contest with a 9-4 (0-0 MAC) record, coming off a doubleheader sweep against Florida A&M University, March 6.
Fans can follow along with live stats at EMUEagles.com, and stay tuned to EMU baseball social media accounts for in-game updates.

FIRST PITCHES
» The Eagles hold an 83-85-1 all-time series record against the Cardinals, the two institutions will have played 172 games once the upcoming weekend series concludes.
» Friday's game will mark EMU's 52nd MAC opener, Eastern currently holds a 27-24 record all-time in such games, and a 643-639-3 all-time MAC record.
» Head Coach Robbie Britt has a knack for winning conference-openers as the first-year skipper has yet to lose one in his four seasons as a collegiate head coach.
» Next, Eastern travels to Morehead, Ky., for a four-game series against the Morehead State University Eagles, Friday-Sunday, March 15-17.

BOBBY ON THE BUMP
Bobby Jones had a strong start against Houston Christian, Feb. 29. Jones went a career-long 6.2 innings on the bump, allowing five hits, one earned run, while striking out seven (ties career-high) and walking just one, equaling out to a 1.35 ERA on the day. Jones made it difficult on the Huskies, limiting their batters to just a .185 average in the game. Additionally, Jones has limited batters to just a .197 average through his three starts, the fifth-lowest in the MAC, while tallying the fourth-lowest ERA (3.64), and lowest base-on-balls (three). Jones stands second in total strikeouts (20), has allowed just two extra-base hits all season, all while totaling the third-most innings pitched in the conference (17.1).

STRONG IN THE MAC RANKINGS
Through its first 12 contests, Eastern Michigan ranks inside the Mid-American Conference top-four in 10 statistical categories, including leading the league in WHIP (1.51), stolen bases (22), stolen bases per game (1.83), and hits allowed per nine innings (8.09).

BRITT'S TEAMS IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
As a collegiate head coach, Robbie Britt, has yet to lose in a conference-opening contest. While at the University of Charleston (W. Va.), Britt's Golden Eagles triumphed over Notre Dame College, March 21, 2021, before besting Alderson Broaddus in the 2022 season, and winning against Wheeling State, 5-4, March 18, 2023. Overall, Britt holds a 74-18 conference record as a collegiate head coach.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: TRIPLES
Eastern Michigan ranks 39th nationally in triples and second in the MAC this season. Cory Taylor leads the team with two, while Logan Hugo and Nathan Ball each have one. Additionally, Taylor's two three-baggers rank as the 11th-most in the nation and most in the MAC.

EIGHT RUN FUN
The Eastern offense erupted for an eight-run first inning against Houston Christian, Feb. 29, en route to a 14-4 win. The eight runs mark the most in a single inning from the Eagles this season, and the most since they notched 12 in the opening inning against the University of Toledo, May 4, 2021, a game that resulted in a 13-2 EMU win.

AGGRESSIVE ON THE BASE PATHS
After stealing 11 bases in the four-game series against Houston Christian, Feb. 29-March 2, EMU stands first in the MAC with 22 swiped bags in 26 attempts this season, a mark that also ranks 42nd nationally. Furthermore, eight of Eastern's 11 stolen bases in the series came in the series-opener against the Huskies, marking the most stolen bases in a single game since they grabbed nine in a 6-5 win over Toledo, April 28, 2019.

COMPLETE GAMES NATIONWIDE
Senior Nick Chittum is one of just 27 pitchers in Division I baseball to have notched a complete game so far in the 2024 season. He is the only Mid-American Conference student-athlete on the list.

BOBBY JONES: NATIONALLY RANKED
Bobby Jones ranks 74th in the country in strikeouts with 20, while also ranking 78th in strikeout-walk ratio with 6.67. Figures that rank second and first in the conference, respectively.

RUN, RUN, RUN
Junior Logan Hugo ranks second in the MAC and stands 42nd nationally with seven stolen bases in the team's first 11 games.
EMU ranks first in the MAC and 42nd nationally with 22 swiped bags.

FOUR-HIT HUGO
Logan Hugo secured the first four-hit performance of his career, Feb. 29, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. Hugo's four hits mark the first four-hit performance from an Eagle since Kyle Schroedle hit for the cycle last season against Northern Illinois, May 19, marking the first cycle in program history, and the first the MAC has seen since 2016.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SIXTH
The Eagles post a 3-0 record when leading after six innings of play. Conversely, when trailing after six, EMU is 0-8.

STRONG ON THE BUMP
Senior Nick Chittum was stellar in the finale at Southern Indiana, Feb. 25, posting the longest outing by an EMU hurler since 2021 (a streak of 142 games). The righty threw a complete game, scattering just four hits while striking out four in 8.0 innings of work. He allowed no walks and just three runs, none of which were earned while limiting the Screaming Eagles to a .143 batting average.
It marked the first complete game for Eastern Michigan since the 2022 season, however, all four of those CGs were just seven-inning affairs. The last EMU pitcher to complete 8.0 innings of work was Luke McGuire at Ohio, April 10, 2021.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE MAC
Beginning MAC competition in the 1973 season, the Eagles have compiled a record of 27-24 in their first MAC game of the season. Additionally, EMU holds an all-time conference record of 643-639-3.

LAST TIME OPENING MAC PLAY
Last season, the Eagles opened their MAC schedule at the University of Akron, where they won the series, 2-1, Friday-Sunday, March 10-12.

LAST TIME IN MUNCIE
Eastern last played Ball State in Muncie in the 2022 season, the Eagles fell in the series, 2-1, Sunday-Monday, March 13-14. The last time the Green and White earned a series-win in Muncie came in the 2007 season, when they swept the Cardinals in a three-game set by a combined score of 20-10, Friday-Sunday, April 20-22.

LAST TIME OUT: BALL STATE
EMU opened its 2023 home campaign against the Cardinals, a series that saw the Cardinals claim victory in Ypsilanti, 3-0, Friday-Sunday, March 24-26. The Eagles most recently won a game against Ball State in the 2022 season, besting the Cardinals in the second game of a three-game set, 4-2, March 14.

IN THE SERIES: BALL STATE
The Eagles hold an 83-85-1 all-time series record against the Cardinals, the two institutions will have played 172 games once the upcoming weekend series concludes.

QUITE THE TRIP
Amid winter break on campus, EMU will log more than 2,640 miles with games at Southern Indiana, Feb. 23-25, Houston Christian, Feb. 29-March 2, Vanderbilt, March 5, and Ball State, March 8-10.

ON THE HORIZON
Next, Eastern travels to Morehead, Ky., for a four-game series against the Morehead State University Eagles, Friday-Sunday, March 15-17.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nathan Ball

Nick Chittum

Logan Hugo

Bobby Jones

Kyle Schroedle

Cory Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics