Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
16-18
Albany
11-23
Kapa Strikes Out MAC-High 11, Baseball Prevails in Series-Winning Victory at Albany
4/19/2025 6:17:00 PM | Baseball
Kapa pitched six scoreless innings while walking just two and striking out a career-high 11 batters
ALBANY, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Kapa struck out a Mid-American Conference-high 11 batters, while walking just two, and allowing zero runs as he spearheaded the Eastern Michigan University baseball team's 9-7 series-finale victory over the University at Albany, at Varsity Field, Saturday, April 19.
Kapa's (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) 11 strikeouts also went down as a career high as the Eagles were paced offensively by Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's), who turned in a 3-for-5 showing from the plate with one double and one RBI.
Kapa (3-4) was credited with his third win of the season while freshman right-hander Fischer Hendershot (Flushing, Mich./Flint Powers) earned his third save after getting the final out in the ninth inning. Albany's Aidan Gelbsman (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
With the result, Eastern's record improved to 16-18 (9-9 MAC), while the Great Danes' shifted to 11-23 (3-9 America East).
How it Happened
The Eagles got the scoring started in the top of the second as they plated one off a bases-loaded RBI-walk from John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.), scoring Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU), who led off the inning with a walk.
Eastern added three runs in the third to go up, 4-0, with an RBI from Zirwas, as he reached via an error, followed by an RBI-double from Stecko, and an RBI-single off the bat of Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.).
Kapa got off to a strong start on the mound, allowing zero Albany hits while striking out seven of the 14 batters he faced and walking just one through four innings.
The Eagles tacked on four runs to their total in the seventh, beginning with a Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) sacrifice fly, continued by a Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) RBI-double, and a Connor Walsh (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) groundout RBI. Vance came around to score the final run of the inning off an errant throw from the Albany catcher, attempting to catch Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) stealing.
Drew Norris (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley/Utah/Johnson C.C.) entered the game to relieve Kapa to start the bottom of the seventh. Kapa left with his best start of the season, tossing six scoreless innings while striking out an NCAA Division I career-high 11 strikeouts, standing as the most from an Eagle this season and the most by a MAC hurler.
The Great Danes scored their first runs in the seventh off an RBI double and sacrifice fly, making the score 8-2, Eastern, after seven.
Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.) came in to relieve Norris after facing one batter in the eighth, and Albany scored two more runs, trimming the EMU lead to four at 8-4.
Hendershot entered the game with two outs in the ninth with the bases loaded in a high-pressure save situation. After walking the first batter he faced, Hendershot settled in, forcing a fly out to right field to end the game in a 9-7 win for the Eagles, also securing the 2-1 series win and his third save of the season.
Game Notes
» Kapa's 11 strikeouts are the most from a MAC pitcher in a single game this season and an NCAA Division I career high. He did not allow a run for the first time in his Division I career, tied a Division I career long outing with six innings pitched, and allowed a Division I career-low one hit.
» The Eagles drew double-digit walks (10) for the third time this season and second time in the series as they worked a season-high 12 in the series-opening 15-6 win over the Great Danes, April 17. Overall, EMU is 3-0 when drawing 10-plus walks.
» Eastern pitching totaled 14 strikeouts, its second-highest total of the season and eighth time eclipsing the 10-strikeout plateau. Its 14 strikeouts rank as the fourth-most from a MAC team in an individual game this season.
» The Eagles' pitching staff allowed five hits or less for the third time this season. They produce a 2-1 record when holding opponents to five hits or fewer.
» Eastern out-hit its opponent, 10-5, for the 21st time this season. It is 14-7 when doing so. The Eagles' 10 hits marked their 18th time reaching double-digits in the category. EMU is 13-5 when reaching the 10-hit mark.
» Stecko tied a career best with three hits for the second time this season and drove in his 21st run of the year. Stecko's three-hit day marked his 10th multi-hit game of the season. Furthermore, he is just one RBI away from tying his season-long career-high of 22 set in the 2024 season at Mount St. Mary's.
» Stecko increased his hitting streak to five games, which currently serves as the longest on the team.
» Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) reached base for the 15th-consecutive game, the second-longest streak of the season for the Eagles as Vance previously reached safely in 22 consecutive games.
» Hugo matched a career high with three walks. His three base-on-balls also tie for the most from an Eagle in a single game this season, and tie for the second most from one player in the MAC.
» Kleiman posted his 12th multi-hit game of the season, the second-most on the team, and drove in his 22nd run of the year. He also walked multiple times for the second time this season after setting an NCAA Division I career high with three walks in the 15-6 series-opening win over the Great Danes, April 17.
» Jellison went 2-for-3 from the dish with one RBI and one walk. The game went down as his 11th with at least two hits and the RBI marked his 21st of the season.
» Hendershot earned his third save of the season. His three saves rank as the second-most on the team, the most in the conference from a freshman, and the fifth-most in the MAC.
» Every Eastern Michigan starter reached base safely in the win.
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed four runs across.
» The Eagles had control of the rest of the game after jumping ahead of the Great Danes 1-0 in the top of the second.
» Hugo stole two bases in Saturday's game.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers limited Albany (NY) to just 2-for-10 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 43 Albany (NY) hitters in the game, allowing four ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out 14.
Historical Notes
» Saturday's game between the Eagles and Great Danes marked the third all-time meeting. After the win, the Eagles hold a 2-1 all-time record against Albany.
» Hendershot's three saves are the most from an Eastern freshman since Thomas House recorded four in his freshman campaign in 2018.
Up Next
Eastern will return home to further non-conference play with a mid-week game against the Youngstown State Penguins of the Horizon League, Tuesday, April 22, 3 p.m. Admission is free at Oestrike Stadium and fans can stream the game live on ESPN+.
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: Kapa, Tyler (3-4)
L: A. Gelbsman (0-1)
S: Hendershot, Fischer (3)
Batting:
2B: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
RBI: Walsh, Connor 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Hale, John 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
SF: Jellison, Bruce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 2 ; Stecko, Ty 2 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1 ; Hale, John 1 ; Vance, Cooper 2
SB: Hugo, Logan 2 ; Vance, Cooper 1
HBP: Vance, Cooper 1
PO: Hugo, Logan 1
Batting:
2B: L. Filippi 1 ; K. Stephens 1 ; C. Loyal 1
RBI: L. Filippi 2 ; K. Stephens 1 ; M. Maggio 1 ; C. Loyal 1 ; L. Myers 1
SF: L. Myers 1
Base Running:
RUNS: L. Filippi 2 ; J. Toby 1 ; M. Maggio 1 ; C. Loyal 1 ; L. Myers 1 ; A. Herbst 1
SB: R. Ferremi 1 ; L. Filippi 1 ; J. Toby 1
HBP: J. Toby 1
