Baseball Set for MAC-Opening Series at Akron

Baseball at Akron
Date	Friday-Sunday \| March 7-9
Venue	Skeeles Field \| Akron, Ohio
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com/livestats
Watch Live	Saturday \| Sunday
Social Media	X: @EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics IG: @emu_baseball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team opens Mid-American Conference play against the University of Akron Zips Friday-Sunday, March 7-9, at Skeeles Field. Friday's game will start at 12 p.m. while Saturday's and Sunday's will begin at 1 p.m.

Eastern enters the game standing sixth in the MAC with a 4-6 record while the Zips come in with a 5-7 record, standing fourth in the conference.

Fans can follow along using the live stats and watch links that can be accessed on the EMU baseball schedule page here. All three games will have live stats while Saturday's and Sunday's tilts can be streamed on ESPN+. Also, stay tuned to EMU baseball socials including EMU_Baseball on X, and emu_baseball on Instagram for live in-game updates and additional EMU baseball content.

ALL-TIME AGAINST AKRON
Friday's game will mark the 68th all-time between the Eagles and Zips. Eastern has the lead in the all-time series with a 38-29 record, and also has a positive record (14-9) when facing the Zips on the road. However, Akron has thrived in the series in recent years as it has won six of the previous 10 games against EMU, including four straight, which ties for the Eagles' longest all-time losing streak against the Zips, including being swept last season at home as Akron out-scored Eastern 35-15 in three games. A win against the Zips would mark the first in the Head Coach Robbie Britt era, and the program's first since it won 9-2 on the road in the 2023 campaign, April 4.

BRITT'S TEAMS IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
As a collegiate head coach, Robbie Britt has yet to lose in a conference-opening contest. While at the University of Charleston (W. Va.) (2020-23), Britt's Golden Eagles triumphed in all four of their conference openers, before his Eastern Michigan Eagles bested the defending 2023 MAC Tournament Champions, Ball State last season, winning 10-9. Overall, Britt holds a 83-39 conference record as a collegiate head coach.

GOING FOR THREE STRAIGHT CONFERENCE-OPENING SERIES WINS
The Eagles are looking to capture their third consecutive conference-opening series victory when they take on the Zips. Eastern took 2-of-3 against the defending 2023 MAC Tournament Champions, Ball State last season to open MAC play, March 8-10, after capturing wins in 2-of-3 games against the Zips to open MAC competition in 2023, March 10-12. Should the Eagles win the series against Akron, it would mark the first time the program has won its conference-opening series in three straight seasons since it did so from 2010-12. EMU won 2-of-3 games at Buffalo to open MAC play in 2010, before sweeping the Bulls in 2011, and taking 2-of-3 from Miami in 2012.

A SERIES WIN OF NOTE?
Should the Eagles take the series against the Zips, Robbie Britt would be the first coach in program history to win each of his first two conference-opening series. The first head coach in program history, Bill Crouch, won his first two conference-opening games in 1949 and 1950, but they did not play series, just standalone games.

AKRON TIES
Pitching coach Craig Prince served as a member of the Akron Zips Coaching Staff in the 2023 season, acting as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Junior left hander Eric Boothe and sophomore righty Emmett Gillies both spent time with the Zips previously. Boothe spent his true freshman campaign (2023) with Prince and the Zips, but did not play. Gillies spent the 2023 and 2024 campaigns at UA, most recently in 2024, he made 20 appearances and two starts, went 1-1, and had an ERA of 9.25 in 24.1 innings of work while striking out 15 batters. He struck out a season-high four batters against Toledo, March 8. Boothe and Gillies continue the trend of Akron Zips transferring to EMU as the Eagles had two former Zips on the squad last season in Aaron Pirkle and Ty Stolarksi, both of whom have since departed the program.

BIG TIME PLAYERS, BIG TIME SERIES
The series between the Eagles and Zips will feature all three MAC Player of the Week winners this season in EMU's Logan Hugo and Devan Zirwas, and Akron's Jack Poist. Poist garnered the award after week one, and Hugo did so after week two, while Zirwas and Poist earned MAC Co-Player of the week after week three.

ZIRWAS MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior infielder Devan Zirwas earned the first conference player of the week award of his career, and the Eagles second consecutively as senior outfielder Logan Hugo won the award the previous week, Feb. 25. Zirwas paced the Eagles in nearly all offensive categories. In 17 at-bats, he batted .529, knocked nine hits, four of which went for extra bases (three doubles, one home run), driving in three runs, and totaling 15 bases.

