Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
14-36, 0
Northern Illinois
19-33, 0
Jones Goes The Distance as Comeback Falls Short Against NIU
5/16/2024 6:58:00 PM | Baseball
Jones' complete game is the first of his career, and third for the Eagles overall this season
DeKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – Bobby Jones recorded the first complete game of his career and third overall for the Eagles in 2024, as the Eastern Michigan University baseball team's comeback fell short against Northern Illinois University, 5-4, Thursday, May 16, at Ralph Mckinzie Field.
How it Happened
Trailing 4-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Junior Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) scored the lone run of the inning for Eastern Michigan via Blake McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C.)'s fielder's choice.
The Huskies expanded their lead to 5-1 before the Eagles offense got back to work, cutting into that lead in the seventh. Sophomore Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) came across to score the lone run of the inning as McRae tallied his second RBI of the day, tightening the Huskies' lead to 5-2.
Eastern held the Huskies off the board before narrowing the gap to 5-3 in the eighth. The Eagles scored one run on junior Brendan Kleiman's (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) one-out solo homer, marking his second of the season.
Jones (Loveland, Ohio/St. Xavier/Xavier) returned to the mound in the bottom of the eighth, sitting down the Huskies in order for the second straight inning.
The Eagles continued to chip away in the ninth. Hugo was driven-in off Lucas Johnson's (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale Secondary/Wright State), bringing the score to 5-4 in favor of Northern Illinois.
The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
Game Notes
» Jones went the distance for the first complete game of his career and third of the season for EMU. Jones allowed just two earned runs off five hits while striking out four. His eight IP tied a career-high previously set in an 11-4 win against Western Michigan University, March 23. Additionally, Jones is the second EMU pitcher to tally a complete game this season as Nick Chittum (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile) notched the first one against the University of Southern Indiana, Feb. 25, and the second versus WMU, March 24.
» McRae recorded two RBI in the contest for his 10th multi-RBI game of the year. He also drew one walk, his 29th of the season, marking the most on the team.
» Glenn Miller (Pentwater, Mich./Pentwater/Spring Arbor) tapped his 10th sacrifice bunt of the season in the ninth inning to advance two baserunners. Miller's 10 sac bunts stand as the second-most in the MAC and 17th in the country.
» Hugo knocked two hits on the day, marking the junior's 13th game with two or more hits in the 2024 campaign.
» Vance worked three walks at the plate, bringing his season total up to 20, and tying a team-high as an individual. His three base-on-balls went down as the seventh time an Eagle has hit that mark in a single game in 2024. Vance swiped two bases, marking his third game with multiple SB this season. The game also went down as his seventh straight reaching base, the longest current streak on the team.
» The Eagles out-hit their opponent for the 27th time as they logged seven hits to the Huskies' five.
» Kleiman homered for the second time this season, elevating his RBI total to 22 while marking his fourth consecutive game with a hit and second straight with an RBI.
Historical Notes
» Thursday's matchup marked the 138th all-time between Eastern and NIU. After the narrow loss, the Eagles remain in the series-lead as they now hold an 83-55 record against the Huskies, and a 21-16 record when playing them in DeKalb.
Up Next
The Eagles and Huskies will play the second game of the three-game set tomorrow, Friday, May 17. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET).
Follow Us
For all things EMU Baseball, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMU_Baseball on X (formerly Twitter), emu.baseball on Instagram, and emu.baseball on TikTok.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: PEDERSON, Sam (2-1)
L: Jones, Bobby (5-5)
S: HANN, Dominic (4)
Batting:
2B: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1
HR: Kleiman, Brendan 1
RBI: McRae, Blake 2 ; Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1
SH: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Johnson, Lucas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Hugo, Logan 2 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SB: Vance, Cooper 2
HBP: McRae, Blake 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Taylor, Cory 1
PO: Schroedle, Kyle 1
Batting:
2B: CEPICKY, CJ 1
HR: CEPICKY, CJ 1
RBI: ERATO, Eric 1 ; CEPICKY, CJ 1 ; PARCELL, Charlie 1 ; KELLEY, Mason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SUMMERHILL, Colin 1 ; CEPICKY, CJ 2 ; PARCELL, Charlie 1 ; COHN, Cooper 1
