Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, April 12
Ypsilanti, Mich.
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
14-16, 0
13
vs
7
Toledo
12-21, 0
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7
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9
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H
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TOLEDO
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11
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Eastern Michigan
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X
13
14
1
Photo by: Max Jebson
Baseball Rallies From Three Down to Beat Toledo, 13-7
4/12/2025 7:27:00 PM | Baseball
Ty Stecko and Devan Zirwas led the way, combining for six hits and seven RBI
Photo Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — After falling behind by three runs, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team triumphed over the University of Toledo Rockets, 13-7, to improve to 14-16 (9-8 MAC) behind three-hit days from Ty Stecko and Devan Zirwas.
Dom Anderson (Hagerstown, Ind./Hagerstown) (1-0) was the winning pitcher for Eastern Michigan as he entered the game in relief effort in the sixth inning and fanned a career-best five batters, marking his first victory since 2022 as he missed 2023-24 due to injury. Toledo's Nathan Leninger (3-4) was tagged with the loss.
EMU finished the game with 14 hits, three of which went for extra bases (one double, two home runs), and 11 RBI to go with its 13 runs. Toledo posted 11 hits, three that went for two bases, and seven RBI.
How it Happened
Toledo got on the board first in the top half of the second inning on an RBI double to get a 1-0 lead. Eastern Michigan came back to tie it at one after getting three of its first four batters on base in the bottom half of the frame.
The Rockets took control with three runs in the top of the third inning as they knocked two RBI singles and worked two walks. In the bottom half of the inning, Eastern plated two runs of its own off an RBI double from Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) to trim the Toledo lead to one at 4-3.
Toledo added two more runs in the fourth inning on one RBI double and one RBI single. Eastern answered in the fifth inning with a single from Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) that knocked in Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/ Wabash Valley) to bring the score to 6-4, Rockets.
In the sixth, Toledo scored its last run of the day to grow its lead to 7-4. From there, it was all Eastern as it scored three runs off a Zirwas single, a walk from Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber), and a passed ball to tie the game at seven apiece.
From there, the Eagles took the lead in the seventh off a two-run bomb by Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) over the left field wall, marking his third homer of the season.
With the bases juiced in the bottom of the eighth, Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) cleaned up with a grand slam to dead center for his team-leading eighth home run of the season, granting EMU the 13-7 advantage.
Anderson shut the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order to secure the 13-7 victory for Eastern Michigan.
Game Notes
» With the win, Eastern Michigan improved to 14-16 (9-8 MAC) and Toledo fell to 12-21 (6-11 MAC).
» The win marked Eastern's 14th of the season, matching its win total from the 2024 campaign just 30 games into the 2025 season. Last season, the Eagles did not grab their 14th win until May 10, a 10-9 walk-off win over the eventual MAC Regular Season Champions, Bowling Green.
» The come-from-behind win marked the Eagles' fifth of the season and first since they rebounded from a four-run deficit to win 9-5 against the Ohio Bobcats, March 29.
» Eastern surpassed the double-digit mark in runs (13), hits (14), and RBI (11), marking its eighth time this season with a team triple double. EMU is 8-1 when reaching the double-digit plateau in all three categories.
» Zirwas recorded three hits on the day, marking his fourth three-hit game of the year and his 13th total multi-hit game. Additionally, It's his fourth game with three RBI in 2025.
» Travis finished with two hits to record a multi-hit game, his sixth of the year, and his second consecutive game with multiple hits.
» Anderson set a career high with five strikeouts and earned the second win of his career out of the bullpen as he threw 3.2 shutout innings.
» The Eagles had 14 hits altogether, the 16th time they've had at least 10 hits in a game this season. EMU is 11-5 this season when knocking at least 10 hits.
» Stecko contributed on offense for the Eagles with three hits and one home run. He has had multiple hits in eight games this season, two of which are three-hit performances. Stecko's grand slam in the eighth was his eighth home run of the year, which leads the team. He matched EMU career highs with three hits, four RBI, and three runs scored.
» Stecko's grand slam marked the Eagles' third as a program this season. EMU is 3-0 when hitting a grand slam in 2025.
» Vance's home run in the seventh culminated a two-hit day, his ninth of the season. His homer stands as his third of the year as he drove in two runs on the day for his third multi-RBI outing of the season.
» The 13 runs marked the eighth time Eastern has scored 10 runs this season, they are 10-1 in such games.
» Hugo had three walks. The total ties a single-game individual team-high for 2025 and the second time in his career he has walked more than twice, also doing so at Niagara, April 30, 2023.
Historical Notes
» The game was the 178th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Toledo. EMU leads the all-time series, 102-76 as its home record moved to 24-17 against the Rockets.
» The win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Rockets. Eastern last won against Toledo April 23, 2023, 12-11.
Up Next
Eastern is back in action Sunday, April 13, for the rubber match against the Rockets. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m from Oestrike Stadium, admission is free. Fans can tune into ESPN+ and the Varsity Network for live coverage.
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.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — After falling behind by three runs, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team triumphed over the University of Toledo Rockets, 13-7, to improve to 14-16 (9-8 MAC) behind three-hit days from Ty Stecko and Devan Zirwas.
