Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 9
Akron, Ohio
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
6-6, 2-0
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Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Baseball Completes Sweep Over Akron to Open MAC Play
3/9/2025 6:49:00 PM | Baseball
The sweep marked the first in the Head Coach Robbie Britt era
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team completed the sweep against the University of Akron, winning the Mid-American Conference series finale, 9-2, Sunday, March 9, at Skeeles Field.
The series win marked the first in the Head Coach Robbie Britt era, as the Eagles swept their conference-opening series for the first time since the 2016 campaign.
Eastern was led by junior utility man Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) who put forth a 2-for-4 effort from the plate with a career high four RBI, including a three-run home run in his first at-bat of the season.
Junior right hander Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.) earned the first win of his NCAA Division I career, entering the game in the fifth and throwing a scoreless two innings before Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) came in to earn his second save of the season.
The Eagles record turns positive after the win at 7-6 (3-0 MAC), while Akron's shifted to 5-10 (0-3 MAC).
How it Happened
After falling behind by one run early, the Eagles wasted no time at the plate as Jones sent a three-run shot over the left field wall in his first at-bat of the season to put the Eagles up, 3-1 after two.
Eastern added one run to its total in the third, furthering its lead to 4-1 as Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson Newman) worked a bases-loaded to walk, sending Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) home.
Eastern added to its total in the fifth, engineering four runs off three RBI singles from Travis, Jones, and John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.), increasing the Eagles' lead to seven at 8-1.
Keane entered the game to relieve starter Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio/St. Xavier/Xavier) after facing two batters in the bottom of the fifth. Jones left the game after allowing just one run through 4.0 innings pitched.
Davis came in to relieve Keane in the seventh. He pitched three innings, allowing one run off four hits, while striking out two and issuing zero walks for his second save of the season, a number that leads the Eagles.
Davis' lone earned run came in the eighth off a ground-out RBI to second, trimming the EMU lead to six before Eastern added one more off a Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) RBI knock through the left side, scoring Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's).
Vance's single brought the score to 9-2, EMU, where it would remain as Davis slammed the door shut on the Zips in the ninth, securing the Eastern sweep.
Game Notes
» The series sweep is the program's first since the 2023 season when it swept Northern Illinois at home, May 18-20. It's the first road sweep of an opponent since April 28-30, 2023, when the Eagles swept Niagara in a three-game series.
» The win marked the Eagles' third consecutive triumph, which serves as the longest winning streak of the season and ties for the longest in the Britt era. The Eagles previously won three straight when they beat Morehead State (March 17), Michigan (March 19), and Western Michigan (March 23) last season.
» The Eagles out-hit their opponent for the 11th time this season and tied a season high with 15 hits. Eastern produces a 7-4 record when out-hitting their opponent this season. The performance marked their 10th time with double digit hits. Furthermore, Eastern's 15 hits stand as the third most in a single game in the MAC.
» Jones led the team and drove in a career-high four runs. He hit his first home run of the season and third of his career. His homer marked the Eagles' 18th of the season, a number that stands as the second most in the MAC.
» Travis went 1-for-3 from the plate with two RBI, bringing his total to eight on the season and marking his second multi-RBI performance.
» Eastern tied a season low as it allowed just two runs from its opponent. It previously gave up just two runs in an 8-2 win over Presbyterian, Feb. 28.
» With one hit, Zirwas continued his team-long 12 game streak of reaching base and 10-game hitting streak.
» Davis' save marked his second of the season, a number that serves as the most on the team and ties for the third most in the conference.
» Six Eastern batters tallied multi-hit days, including Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) and Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) who both turned in their team-leading sixth game with two or more hits.
» The Eastern defense set a season high with 16 assists, a figure that ranks as the second most in the MAC this season. The infield set a season-high with three double plays turned.
» Eastern pitching didn't allow a home run for the fourth time this season. The Eagles are 4-0 when they don't allow a home run.
» The Eagles tied a season high with three stolen bases. Eastern is 2-0 when stealing three bags this season. Hale stole his team-high eighth base in 11 tries. His eight swiped bags stand as the second-most in the MAC.
Historical Notes
» Sunday's game marked the 70th all-time between Eastern and Akron. Eastern leads the series with a 41-29 overall record and also post a winning record (17-9) when facing the Zips on the road.
» With the win, the Eagles post a winning percentage above .500 (.538) for the first time in the Robbie Britt era.
» The sweep marked the first of the Britt era.
» The Eagles swept their conference-opening series for the first time since 2016 when they swept Bowling Green in a three-game set at home, March 25-27. Sunday's win also marked the first road sweep in a MAC series since Eastern swept Bowling Green in a four-game MAC tilt on the road in the 2021 season, May 7-8.
Up Next
The Eagles will return to non-conference action next as they are set to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State Tuesday, March 11. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Fans can stream the game on BTN+.
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.
The series win marked the first in the Head Coach Robbie Britt era, as the Eagles swept their conference-opening series for the first time since the 2016 campaign.
Eastern was led by junior utility man Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) who put forth a 2-for-4 effort from the plate with a career high four RBI, including a three-run home run in his first at-bat of the season.
