Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
14-37, 0
Northern Illinois
20-33, 0
Baseball Edged by Northern Illinois in High-Scoring, Extra-Innings Contest
5/17/2024 7:59:00 PM | Baseball
Brendan Kleiman homered for the second consecutive game for the first time as an Eagle, and set a career-high with four runs scored
DeKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped a high-scoring, extra-innings affair to the Northern Illinois University Huskies, 15-14, in 11 innings Friday, May 17, at Ralph McKinzie Field.
The Eagles were led by Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) who homered for the second consecutive game for the first time in his Division I career, knocked three hits while driving-in three runs, and set an EMU career-high with four runs scored.
How it Happened
The Eagles were trailing 1-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. They scored three in the frame off a series of hit by pitches and a Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) infield single.
The Huskies then tied the ballgame at three before the Eagles came back to reclaim their advantage in the third inning. Eastern plated three in the inning, highlighted by Kyle Schroedle's (Redding, Calif./University Prep/Crown College) two-out RBI double.
Eastern Michigan kept Northern Illinois scoreless before building their lead to 8-3 the following inning. It added two to its tally on Kleiman's two-run homer to left, marking his third bomb of the season and second in as many games.
Eastern Michigan lost the lead they built in the fourth, but got back on the scoreboard in the seventh trailing 10-8. The Eagles scored six runs in the inning, four of which came across on singles, bringing their advantage to 14-10.
NIU immediately responded, scoring four runs of its own in the ensuing half inning. The game would turn defensive as neither team scored in the extra frames prior to NIU's game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th.
Game Notes
» Kleiman hit a home run for the second straight game for the first time as an Eagle. He finished the game going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, marking his fourth three-hit outing and third game with three RBI. Kleiman also extended his hit streak to five consecutive games and his RBI streak to three straight. Furthermore, the junior's four runs scored set a Division I career-high and tied for the most from an individual Eagle this season, as he became the fourth EMU player to touch home four times in a single game.
» Schroedle drove-in three runs for the fourth time this season, marking the team-lead in RBI with a total of 37. Shroedle's lone hit of the contest went for two-bases, marking his 13th double of the season, a number that also paces the team.
» Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) batted in three runs with two hits, collecting his third three-RBI outing of the season, and 12th multi-RBI performance.
» Jones knocked two hits in the contest for the 10th time in his EMU career. The infielder stole a base in the top of the fifth, his fourth of the season and the Eagles' 75th. Eastern stands third in the MAC and 66th in the nation in stolen bases. Additionally, Jones drew multiple base-on-balls for the fourth time in his EMU career.
» The Eagles offense recorded a triple-double with double-digit runs, hits, and RBI for the 11th time this season. When accomplishing the feat, Eastern posts a 6-5 record.
» Blake McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C.) worked multiple walks for the fourth time this season, increasing his season total to 31, a team-high for EMU. He also drilled two hits from the dish for his 19th multi-hit game, a number that also leads the team.
» Eastern set a season-high in walks as they drew 10 throughout the contest. 10 walks are the most from the program since it drew 12 in a 12-5 victory over Niagara University in the 2023 campaign, April 30.
» Scoring six runs in the seventh inning, Eastern recorded its 21st inning plating four-plus runs. The frame also went down as the most runs in an inning for the Eagles since they also scored six in the second inning in an 15-6 win against Ohio University in the first game of a doubleheader, April 13.
» Nathan Ball (Bay City, Mich./Bay City John Glenn) notched his sixth multi-knock game of the season with two hits.
» Friday's contest marked Eastern's third extra-innings affair of the season. After the loss, the Eagles moved to 1-2 when entering extra frames.
Historical Notes
» Friday's game marked the 139th all-time between Eastern and NIU. After the narrow defeat, the Eagles remain in the series-lead as they now hold an 83-56 record against the Huskies, and a 21-17 record when playing them in DeKalb.
Up Next
The Eagles will play their final game of the 2024 season against the Huskies tomorrow, Saturday, May 18. The series-finale will begin at 1 p.m. CT (2 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: LINKLETTER, Ryan (1-0)
L: Topolski, Jack (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Hugo, Logan 1 ; McRae, Blake 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1
HR: Kleiman, Brendan 1
RBI: Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Ball, Nathan 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 3 ; McRae, Blake 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 3 ; Vance, Cooper 3 ; Jones, Drew 1
SF: Schroedle, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Johnson, Lucas 1 ; Ball, Nathan 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 4 ; Hugo, Logan 2 ; McRae, Blake 2 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1 ; Jones, Drew 1
SB: Jones, Drew 1
HBP: Miller, Glenn 1 ; Schroedle, Kyle 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
Batting:
2B: ERATO, Eric 1 ; NELSON, Jake 3 ; GAUTHIER, JP 1
HR: ERATO, Eric 1 ; CEPICKY, CJ 1 ; GAUTHIER, JP 1
RBI: ERATO, Eric 2 ; SUMMERHILL, Colin 3 ; CEPICKY, CJ 2 ; NELSON, Jake 2 ; HARPER, Aaron 2 ; GAUTHIER, JP 3
SH: DEMETRAL, Andre 1
SF: HARPER, Aaron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ERATO, Eric 3 ; DEMETRAL, Andre 1 ; CEPICKY, CJ 3 ; PARCELL, Charlie 2 ; NELSON, Jake 1 ; HARPER, Aaron 1 ; KELLEY, Mason 1 ; GAUTHIER, JP 3
HBP: ERATO, Eric 1 ; NELSON, Jake 1
