Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
12-19
Oakland
16-16
Baseball Scores Season-High in Runs in Loss to Oakland
4/9/2024 9:13:00 PM | Baseball
EMU had 24 hits, the most from the program since the 2009 season, and 15 RBI, a season-high
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team put on a clinic from the plate with 24 hits and 15 RBI, the most hits from an Eagles team since 2009. EMU rallied late, but fell to Oakland University, 20-17, Tuesday, April 9, in non-conference action at Oestrike Stadium.
Freshman Liam Baker (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) was a bright spot for the Eagles, starting the ballgame and throwing two innings, allowing no earned runs on one hit, with two walks and one strikeout.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were paced by senior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind./Shelbyville), who went 5-for-7 on the day with a double, two home runs, and four RBI, marking Eastern's first five-hit performance since 2018.
Senior Blake McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C) furnished a noteworthy effort as well, going 4-for-5 with a double, a triple, two walks, and an RBI.
Junior Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) also helped out for Eastern Michigan, putting together three hits in seven trips to the plate while adding a home run and three RBI.
How it Happened
The Eagles lost despite scoring in seven different innings in the ballgame, last holding the lead in the seventh inning at 11-10.
Eastern Michigan's biggest output came in its four-run first inning. The big hit for the Eagles in the inning was a one-run single off the bat of freshman Nathan Ball (Bay City, Mich./Bay City John Glenn), the freshman's first RBI of his collegiate baseball career.
Game Notes
» Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif./University Prep/Crown College) roped a triple to right center in the bottom of the first. The triple marks the seventh of the season for the Eagles, and the first of the season for Schroedle. The graduate student ended the day going 4-for-5 from the dish for his 11th game with multiple hits, and his first four-hit game of the season. Schroedle also drove in two runs in the game for the sixth time this season, bringing his RBI count to 23.
» Taylor knocked Eastern's first five-hit game of the year as he went 5-for-7 from the plate, becoming the first Eagle to do so since Jeff Timko did so in the 2018 season. Homering twice in the game, Taylor tied Schroedle for the team-lead (seven), for the first multi-homer game of his career, while also driving in four runs. Additionally, both Taylor's hit and RBI count go down as career-highs for the senior.
» McRae tabbed four hits in the contest, tying a career-high and marking his first four-hit performance of the season. McRae also recorded the first three-bagger of his EMU career.
» Kleiman had three hits and three RBI. Kleiman is now up to eight multi-hit and four multi-RBI outings this year. Kleiman would also homer in the seventh for the first time since donning the script E.
» Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale Secondary/Wright State) had three hits and an RBI in the game. Johnson has seven multi-hit games, two of which being three-hit games, and 16 RBI on the season.
» Ball recorded the third multi-hit game of his career, finishing the game with two hits. Ball also drove in an EMU baserunner, marking the first RBI of his collegiate career.
» Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) barreled two doubles on the day. Zuccaro leads the Eagles with nine doubles on the season. The junior also notched his 11th multi-knock outing of the year.
» Isiah Lindsey (Nunica, Mich.Spring Lake/Lake Michigan/Lansing C.C.) set an Eastern career-high with six strikeouts on the mound while issuing one walk. The right-hander also tied a career-long outing (4.2 IP), previously set in Eastern's series at Kent State, April 6.
» With another zero ER appearance, Baker has allowed an earned run in just 2-of-10 outings this season.
» The Eagles finished with a season-high 15 RBI, also marking their seventh game with double-digit hits and RBI, EMU is now 5-2 when doing so. Eastern's 17 runs in the contest also go down as a season-high.
Historical Notes
» Tuesday's contest marked the 69th all-time between the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies, after the result, Eastern holds a 48-21 record when facing Oakland.
» The Eagles recorded a season-high 24 hits in the contest. 24 knocks in a single game is the most from an Eagles team since they recorded 28 hits in a 27-7 win over Bowling Green State University, April 8, 2009.
Up Next
The Eagles will start a three-game conference series against the Ohio University Bobcats, beginning Friday, April 12, at 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ben Paugh (1-1)
L: Lindsey, Isiah (0-2)
S: Brandon Decker (4)
Batting:
2B: Reggie Bussey 1 ; John Lauinger 1 ; Brandon Nigh 1 ; Sam Griffith 2
HR: Carter Hain 2 ; Ian Cleary 1
RBI: Reggie Bussey 2 ; John Lauinger 2 ; Brandon Nigh 3 ; Lucas Day 2 ; Carter Hain 8 ; Ian Cleary 2 ; Sam Griffith 1
SH: John Lauinger 1
SF: Brandon Nigh 2 ; Lucas Day 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reggie Bussey 4 ; John Lauinger 4 ; Brandon Nigh 1 ; Brandon Heidal 2 ; Carter Hain 2 ; Ben Clark 1 ; Trent Rice 1 ; Ian Cleary 1 ; Gavin Arseneau 1 ; Sam Griffith 3
SB: Reggie Bussey 2 ; John Lauinger 2 ; Brandon Heidal 1 ; Carter Hain 1 ; Gavin Arseneau 1 ; Sam Griffith 1
CS: Harrison Griffith 1 ; Ben Clark 1
HBP: Reggie Bussey 1 ; Brandon Heidal 1 ; Ben Clark 1
Batting:
2B: McRae, Blake 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 2 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1 ; Ball, Nathan 1
3B: McRae, Blake 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1
HR: Taylor, Cory 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1
RBI: McRae, Blake 1 ; Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Taylor, Cory 4 ; Zuccaro, Giano 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 3 ; Schroedle, Kyle 2 ; Ball, Nathan 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SH: Miller, Glenn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McRae, Blake 4 ; Johnson, Lucas 2 ; Taylor, Cory 3 ; Zuccaro, Giano 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 2 ; Schroedle, Kyle 2 ; Ball, Nathan 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
CS: McRae, Blake 2
HBP: Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1 ; Miller, Glenn 1
PO: Ball, Nathan 1