Zirwas struck out just twice on the week as he posted a 1.411 OPS (.882 slugging, .529 on-base) and played a perfect first base, totaling 28 putouts, three assists, and a 1.000% fielding clip. Zirwas tallied multiple hits in 3-of-4 games on the week, starting the series with a 3-for-5 performance with one run, two doubles, and one RBI, before batting 2-for-3 with one run scored in game two, 1-for-4 with one double in game three, and 3-for-5 in the series finale with one run scored, one home run, and two RBI.

Zirwas' week comes as he leads the conference and ranks 16th nationally with seven doubles, two more than the second-highest value (five), while standing second in America and first in the MAC, averaging 0.78 doubles per game. Along with Harrison Travis, he is one of two EMU players ranking inside the top five in the MAC in slugging, as he stands third with a .750 slugging clip. Moreover, his two doubles in the win over the Blue Hose, Feb. 28, stands as the second most in a single game in the MAC this season to his teammate, Logan Hugo, who holds the top spot with three doubles against Central Arkansas, Feb. 22.

SERIES IN REVIEW: AT PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, FEB. 28-MARCH 2
The Eagles most recently split a four-game set with the reigning Big South Regular Season Champions, the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College.

Game One
Eastern took the first game from the Blue Hose, 8-2. After Presbyterian scored one run in each of the first two frames, the Eagles scored multiple runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to earn the win.

Game Two
Senior outfielder Giano Zuccaro drove in two runs in the first inning, the only two runs of the day for EMU, as it fell in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader, 5-2.

Game Three
The Eagles bounced back in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring all five of their runs in the fifth inning while working a season-high seven walks in the 5-2 victory.

Game Four
Giano Zuccaro crushed a three-run home run in the eighth to give the Eagles a 9-8 lead in a back-and-forth contest, but that wouldn't hold as the Eagles got walked off in the ninth, 10-9.

STRONG OFFENSIVE START
Through 10 games, Eastern has seen its most hits (107) since 2018 (110), most runs (74) since 1999 (77), most home runs (15) since 2022 (16), most RBI (69) since 1999 (71), and most doubles (24) since 2014 (28) Furthermore, Eastern has tallied double-digit hits in seven of its first 10 games to start the season for the first time since 2010, seven or more RBI in seven of its first ten for the first time in the modern statistical era (1999-present), and recorded at least one home run in eight of the first 10 games of the season for the first time since 2022.

POTENT OFFENSE
Through 10 games, the Eagles offense is pacing the MAC in three categories, ranking first in average (.301), doubles (24), and slugging percentage (.500). EMU stands second in home runs (15) and total bases (178), while ranking third with a 0.386 on-base percentage. They rank fourth in runs (74), hits (107), and RBI (69). Eastern has also struck out 80 times, the second-fewest figure in the MAC. Their conference standings come as they are tied with Kent State, Northern Illinois, and Toledo for the fewest games played in the conference (10).

HUGO MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior outfielder Logan Hugo was named MAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career, Feb. 25. In 13 at-bats, Hugo batted .538 with a 1.000 slugging percentage and 1.600 OPS. He notched seven hits, four of which went for extra bases (three doubles, one homer), while driving in seven runs, and totaling 13 bases. The Essexville, Mich., native also worked one walk and one hit by pitch while going strikeout free for the week.

Hugo started the week with a 4-for-5 performance from the plate with a MAC single-game high three doubles and four RBI while scoring one run. His four hits that day also tied for the most in the conference in a single game. He then went 1-for-4 from the dish in game two with one home run, two RBI, and two runs scored, before batting 2-for-4 in the series finale, driving in one run.

ON PACE TO...
Averaging 1.5 home runs per game while ranking second in the MAC in home runs with 15, Eastern is on pace to hit 73.5 home runs, a figure that would rank sixth all-time on the single-season leaderboards. Averaging 2.40 doubles per game, EMU is on pace to conclude the season with 117.6 doubles, the fifth most in program history and most since the 2008 squad hit 120.

POP IN THE BATS
Eastern's 15 home runs ranks 61st in the nation and second in the MAC. Having homered multiple times in five of the first ten games, the Eagles rank 32nd nationally and first in the conference in home runs per game (1.50), and slot 52nd in America and first in the MAC with a .500 slugging percentage. The output has powered the Eagles to 74 total runs, the fourth most in the conference.

