Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
20-28, 0
Kent State
36-16, 0
Hugo's Two Homers Not Enough as Baseball Falls to KSU, 6-5
5/16/2025 7:54:00 PM | Baseball
The loss sets up a win-and-in scenario regarding the MAC Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, May 17
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Despite a two-homer day from senior outfielder Logan Hugo, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped a back-and-forth 6-5 Mid-American Conference contest to Kent State University Friday, May 16, at Oestrike Stadium.
The loss sets up what aims to be a thrilling season-finale as the Eagles would clinch the sixth and final MAC Tournament spot with a win tomorrow, Saturday, May 17, and would still have the opportunity to make the playoff should Central Michigan University lose its final regular season game against the University of Toledo.
Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) paced the Eagles' offense yet again, turning in a 2-for-4 day from the dish with two long balls and four RBI. Senior left-hander Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio/Big Walnut/Charleston) got the ball to start the game on the mound and went six innings, allowing four runs off seven hits while striking out six and walking three in six innings of work.
Kent State's Eric Chalus (6-3) earned the win while EMU's Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) (5-6) was tagged with the loss.
How it Happened
Kent State struck first in the top of the first inning as it led off the game with a triple. The runner was able to hustle his way home off a wild pitch, putting the Golden Flashes ahead, 1-0, in the top of the first inning.
KSU hit a double to right field with the bases loaded in the top of the third, adding onto its 1-0 advantage to make the score 3-0.
Kent State added another run in the fifth to make it 4-0.
Eastern got on the board in the bottom half of the fifth when Hugo sent one deep over the left field wall, scoring Connor Walsh (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) and Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) to cut the Kent State lead to one at 4-3.
The Eagles tied up the score at four in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a timely single by Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.) to bring in Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./ Hartland/Wabash Valley).
In the top of the seventh, the Eagles brought in Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) to relieve Beckner.
The Eagles took the 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh as Hugo went yard for the second time to left field, marking his 12th home run of the season, serving as a team high and career best for the 6-foot-2 outfielder.
Kapa entered the game in the ninth to relieve Davis after he allowed just one run off one hit in two innings of work.
KSU added on two more runs to regain a 6-5 lead in the ninth.
Eastern battled with its last three outs as Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) doubled to right center with two outs, but the EMU offense was unable to score him as the game concluded in a 6-5 win for the Golden Flashes
Game Notes
» After the result, the Eagles' record shifted to 20-28 (12-17 MAC) while Kent State's improved to 36-16 (22-7 MAC).
» The Eagles out-hit the Golden Flashes, 8-7, marking the 29th time they have out-hit their opponent, posting a 18-11 in such scenarios.
» Eastern was perfect in the field for the 16th time this season and first since a 9-7 win over Central Michigan, May 10.
» The game marked the Eagles' 19th with multiple home runs. EMU is 9-10 this season when hitting multiple home runs.
» The Eastern offense thrived in situational hitting, batting 1.000 (1-for-1) with a runner on third and less than two outs, .353 (6-for-17) in advancement opportunities, and .333 (3-for-9) when leading off.
» EMU pitching excelled with runners in scoring position, limiting KSU batters to a .182 (2-for-11) clip including a .200 (3-for-15) mark with runners on base and a .200 figure (1-for-5) with the bases juiced.
» Every Eagles starter reached base safely in the loss.
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 43 Kent State hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and 13 fly balls while striking out six.
» Hugo knocked two home runs for the fifth game in his career and third time this season. He also captured his 18th multi-hit game and 15th multi-RBI outing, both of which rank second on the team. » Hugo scored multiple runs for the 13th time in 2025 and third consecutively as he brought his team-leading run total to 52.
» Hugo walked once to increase his team-high figure to a career-best 32 on the season.
» Zirwas continued his streak of reaching base as he did so for the 17th consecutive game with one walk. The streak currently serves as the longest streak of reaching base on the team.
» Travis and John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) both hit one double, marking their ninth of the season, respectively. Both figures serve as NCAA Division I career-highs.
HIstorical Notes
» Hugo's home runs brought his career total to 32 and tied him with Mitchell McGeein (2013-2016) for the fifth most all-time in program history in terms of value. He is the eighth Eagle to reach 30 homers in his career
» With one hit in the loss, Vance is just two hits away from reaching 100 in his career as he currently posts 98.
» The game marked the 134th between Kent State and Eastern Michigan. The Eagles are now 50-84 against KSU with a 5-22 mark when facing it at Oestrike Stadium in the modern statistical era (1999-present).
Up Next
The Eagles and Golden Flashes will play the series finale tomorrow, Saturday, May 17, 1 p.m. The game will serve as the final home contest as they would clinch a MAC Tournament berth for the first time since 2018.
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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: Chalus,Eric (6-3)
L: Kapa, Tyler (5-6)
Batting:
2B: Casey,Jake 1
3B: Matthews, Luke 1
HR: Jatczak,Hayden 1
RBI: Jatczak,Hayden 1 ; Casey,Jake 2 ; Kibler,Dom 1 ; Williams,Brody 1
SF: Williams,Brody 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matthews, Luke 1 ; Jatczak,Hayden 2 ; Schaller,Kolton 1 ; Tiesing,Landon 1 ; Reese,Ripken 1
SB: Thompson,Matthew 1
CS: Solitaria,Sawyer 1
HBP: Solitaria,Sawyer 1
Batting:
2B: Travis, Harrison 1 ; Hale, John 1
HR: Hugo, Logan 2
RBI: Hugo, Logan 4 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walsh, Connor 1 ; Hugo, Logan 2 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
HBP: Jellison, Bruce 1
