Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, May 21
Avon, Ohio
12:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
20-30
5
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Ball State
36-20
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Eastern Michigan
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Ball State
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Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Baseball Drops Tight Game to Ball State in MAC Tournament First Round
5/21/2025 8:27:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles will play the loser of Bowling Green versus Toledo tomorrow, Thursday, May 22
Photo Gallery | Listen to Game Two | Re-Listen to Game One
AVON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The sixth seed Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped a tough 6-5 first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game against the third-seeded Ball State University Cardinals at Crushers Stadium Wednesday, May 21.
After the loss, the Eagles will await their next opponent as they will face the losers of Bowling Green versus Toledo Thursday, May 22, in an elimination game. The BGSU-UT game was rained out and will be played tomorrow at 9 a.m., with the EMU contest taking place 45 minutes after the completion of the first game.
Junior infielder Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) led the Eagles' offense as he knocked the 100th hit of his collegiate career in a 1-for-3 showing from the plate with his career-best 13th double of the season while drawing one walk. Senior right-hander Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) got the start for Eastern as he allowed three runs (one earned), off four hits, while striking out six, and walking one in three innings of work. Ball State's John Chambers (2-0) earned the win while EMU right-handed junior Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) (2-4) was tagged with the loss.
Eastern pitching got a strong outing out of junior right-hander Michael Pfeiffer (Brownsboro, Ala./Huntsville/Northwest-Shoals C.C.), who tossed two scoreless innings after entering in the seventh in a two-on, no-outs situation, and got out of the inning without allowing a run.
How it Happened
Eastern threatened in the first, putting the first two runners on base as Connor Walsh (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) singled and Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) walked before the next three batters struck out to retire the side.
Ball State wasted no time in the ensuing half inning, scoring one run off back-to-back doubles to start the frame. Kapa held the Cardinals scoreless in the second, retiring the side in order off two strikeouts and one groundout.
The Cardinals added to their total in the third, sending a two-run shot over the left-field wall to increase its lead to three at 3-0.
The Eastern offense came alive in the fourth, scoring five runs to take the lead at 5-3. Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) reached via a single down the left-field line before Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) and Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) walked to load the bases. Eastern pushed its first run across off a John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) bases-loaded hit by pitch. Vance doubled to score two more, Hale scored on a passed ball where Walsh also reached first as he struck out, but the catcher was not able to secure the putout. Hugo capped the five-run inning with a sacrifice fly-out to center field, scoring Vance from third.
The game entered a delay due to lightning in the area at 1:58 p.m. before the start of the bottom of the fourth. After a three hour and 17-minute delay, the game resumed at 5:15 p.m. in the bottom of the fourth inning. Davis relieved Kapa as play resumed
Ball State took no time to get warm after the delay, scoring two runs off one RBI-single and one sacrifice fly to tie the game at five apiece. It added one more run in the sixth, scoring a baserunner from third off a sacrifice fly to regain the lead at 6-5.
The Cardinals saw their first two batters reach in the bottom of the seventh, forcing an Eastern call to the bullpen, bringing Pfeiffer to the bump with no outs in the inning. He pitched his way out of the jam without allowing a run and retired three of the four batters he faced in the inning, forcing one foul-out and two pop-ups. He went back to work in the eighth, retiring three of the four batters he faced as he struck out one, and forced one foul-out and groundout.
Down 6-5 entering the top of the ninth, Eastern was unable to match the Ball State total as it went down in order, concluding the game in a win for the Cardinals.
Game Notes
» After the result, Eastern's record shifted to 20-30 (12-19 MAC) while Ball State's improved to 36-20 (21-9).
» Pfeiffer tossed his fifth scoreless outing of the season and second consecutively as he held Kent State to zero runs in his outing against the Golden Flashes, May 17.