Dom Anderson (Hagerstown, Ind./Hagerstown) (1-0) was the winning pitcher for Eastern Michigan as he entered the game in relief effort in the sixth inning and fanned a career-best five batters, marking his first victory since 2022 as he missed 2023-24 due to injury. Toledo's Nathan Leninger (3-4) was tagged with the loss.
EMU finished the game with 14 hits, three of which went for extra bases (one double, two home runs), and 11 RBI to go with its 13 runs. Toledo posted 11 hits, three that went for two bases, and seven RBI.
How it Happened
Toledo got on the board first in the top half of the second inning on an RBI double to get a 1-0 lead. Eastern Michigan came back to tie it at one after getting three of its first four batters on base in the bottom half of the frame.
The Rockets took control with three runs in the top of the third inning as they knocked two RBI singles and worked two walks. In the bottom half of the inning, Eastern plated two runs of its own off an RBI double from Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) to trim the Toledo lead to one at 4-3.
Toledo added two more runs in the fourth inning on one RBI double and one RBI single. Eastern answered in the fifth inning with a single from Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) that knocked in Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/ Wabash Valley) to bring the score to 6-4, Rockets.
In the sixth, Toledo scored its last run of the day to grow its lead to 7-4. From there, it was all Eastern as it scored three runs off a Zirwas single, a walk from Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber), and a passed ball to tie the game at seven apiece.
From there, the Eagles took the lead in the seventh off a two-run bomb by Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) over the left field wall, marking his third homer of the season.
With the bases juiced in the bottom of the eighth, Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) cleaned up with a grand slam to dead center for his team-leading eighth home run of the season, granting EMU the 13-7 advantage.
Anderson shut the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order to secure the 13-7 victory for Eastern Michigan.
Game Notes
» With the win, Eastern Michigan improved to 14-16 (9-8 MAC) and Toledo fell to 12-21 (6-11 MAC).
» The win marked Eastern's 14th of the season, matching its win total from the 2024 campaign just 30 games into the 2025 season. Last season, the Eagles did not grab their 14th win until May 10, a 10-9 walk-off win over the eventual MAC Regular Season Champions, Bowling Green.
» The come-from-behind win marked the Eagles' fifth of the season and first since they rebounded from a four-run deficit to win 9-5 against the Ohio Bobcats, March 29.
» Eastern surpassed the double-digit mark in runs (13), hits (14), and RBI (11), marking its eighth time this season with a team triple double. EMU is 8-1 when reaching the double-digit plateau in all three categories.
» Zirwas recorded three hits on the day, marking his fourth three-hit game of the year and his 13th total multi-hit game. Additionally, It's his fourth game with three RBI in 2025.
» Travis finished with two hits to record a multi-hit game, his sixth of the year, and his second consecutive game with multiple hits.
» Anderson set a career high with five strikeouts and earned the second win of his career out of the bullpen as he threw 3.2 shutout innings.
» The Eagles had 14 hits altogether, the 16th time they've had at least 10 hits in a game this season. EMU is 11-5 this season when knocking at least 10 hits.
» Stecko contributed on offense for the Eagles with three hits and one home run. He has had multiple hits in eight games this season, two of which are three-hit performances. Stecko's grand slam in the eighth was his eighth home run of the year, which leads the team. He matched EMU career highs with three hits, four RBI, and three runs scored.
» Stecko's grand slam marked the Eagles' third as a program this season. EMU is 3-0 when hitting a grand slam in 2025.
» Vance's home run in the seventh culminated a two-hit day, his ninth of the season. His homer stands as his third of the year as he drove in two runs on the day for his third multi-RBI outing of the season.
» The 13 runs marked the eighth time Eastern has scored 10 runs this season, they are 10-1 in such games.
» Hugo had three walks. The total ties a single-game individual team-high for 2025 and the second time in his career he has walked more than twice, also doing so at Niagara, April 30, 2023.
Historical Notes
» The game was the 178th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Toledo. EMU leads the all-time series, 102-76 as its home record moved to 24-17 against the Rockets.
» The win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Rockets. Eastern last won against Toledo April 23, 2023, 12-11.
Up Next
Eastern is back in action Sunday, April 13, for the rubber match against the Rockets. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m from Oestrike Stadium, admission is free. Fans can tune into ESPN+ and the Varsity Network for live coverage.
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: Anderson, Dom (1-0)
L: LEININGER, Nathan (3-4)
Batting:
2B: HERBERT, Kaleb 1 ; KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; LETO, Luke 1
RBI: HERBERT, Kaleb 1 ; KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; MARIANO, Tre 2 ; WHITE, Brayden 2 ; CAHILL, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HERBERT, Kaleb 2 ; KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; MARIANO, Tre 1 ; LETO, Luke 2 ; WHITE, Brayden 1
SB: HERBERT, Kaleb 1 ; KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; SUDBROOK, Troy 1 ; MARIANO, Tre 1 ; LETO, Luke 1 ; WHITE, Brayden 1
CS: MARIANO, Tre 1
Batting:
2B: Zirwas, Devan 1
HR: Stecko, Ty 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
RBI: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 3 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Stecko, Ty 4 ; Vance, Cooper 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hale, John 1 ; Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 2 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Zuccaro, Giano 1 ; Stecko, Ty 3 ; Walsh, Connor 1 ; Vance, Cooper 2
SB: Hugo, Logan 1
CS: Hale, John 1
HBP: Hale, John 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
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