Baseball's Ninth-Inning Comeback Falls Short In 12-9 Loss to Northern Illinois

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team mounted a ninth-inning comeback, but ultimately lost to the Northern Illinois University Huskies, 12-9, in the opening game of a three-game Mid-American Conference (MAC) series Friday, May 2, at Oestrike Stadium.

Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) led the Eagles' offense with three hits and three RBI, including his eighth home run of the season. Senior left-hander Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio/Big Walnut/Charleston) got the start and pitched 6.2 innings, tying for his second longest outing of the season.

NIU starter Adam Brouwer (4-3) was credited with the win and reliever Danny Cihocki (5) earned the save while Beckner (3-2) was tagged with the loss.

After the result, the Eagles' record went to 17-22 (9-13 MAC) and NIU's improved to 17-28 (6-16 MAC).

How it Happened
Pitching and defense led the way in the first two innings as neither team scored and there were just three hits between both teams.

The Huskies stuck first in the top of the third as they scored four runs off four hits. Senior outfielder Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) nearly robbed an NIU homer but was unable to secure the catch as the ball fell back into the field of play, limiting the damage to an RBI double.

Eastern responded in the bottom of the third as Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) sent a sacrifice fly to center field to score Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) to put the Eagles on the board. Eastern brought power to the plate in its next two at-bats as Travis and Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) went yard to take its first lead of the day, 5-4. Travis' homer was a three-run shot, marking his eighth of the season and brought his RBI total to 28 while Zirwas' solo bomb also marked his eighth of the season.

Northern Illinois returned fire with power of its own in the fourth as it sent a two-run no-doubter over the right field wall to retake the 6-5 lead.

Beckner was relieved by Dom Anderson (Hagerstown, Ind./Hagerstown) after getting the first two outs of the seventh inning. He exited the game after a 6.2 inning start, his second-longest of the season. Later in the frame, NIU elevated its lead to five runs at 10-5 after an RBI-single and a three-run homer to right field.

Hugo collected his second RBI of the day in the ensuing half inning, trimming the Huskies lead to four at 10-6 as he sent Zuccaro home from second after reaching via a double.

NIU rocketed its third homer of the day in the top of the eighth, a two-run shot to extend its lead to six at 12-6. Junior right-hander Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.) relieved Anderson to grab the final two outs of the inning.

Eastern rallied to score three runs in the ninth, but the comeback ultimately fell short as the Huskies emerged victorious with a 12-9 win.

Game Notes
» The Eagles knocked 11 hits, marking the 21st time this season they have eclipsed the double-digit mark. They are 14-7 in 2025 when totaling at least 10 hits.
» Eastern committed zero errors in the field for the 14th time this season and the first time since the second game of a doubleheader at Ohio, March 29.
» The Eagles homered multiple times in the same game for the 14th time this season.
» Travis' homer was his eighth of the season and brought his RBI total up to 28, both of which are NCAA Division I career highs. He went 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBI for his ninth multi-hit game of the season and seventh game with multiple RBI. Additionally, his three hits tied an NCAA Division I career best.
» Zirwas homered for the eighth time of the season in the third. He went 2-for-5 from the plate with two RBI for his team-high 16th multi-hit game and 15th game with multiple RBI.
» Travis and Zirwas' back-to-back homers are the first since Travis and Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) went back-to-back in the fifth inning against Central Arkansas, Feb. 24.
» Jellison knocked two hits for his 12th multi-hit game. He is up to 39 hits on the season.
» Eastern Michigan's highest scoring inning was the third, when it pushed five runs across.
» Four Eastern Michigan hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.
» Eastern Michigan went 4-for-8 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» Eastern Michigan pitchers faced 47 Northern Illinois hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out four.

Historical Notes
» Friday's game marked the 140th all-time between the Eagles and Huskies. After the result, Eastern remains in the series lead with an 83-58 clip against NIU and a 29-16 record when facing it at home.
» The loss marked the Eagles' fourth consecutive against NIU, tying for EMU's longest against the Huskies in the modern statistical era (1999-present) as it has dropped four straight to NIU.

Up Next
The Eagles and Huskies will run it back for the second of three games tomorrow, Saturday, May 3, 2 p.m. Admission to Oestrike Stadium is free and the game can be streamed live on ESPN+ with Greg Steiner, Tom Helmer, and Elena Davis on the call.

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Baseball's Ninth-Inning Comeback Falls Short In 12-9 Loss to Northern Illinois

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Team Stats

Harrison Travis

Logan Hugo

Devan Zirwas

Bruce Jellison

Players Mentioned

Dom Anderson

Drew Beckner

Logan Hugo

Bruce Jellison

Nick Keane

Ty Stecko

Harrison Travis

Devan Zirwas

Giano Zuccaro

Players Mentioned

Dom Anderson

Drew Beckner

Logan Hugo

Bruce Jellison

Nick Keane

Ty Stecko

Harrison Travis

Devan Zirwas

Giano Zuccaro

Eastern Michigan Athletics