» Hale knocked his 14th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-3 performance from the plate with one run scored and one RBI. Vance recorded his seventh multi-RBI game of the season with two RBI via his two-run double
» Kapa struck out at least six batters for the 10th time this season, bringing his total to a MAC-best 90 on the season. He has fanned at least six in 10 out of his 16 appearances this season. He is two strikeouts away from tying Sam Delaplane for the 10th-most in a single season in EMU program history.
» Hugo drove in one and walked once, increasing his total in the categories to 59 and 34, respectively, both of which lead team and mark career highs for the senior.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles played their first MAC Tournament game since 2018 and their 63rd overall. They now hold a 37-26 all-time record in MAC Tournament games.
» Eastern played its eighth game as the sixth seed in the tournament, posting a 1-7 record all-time.
» After Wednesday's result, Head Coach Robbie Britt holds a 9-5 record in conference tournament games and has coached in 14 of them in his six-year head coaching career.
» Wednesday's game marked the 176th all-time against Ball State. After the result, Eastern holds a 85-90-1 record when facing the Cardinals. It also marked the fourth time EMU and BSU have matched up in the conference tournament as Eastern possesses a 1-3 clip when facing BSU in the postseason.
» EMU matched up with the three seed for the 11th time in MAC Tournament history. Overall, it is 7-4 when doing so.
» The Eagles played their 17th tournament game in Avon, they now hold an 8-9 record when the tournament is being played in Avon.
» Vance's two-run double in the fourth marked the 100th hit of his career.
Up Next
Eastern will play the losers of Bowling Green and Toledo after the conclusion of their game that begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 22. The game between Eastern and the loser of BGSU/Toledo will start roughly 30 minutes after the end of BGSU/Toledo.
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.
AVON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The sixth seed Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped a tough 6-5 first-round Mid-American Conference Tournament game against the third-seeded Ball State University Cardinals at Crushers Stadium Wednesday, May 21.
After the loss, the Eagles will await their next opponent as they will face the losers of Bowling Green versus Toledo Thursday, May 22, in an elimination game. The BGSU-UT game was rained out and will be played tomorrow at 9 a.m., with the EMU contest taking place 45 minutes after the completion of the first game.
Junior infielder Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) led the Eagles' offense as he knocked the 100th hit of his collegiate career in a 1-for-3 showing from the plate with his career-best 13th double of the season while drawing one walk. Senior right-hander Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) got the start for Eastern as he allowed three runs (one earned), off four hits, while striking out six, and walking one in three innings of work. Ball State's John Chambers (2-0) earned the win while EMU right-handed junior Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) (2-4) was tagged with the loss.
Eastern pitching got a strong outing out of junior right-hander Michael Pfeiffer (Brownsboro, Ala./Huntsville/Northwest-Shoals C.C.), who tossed two scoreless innings after entering in the seventh in a two-on, no-outs situation, and got out of the inning without allowing a run.
How it Happened
Eastern threatened in the first, putting the first two runners on base as Connor Walsh (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) singled and Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber) walked before the next three batters struck out to retire the side.
Ball State wasted no time in the ensuing half inning, scoring one run off back-to-back doubles to start the frame. Kapa held the Cardinals scoreless in the second, retiring the side in order off two strikeouts and one groundout.
The Cardinals added to their total in the third, sending a two-run shot over the left-field wall to increase its lead to three at 3-0.
The Eastern offense came alive in the fourth, scoring five runs to take the lead at 5-3. Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) reached via a single down the left-field line before Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) and Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) walked to load the bases. Eastern pushed its first run across off a John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) bases-loaded hit by pitch. Vance doubled to score two more, Hale scored on a passed ball where Walsh also reached first as he struck out, but the catcher was not able to secure the putout. Hugo capped the five-run inning with a sacrifice fly-out to center field, scoring Vance from third.
