Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
3-4
Presbyterian
4-5
Hugo and Zirwas Shine in EMU's 8-2 Win Over Presbyterian
2/28/2025 10:31:00 PM | Baseball
Drew Beckner went 7.1 innings, allowing one walk and striking out six
CLINTON, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) -- Senior Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) and junior Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) each collected two extra-base hits to help propel Eastern Michigan University over Presbyterian College, 8-2, in non-conference action Friday, Feb. 28, at the PC Baseball Complex.
Senior Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio./Big Walnut) improved to 2-0 on the young season for Eastern Michigan (3-4). The left-hander went 7.1 innings, giving up two runs, on five hits, allowing one walk and striking out six. Junior Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) also pitched well, throwing 1.2 shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out one.
Zirwas' two extra-base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-5 day, including two doubles and one RBI. Hugo made his contribution with one double, one home run, one walk and three RBI, part of a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Senior Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) also contributed for the Eagles, putting together one hit in five trips to the plate while adding one home run and an RBI.
How It Happened
Trailing 2-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the third inning. Eastern Michigan plated two runs off of Presbyterian pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of Zirwas.
The score stayed at 2-2 until the very next inning, when the Eagles put runs on the scoreboard once again. Eastern Michigan scored twice on Travis' two-run homer, which brought the score to 4-2 in favor of the Eagles.
Eastern Michigan kept Presbyterian without a run before expanding their lead to 8-2 the following inning. The Eagles bats heated up in the inning, scoring four runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Hugo. The score remained 8-2 for the rest of the game as Eastern Michigan coasted to the win.
Game Notes
» Zirwas had three base hits in the game for Eastern Michigan.
» Beckner struck out six Blue Hose hitters.
» The Eagles had both Hugo and Zirwas smack multiple extra-base hits in the ballgame.
» Every Eastern Michigan starter reached base safely in the win.
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed four runs across.
» Beckner put together 7.1 innings of two-run ball for the Eagles.
» Four Eagles had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Eagles out-hit the Blue Hose at a 13-6 clip.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers limited Presbyterian to just 1-for-11 (.091) with runners in scoring position.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 36 Presbyterian hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out seven.
» Hugo led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI.
» Presbyterian was led offensively by senior Jackson Hugus, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
» Sophomore Tyrell Williams led the Blue Hose pitching staff, throwing four scoreless innings.
» Travis sent a ball over the left field fence for his fourth home run of the season. The backstop leads the team with four home runs in 2025 and is also tied for the MAC lead in the category.
» Zirwas finished the day getting three hits, with two of those being for doubles. The VCU transfer has hit in all but one game this season and it is his second multi-hit game of the year, also doing so Feb. 22 at Central Arkansas.
» John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) had two singles to finish with a multi-hit effort. Hale was also hit by a pitch in the fifth inning which added another time reaching base for the outfielder. The game was his second multi-hit contest of the season.
» Hugo would finish the game reaching base safely three times, going two-for-four with one walk, two extra-base hits, one homer, and one double. The reigning MAC player of the week has hit in every game this season and holds a .464 batting average through seven games in 2025.
» Hugo furthered his team-long hit streak to six games and collected his third multi-hit game of the season. His 13 hits this season rank as the third most in the conference behind Jellison while his 11 RBI stand second in the MAC.
» Vance had a good game of his own, going 2-for-4 with one double. The middle infielder now has three multi-hit games in 2025 and has a .333 batting average for the season.
» Beckner was the starting pitcher for Eastern Michigan, taking the win with 7.1 innings pitched, striking out six, allowing five hits, while issuing just one walk. He now has a 2-0 win-loss record on the season.
» Ethan Davis was the only other pitcher used for Eastern Michigan after Beckner was pulled. Pitching 1.2 innings allowing one hit, one walk, and one strikeout in seven batters faced. Davis has thrown five consecutive shutout innings since his first outing of the season.
» As a team, Eastern Michigan notched 13 hits in the win over the Blue Hose. The game is the fourth time EMU has hit that many times in a single game this season, while they are third behind Miami and Bowling Green for the most hits in the MAC this year for a program.
» Eastern also finished the day with six doubles, the most EMU has had in a game this season.
» Eastern Michigan's eight extra-base hits surpasses two instances this season in which they had six doubles or better for the most extra-base hits they've had in a game in 2025.
» With two home runs in the game, Eastern increased its total to 13 on the season, a number that ranks as the most in the conference. After batting .351 in the loss, the Eagles increased their MAC-best average to .316 on the season.
» With Friday's home runs, the Eagles have knocked multiple homers in four games this season, coincidentally producing a losing 1-3 record when doing so.
» EMU out-hit its opponent for the sixth time this season. It holds a 3-3 record when doing so.
» Four Eagles recorded multi-hit games with only Hugo driving in multiple runs.
» Eastern Michigan allowed just two runs, its fewest in a game this season.
» EMU pitching issued a season-low two walks.
Historical Notes
» Friday's game marked the third between the Eagles and Blue Hose. Eastern now holds a 3-0 lead in the series.
» After knocking 13 hits, the Eagles have tallied double-digit hits in six of their first seven games to start the season for the first time in the modern statistical era (1999-present).
» With Travis's fourth-inning homer, the Eagles have recorded at least one home run in the first seven games of the season for the first time in the modern statistical era (1999-present).
Up Next
The Eagles will stay in Clinton, S.C. for three more games in the series against Presbyterian, with tomorrow's, March 1, matchup being a seven inning doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for noon ET while game two is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
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) and emu_baseball on Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Beckner, Drew (2-0)
L: Kyle Mueller (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Zirwas, Devan 2 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
HR: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Travis, Harrison 1
RBI: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 2 ; Hugo, Logan 3 ; Travis, Harrison 1
SF: Jellison, Bruce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Hugo, Logan 2 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SB: Walsh, Connor 1
HBP: Hale, John 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1
Batting:
2B: Mikah Conner 1 ; Trey Fenderson 1 ; Jackson Hugus 2
RBI: Rhogue Wallace 1
SH: Rhogue Wallace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mikah Conner 1 ; Jackson Hugus 1
SB: Amman Dewberry 1