DEV'S DOUBLES
Junior infielder Devan Zirwas slots first in the MAC with seven doubles on the year, a figure that ranks him 16th in the country. With at least one two-bagger in six of his nine games played this season, the Imperial, Pa. native stands second nationally and first in the MAC, averaging 0.78 doubles per game. Zirwas has at least one extra-base hit in seven of his nine games this season and has doubled and homered in the same game once this season (at Central Arkansas, Feb. 22). He recently went 3-for-5 with one home run, two RBI, and one run in Eastern's last game against
Presbyterian, March 2.

DREW BECKNER ON THE BUMP
Senior left hander Drew Beckner has gotten off to a hot start on the mound. Through three starts, he posts a 1.56 ERA (second in the MAC), has held opponents to a .161 batting average (first in the conference), allowed 10 hits (second in the MAC), three earned runs (third in the MAC), and has struck out 17 (fifth in the conference). With a 2-0 record on the year, his two wins are tied for the second most in the MAC and stands 43rd in the country. His 1.56 ERA, should he maintain that figure, would rank as the ninth-best in a single season in program history. He would be the first edit to that top-10 list since Eastern legend Bob Welch posted a 1.29 ERA as a freshman in 1975. Welch was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 draft, competed in Eastern's last College World Series appearance (1976), won the 1990 American League Cy Young Award, compiled a 211-146 record, totaled 1,969 strikeouts, and a 3.47 ERA in 3,092 innings across his 17-year MLB career.

IMPROVED DEFENSE
After tallying the MAC's worst fielding percentage in 2024 (0.959), the Eagles appear to be significantly improved defensively as they currently post a 0.982 clip in the field, ranking second in the MAC and 21st in the nation. The current rate stands as a 2.3-percent improvement from 2024 to 2025. Last season the Eagles had 15 errors through 10 games while they post just six through 10 contests in the 2025 campaign.

HARRISON TRAVIS: POWER HITTER
Graduate student catcher Harrison Travis has the second-most home runs in the MAC with four on the season. His four long balls rank him 77th in the country, while slotting 26th nationally and first in the MAC in homers per game (0.50). Travis most recently homered in the series-opening win over Presbyterian (Feb. 28), going 1-for-5 from the dish.

BRUCE JELLISON: BIG HITTER
Junior infielder Bruce Jellison has seen a productive start to his Division I career, as he leads the team and is tied for the fourth-most hits in the conference with 15. Jellison has been a tough out at the plate as he has gone down on strikes just three times this season, the least of any EMU starter. The Hartland, Mich., native is ranked 81st in the nation and fourth in the MAC in toughest to strikeout, going down on strikes one time every 13 at-bats. If he keeps his current strikeout pace, he will end the season with roughly 15 strikeouts.

JOHN HALE ON THE BASE PATHS
A threat on the base paths, junior outfielder John Hale ranks second in the MAC and 44th in the country with seven stolen bases while slotting first in the conference and 34th in America, averaging 0.70 swipes per game. Hale has also sacrificed his body at the plate. He's been pegged five times this season, ranking him sixth in the MAC and 90th nationally while standing 71st in the country and sixth in the MAC, averaging 0.50 HBP per game.

KAPA's Ks
Senior right hander Tyler Kapa has demonstrated high strike-throwing ability in three starts this season. He has sat down a total of 22 batters, good for the third-highest total in the conference. Kapa's nine strikeouts against Pitt, Feb. 15, stand as the second most in a single game in the MAC this season and a Division I career high for the Waterford, Mich., native. Kapa ranks 54th nationally in strikeouts while his 12.91 strikeouts per nine innings figure stands as the second best in the conference and ranks 73rd in the nation.

KAPA'S COMPLETE GAME
Tyler Kapa pitched a seven-inning complete game against Presbyterian in the first game of a doubleheader, March 1, becoming the first EMU hurler to throw a complete game since his teammate, Bobby Jones threw an eight-inning complete game last season against Northern Illinois (May 16). Kapa is one of 25 pitchers nationally and three in the MAC to have thrown a complete game this season. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs, while striking out nine and walking two. Additionally, with his nine strikeouts that day, he is the only pitcher in the MAC to strikeout at least nine batters in two games this season.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern will trek south to face its second "Power Five" opponent of the season in the Ohio State Buckeyes Tuesday, March 11. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. from Bill Davis Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.

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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Players Mentioned

Drew Beckner

Eric Boothe

Emmett Gillies

John Hale

Logan Hugo

Bruce Jellison

Bobby Jones

Tyler Kapa

Aaron Pirkle

Harrison Travis

Devan Zirwas

Giano Zuccaro

Eastern Michigan Athletics