The game entered a delay due to lightning in the area at 1:58 p.m. before the start of the bottom of the fourth. After a three hour and 17-minute delay, the game resumed at 5:15 p.m. in the bottom of the fourth inning. Davis relieved Kapa as play resumed
Ball State took no time to get warm after the delay, scoring two runs off one RBI-single and one sacrifice fly to tie the game at five apiece. It added one more run in the sixth, scoring a baserunner from third off a sacrifice fly to regain the lead at 6-5.
The Cardinals saw their first two batters reach in the bottom of the seventh, forcing an Eastern call to the bullpen, bringing Pfeiffer to the bump with no outs in the inning. He pitched his way out of the jam without allowing a run and retired three of the four batters he faced in the inning, forcing one foul-out and two pop-ups. He went back to work in the eighth, retiring three of the four batters he faced as he struck out one, and forced one foul-out and groundout.
Down 6-5 entering the top of the ninth, Eastern was unable to match the Ball State total as it went down in order, concluding the game in a win for the Cardinals.
Game Notes
» After the result, Eastern's record shifted to 20-30 (12-19 MAC) while Ball State's improved to 36-20 (21-9).
» Pfeiffer tossed his fifth scoreless outing of the season and second consecutively as he held Kent State to zero runs in his outing against the Golden Flashes, May 17.
» Hale knocked his 14th multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-3 performance from the plate with one run scored and one RBI. Vance recorded his seventh multi-RBI game of the season with two RBI via his two-run double
» Kapa struck out at least six batters for the 10th time this season, bringing his total to a MAC-best 90 on the season. He has fanned at least six in 10 out of his 16 appearances this season. He is two strikeouts away from tying Sam Delaplane for the 10th-most in a single season in EMU program history.
» Hugo drove in one and walked once, increasing his total in the categories to 59 and 34, respectively, both of which lead team and mark career highs for the senior.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles played their first MAC Tournament game since 2018 and their 63rd overall. They now hold a 37-26 all-time record in MAC Tournament games.
» Eastern played its eighth game as the sixth seed in the tournament, posting a 1-7 record all-time.
» After Wednesday's result, Head Coach Robbie Britt holds a 9-5 record in conference tournament games and has coached in 14 of them in his six-year head coaching career.
» Wednesday's game marked the 176th all-time against Ball State. After the result, Eastern holds a 85-90-1 record when facing the Cardinals. It also marked the fourth time EMU and BSU have matched up in the conference tournament as Eastern possesses a 1-3 clip when facing BSU in the postseason.
» EMU matched up with the three seed for the 11th time in MAC Tournament history. Overall, it is 7-4 when doing so.
» The Eagles played their 17th tournament game in Avon, they now hold an 8-9 record when the tournament is being played in Avon.
» Vance's two-run double in the fourth marked the 100th hit of his career.
Up Next
Eastern will play the losers of Bowling Green and Toledo after the conclusion of their game that begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 22. The game between Eastern and the loser of BGSU/Toledo will start roughly 30 minutes after the end of BGSU/Toledo.
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: John Chambers (2-0)
L: Davis, Ethan (2-4)
Batting:
2B: Vance, Cooper 1
RBI: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Hale, John 1 ; Vance, Cooper 2
SF: Hugo, Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1 ; Jones, Drew 1 ; Hale, John 1 ; Vance, Cooper 1
CS: Stecko, Ty 2
HBP: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Hale, John 1
Batting:
2B: Dylan Grego 1 ; Nick Husovsky 2 ; Korbin Griffin 1
HR: Blake Bevis 1
RBI: Dylan Grego 2 ; Nick Husovsky 2 ; Blake Bevis 2
SF: Dylan Grego 1 ; Nick Husovsky 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dylan Grego 1 ; Nick Husovsky 1 ; Blake Bevis 1 ; Garrett Arnold 1 ; Max Kalk 1 ; Gavin Balius 1
SB: Dylan Grego 1 ; Gavin Balius 1
CS: Gavin Balius 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
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H
1
RBI
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AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
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AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
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Players Mentioned
RHP
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OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
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