Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
8-7, 4-0
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Western Michigan
0-15, 0-4
Vance Shines as Baseball Splits Doubleheader at Western Michigan
3/14/2025 8:20:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles are off to their best start in conference play since 2011
GAME 1 | Eastern Michigan 10, Western Michigan 8
GAME 2 | Western Michigan 14, Eastern Michigan 4
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team split a doubleheader against the Western Michigan University Broncos, winning the first game, 10-8, and falling short in the second in eight innings, 14-4, Friday, March 14, at Robert J. Bobb Stadium.
Despite losing game two, Eastern is off to its best start in conference play since the 2011 season when it also started 4-1. After the doubleheader, Eastern stands tied for second in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with a 4-1 record and 8-8 overall record.
Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) led the Eagles offensively as he tallied a career-best four RBI in the first game while tying a career high with three hits before adding one hit and one RBI in the second.
Pitching wise, Cal Rutherford (Canton, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) earned the first win of his career after allowing zero earned runs in one inning of work out of the bullpen while Fischer Hendershot (Flushing, Mich./Flint Powers) earned his second save of the season, slamming the door on the Broncos in game one.
How it Happened – Game One
Pitching and defense shines as there were just three hits in the first three innings, all coming from the Broncos as they took a 1-0 lead in the home half of the third off an RBI triple.
After EMU tallied its first hit of the day with a Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) single in the fourth, it scored its first run of the day in the fifth off a Vance RBI single up the middle to score Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) from second after he reached via a lead-off single and advanced to second on a Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) groundout.
Western retook the lead in the bottom half of the fifth off a solo home run to left field.
Eastern tied the game at two runs in the sixth as Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) secured his ninth RBI of the season off a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) from third.
The Eagles opened the seventh with back-to-back singles from Jones and Vance, forcing Western Michigan to call to the bullpen. John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) worked a walk to load the bases, but Eastern failed to score in the inning as the next two batters each fouled out while Hale was thrown out at second off a Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) fielder's choice.
Senior left hander Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio/Big Walnut/Charleston) was relieved by Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) after walking the Broncos' leadoff batter in the seventh. Beckner had another strong outing as he went six innings, allowed two earned runs, off six hits, while striking out six, and walking two.
Western broke through to take a 3-2 lead on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh in an inning where it would score four runs and take a commanding 6-2 lead into the eighth, where thr Broncos would add one run after a scoreless top half of the inning for Eastern.
Beginning with a Vance hit by pitch in the ninth, the EMU offense erupted for eight runs highlighted by Vance's bases-clearing triple in his second time at-bat in the frame to give the Eagles the 10-7 lead.
Hendershot closed out the game and earned his second save of the season after allowing one Western run in the final inning to capture the 10-8 comeback victory for the Eagles.
How it Happened – Game Two
Eastern's hot bats from late innings in game one carried over into the second contest as they opened the game with runs in each of the first two innings. Jellison singled to score Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) in the first and Vance added his fifth RBI of the day, scoring Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson Newman) from second to take a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the second.
Western struck back and scored six runs in the ensuing half inning, forcing the Eagles to call to the bullpen.
The Broncos scored two runs in the fourth, and three in the fifth, taking an 11-2 lead into the sixth.
Both the sixth and seventh innings were scoreless before Stecko stepped to the plate to record his third home run of the year, scoring Jellison in the process.
Western scored three in the home half of the eight, concluding the game in a 14-4 win in eight innings, and the doubleheader in a split.
Game Notes – Game One
» With the win, Eastern's record improved to 8-7 on the season and a perfect 4-0 in conference play, while Western's shifted to 0-15 (0-4 MAC).
» Eastern posted its third game with at least 10 runs and 10 RBI this season. It is undefeated when reaching double-digits in both categories.
» Vance's four RBI marked a career high while his three hits tied for one. His ninth-inning triple was the second of his career. The game marked his sixth multi-hit outing of the season, and third with three hits, while serving as his first game driving in multiple runs this season. Vance is now one of four Eagles to drive in four in a single game in 2025.
» The comeback win marked the second when being down at least three runs this season. Eastern previously came back to win after falling behind 4-0 to Akron and coming back to win, 12-5, March 8.
» The win marked Eastern's eighth of the season. Last season they did not capture their eighth win until March 23, which was also a win over Western Michigan.
» Hendershot earned his second save of the season, tying for third in the MAC. He is the only freshman in the conference with multiple saves this season.
» Rutherford earned the first win of his collegiate baseball career. He tossed one inning, allowing zero earned runs.
