Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
11-17, 0
Kent State
13-14, 0
McRae and Zuccaro Knock Three Hits Each in Loss to Kent State
4/5/2024 5:44:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles and Golden Flashes will play game two tomorrow, Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m.
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Despite Junior Giano Zuccaro and senior Blake McRae each collecting three hits, Eastern Michigan University fell to Kent State University Friday, April 5, at Schoonover Stadium, 20-7.
With the result, Eastern moved to 11-17 (6-4 MAC) on the season while Kent State improved to 13-14 (6-4 MAC).
In addition to his three hits, McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C.) had two RBI to lead the Eagles. Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) added a double and a triple to his three-hit performance as well.
Senior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville) also chipped in for EMU, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding one home run, one walk and two RBI.
How it Happened
Trailing 11-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) flew out to center to score Zuccaro, before Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif./University Prep/Crown College) sent a grounder up the middle to drive in Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.), followed by an RBI single from McRae.
Eastern kept the deficit at 11-3 before closing the gap further in the seventh. The Eagles brought home a pair, with one run driven in by McRae's single, which tightened the Golden Flashes lead to 11-5.
Kent State built their lead to 14-5 before the Eastern Michigan offense got back in action, reducing that lead to 14-7 in the eighth. The Eagles added two to their tally on Taylor's two-run homer to left.
EMU was unable to get any closer, as Kent State added six runs to their tally on the way to a 20-7 final.
Game Notes
» Zuccaro tripled to left field in the top of the fifth. The junior's three-bagger marks the sixth of the season for the Eagles, and his first since donning the script E. Zuccaro finished the day with three hits for the first time as an Eagle, for his ninth multi-hit outing of the season.
» Hugo flied out to center field, scoring Zuccaro and putting the Eagles on the board. Hugo now has 17 RBI on the season, and has recorded one RBI in three consecutive contests for the second time this season.
» Kleiman doubled in the fifth inning, marking his ninth consecutive game with a hit, the longest streak on the team thus far this season. Kleiman would also single in the seventh, capturing his sixth multi-hit performance, and third in his previous four games.
» McRae grabbed his third three-hit game of the season, the most on the squad. McRae also drove in two runs in the game for his seventh multi-RBI game, also a team-high.
» Finishing the game with 12 hits, the Eagles reached double-digits in the category for the 15th time this season.
» Taylor homered for the fifth time this season with a two-run jack to left field in the eighth, increasing his team-high RBI mark to 25. With the home run, Taylor is now two homers away from tying his total from last season (seven), which would tie a season-long career-high.
» With one single in the fifth and one double in the seventh, Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) notched his sixth multi-hit day of the year. Scoring Kleiman with his two-bagger in the seventh, the former Big Ten product drove in his fifth baserunner of the season.
» With McRae and Zuccaro's three-hit days, the Eagles have had two players with three or more hits in the same game for the third time this season. Zuccaro and Kleiman first accomplished the feat in a 9-8 win against Morehead State University, March 17, before Zuccaro and Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale Secondary/Wright State) did so in a 14-4 win over the University Michigan, March 19.
Historical Notes
» Friday's contest marked the 130th all-time between Eastern and Kent State. Overall, the Eagles hold a 48-82 record against the Golden Flashes.
Up Next
The Eagles and Golden Flashes will meet for the second game of the three-game set tomorrow, Saturday, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bickerstaff (3-2)
L: Jones, Bobby (4-3)
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1
3B: Zuccaro, Giano 1
HR: Taylor, Cory 1
RBI: McRae, Blake 2 ; Taylor, Cory 2 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1
SF: Hugo, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Drew 1 ; Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 2 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SB: Hugo, Logan 1
CS: Taylor, Cory 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1
PO: McRae, Blake 1
Batting:
2B: Jackson,K 1 ; Casey,J 1
HR: Jackson,K 1 ; Johnson,J 1 ; Macdonald,L 1 ; Casey,J 1
RBI: Jackson,K 5 ; Johnson,J 4 ; Macdonald,L 3 ; Casey,J 2 ; Hinds 2 ; Kibler,D 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Shinkle,B 1 ; Orr 4 ; Jackson,K 4 ; Johnson,J 3 ; Macdonald,L 2 ; Casey,J 2 ; Hinds 1 ; Kibler,D 1 ; Schaller,K 1 ; Reese,R 1
SB: Jackson,K 1 ; Johnson,J 1 ; Casey,J 2 ; Kibler,D 1 ; Schaller,K 1 ; Reese,R 1
HBP: Orr 1 ; Johnson,J 1 ; McNamara,M 1