Junior right hander Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.) earned the first win of his NCAA Division I career, entering the game in the fifth and throwing a scoreless two innings before Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) came in to earn his second save of the season.
The Eagles record turns positive after the win at 7-6 (3-0 MAC), while Akron's shifted to 5-10 (0-3 MAC).
How it Happened
After falling behind by one run early, the Eagles wasted no time at the plate as Jones sent a three-run shot over the left field wall in his first at-bat of the season to put the Eagles up, 3-1 after two.
Eastern added one run to its total in the third, furthering its lead to 4-1 as Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson Newman) worked a bases-loaded to walk, sending Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) home.
Eastern added to its total in the fifth, engineering four runs off three RBI singles from Travis, Jones, and John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.), increasing the Eagles' lead to seven at 8-1.
Keane entered the game to relieve starter Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio/St. Xavier/Xavier) after facing two batters in the bottom of the fifth. Jones left the game after allowing just one run through 4.0 innings pitched.
Davis came in to relieve Keane in the seventh. He pitched three innings, allowing one run off four hits, while striking out two and issuing zero walks for his second save of the season, a number that leads the Eagles.
Davis' lone earned run came in the eighth off a ground-out RBI to second, trimming the EMU lead to six before Eastern added one more off a Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) RBI knock through the left side, scoring Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's).
Vance's single brought the score to 9-2, EMU, where it would remain as Davis slammed the door shut on the Zips in the ninth, securing the Eastern sweep.
Game Notes
» The series sweep is the program's first since the 2023 season when it swept Northern Illinois at home, May 18-20. It's the first road sweep of an opponent since April 28-30, 2023, when the Eagles swept Niagara in a three-game series.
» The win marked the Eagles' third consecutive triumph, which serves as the longest winning streak of the season and ties for the longest in the Britt era. The Eagles previously won three straight when they beat Morehead State (March 17), Michigan (March 19), and Western Michigan (March 23) last season.
» The Eagles out-hit their opponent for the 11th time this season and tied a season high with 15 hits. Eastern produces a 7-4 record when out-hitting their opponent this season. The performance marked their 10th time with double digit hits. Furthermore, Eastern's 15 hits stand as the third most in a single game in the MAC.
» Jones led the team and drove in a career-high four runs. He hit his first home run of the season and third of his career. His homer marked the Eagles' 18th of the season, a number that stands as the second most in the MAC.
» Travis went 1-for-3 from the plate with two RBI, bringing his total to eight on the season and marking his second multi-RBI performance.
» Eastern tied a season low as it allowed just two runs from its opponent. It previously gave up just two runs in an 8-2 win over Presbyterian, Feb. 28.
» With one hit, Zirwas continued his team-long 12 game streak of reaching base and 10-game hitting streak.
» Davis' save marked his second of the season, a number that serves as the most on the team and ties for the third most in the conference.
» Six Eastern batters tallied multi-hit days, including Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) and Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) who both turned in their team-leading sixth game with two or more hits.
» The Eastern defense set a season high with 16 assists, a figure that ranks as the second most in the MAC this season. The infield set a season-high with three double plays turned.
» Eastern pitching didn't allow a home run for the fourth time this season. The Eagles are 4-0 when they don't allow a home run.
» The Eagles tied a season high with three stolen bases. Eastern is 2-0 when stealing three bags this season. Hale stole his team-high eighth base in 11 tries. His eight swiped bags stand as the second-most in the MAC.
Historical Notes
» Sunday's game marked the 70th all-time between Eastern and Akron. Eastern leads the series with a 41-29 overall record and also post a winning record (17-9) when facing the Zips on the road.
» With the win, the Eagles post a winning percentage above .500 (.538) for the first time in the Robbie Britt era.
» The sweep marked the first of the Britt era.
» The Eagles swept their conference-opening series for the first time since 2016 when they swept Bowling Green in a three-game set at home, March 25-27. Sunday's win also marked the first road sweep in a MAC series since Eastern swept Bowling Green in a four-game MAC tilt on the road in the 2021 season, May 7-8.
Up Next
The Eagles will return to non-conference action next as they are set to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State Tuesday, March 11. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Fans can stream the game on BTN+.
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: Keane, Nick (1-1)
L: J. Slepak (0-2)
S: Davis, Ethan (2)
Batting:
2B: Hugo, Logan 1
HR: Jones, Drew 1
RBI: Hale, John 1 ; Travis, Harrison 2 ; Jones, Drew 4 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SH: Zuccaro, Giano 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 2 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1 ; Jones, Drew 1
SB: Hale, John 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Jones, Drew 1
CS: Hale, John 1 ; Walsh, Connor 1
HBP: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1
Batting:
2B: E. Bottone 1 ; A. Horvath 1 ; I. Penningto 1
RBI: E. Bottone 1
SH: D. Occhipint 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Poist 1 ; I. Penningto 1
SB: J. Poist 1
CS: M. Bowman 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
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0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
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1
H
2
RBI
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AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
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Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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UTIL
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
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INF
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