» The Eagles out-hit their opponent (13-9) for the 12th time this season. They are 8-4 when doing so. They also recorded double-digit hits for the 11th time, producing a 7-4 record when hitting the 10-hit mark.
» With two hits, Zirwas continued his team-long 14 game streak of reaching base and 12-game hitting streak. He added two RBI, bringing his total to 17 this season. He knocked one double, his eighth of the season, a figure that stands as the second most in the MAC.
» Ben Schechterman (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora/Ohio State) drove in the first run and recorded the first multi-hit day of his collegiate baseball career with a 2-for-2 showing from the batter's box.
» Beckner allowed two runs or less for the fourth time this season. He stands fourth in the MAC with a 2.63 ERA, and also ranks third in opposing batting average (.212), second in innings pitched (27.1), and has the third-most strikeouts in the conference with 27.
Game Notes – Game Two
» Eastern's record shifted to 8-8 (4-1 MAC) while Western's improved to 1-15 (1-4 MAC).
» Eastern struck out just once, its lowest strikeout total of the Head Coach Robbie Britt era and lowest since it didn't strike out in a 6-1 loss to Western Michigan, April 23, 2017.
» Jellison went 2-for-4 from the plate for his seventh multi-hit game of the season, tying Hugo for the team lead. He drove in one run, marking his seventh RBI of the season. He also reached base for the 13th-consecutive game, currently acting as longest streak of reaching base on the team.
» Stecko homered for the third time this season and secured his first multi RBI game as an Eagle. His homer marked Eastern's 19th of the year, a value that serves as the third most in the MAC.
» Travis batted 2-for-3 for his third game with multiple hits in 2025.
» Hugo tallied at least one hit for the seventh straight contest, currently acting as the longest hitting streak on the squad.
» Junior right hander Dom Anderson (Hagerstown, Ind./Hagerstown) saw his first action on the mound in nearly three years. He struck out one batter in 1.2 innings of work after battling injuries the past two seasons. Prior to the second game, the last time Anderson pitched was April 24, 2022, a game that resulted in a 15-5 loss to Toledo.
Historical Notes – Game One
» With the win, Eastern is off to its first 4-0 start in MAC play since 2011. That season, it finished 16-11 in conference play and lost in the MAC Tournament Semifinals to Kent State, May 28, 2011.
» Eastern's eight runs in the ninth inning tie for the most in the Britt era and are the most in a single frame since they opened a game against Houston Christian with eight runs in the first, eventually winning, 14-4, Feb. 29, 2024.
» The five-run comeback marks the largest of the Britt era and largest since Eastern came back from a 6-0 deficit to defeat the Towson Tigers, 11-6, in 11 innings, March 5, 2023.
» The first game of the doubleheader marked the 196th all-time game against the Broncos. With the win, Eastern holds a .500 record (98-98) against its cross-state foe, and a 26-18 record when facing them in Kalamazoo.
Historical Notes – Game Two
» Eastern is off to its first 4-1 start in MAC play since 2011. That season, it finished 16-11 in conference play and lost in the MAC Tournament Semifinals to Kent State, May 28, 2011.
» The second game of the doubleheader marked the 196th all-time game against the Broncos. Eastern holds a 98-99 record against its cross-state foe, and a 26-19 record when facing them in Kalamazoo.
Up Next
The Eagles and Broncos will conclude the series tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, at 1:05 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on Bronco All-Access.
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.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rutherford, Cal (1-0)
L: LEHMANN, Adam (0-2)
S: Hendershot, Fischer (2)
Batting:
2B: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1
3B: Vance, Cooper 1
RBI: Schechterman, Ben 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 2 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Vance, Cooper 4
SF: Kleiman, Brendan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Schechterman, Ben 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 2 ; Walsh, Connor 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1 ; Jones, Drew 1 ; Vance, Cooper 2
HBP: Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
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Batting:
2B: MEE, Grady 1 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1
3B: MEE, Grady 1
HR: MEE, Grady 1
RBI: MEE, Grady 2 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; NEVAR, Dylan 1 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1 ; OSTRANDER, Connor 3
SH: HARRITY, Brendan 1
SF: MALONEY, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MALLY, Tanner 2 ; MEE, Grady 1 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; NEVAR, Dylan 1 ; HARRITY, Brendan 1 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1 ; HUMS, Cooper 1
SB: MALLY, Tanner 1 ; OSTRANDER, Connor 3
HBP: THIELMAN, Avery 1
