Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Baseball Looks For Second Big Ten Win of 2025, Travels to Michigan State Tuesday
5/5/2025 5:16:00 PM | Baseball
First pitch is at 6:02 p.m. on Big Ten Plus
| Eastern Michigan Baseball at Michigan State | |
| Date/Time | Tuesday | May 6 | 6:02 p.m. |
| Venue | Jeff Ishbia Field | McLane Baseball Stadium | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes (PDF) | Media Guide |
| Live Stats | EMUEagles.com/livestats |
| Watch Live | Big Ten Plus |
| Listen Live | Eagle All-Access |
| Social Media | X: @EMU_Baseball | @EMUAthletics IG: @emu_baseball | @emuathletics |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will face the Michigan State University Spartans in non-conference action Tuesday, May 6, at 6:02 p.m., at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, in East Lansing, Mich.
Eastern enters the game with a 18-23 (10-14 MAC) record and is looking for its first win over Michigan State since 2017, and its first win over the Spartans on the road since 2016. It most recently dropped a three-game set to Northern Illinois, 2-1, May 2-3. Michigan State comes in with a 24-21 (10-14 B1G) mark and recently dropped 2-of-3 to nationally ranked Oregon (D1 Baseball No. 5), May 2-4.
Fans can follow along using the live stats, radio, and watch links that can be accessed on the EMU baseball schedule page here. Also, stay tuned to EMU baseball socials including EMU_Baseball on X, and emu_baseball on Instagram for live in-game updates and additional EMU baseball content.
ON THE AIR
Greg Steiner and Elena Davis will have the call live on Eagle All-Access and The Varsity Network. The game will also be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.
PLAYING THE OLD BENCH BOSS
Current Michigan State Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. had a short stint as the head coach at Eastern Michigan as Boss' 2008 EMU squad had a rollercoaster season. After starting the campaign 0-17, the Eagles went on to win the next 21-of-34 contests en route to being crowned MAC West Champions and eventual MAC Tournament Champions, marking the last time the Eagles have won a MAC Tournament.
MORE MSU CONNECTIONS
Jake Boss Jr. is not the only former Eagle on the Spartans' staff. Former Eastern Michigan Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde (2015-17) is currently in his second stint at Michigan State as he, like Boss Jr., joined the Spartans' staff after his time at EMU. In his time at Eastern, Van Ameyde posted a 6-6 mark against State and led the Eagles to the MAC Tournament Championship game in 2017, finishing as the runner-up to Ohio University, marking the last time Eastern Michigan appeared in the game.
ALL-TIME AGAINST MSU
The Eagles and Spartans will meet for the 142nd time on Tuesday, Eastern posts a 58-81-2 record when facing MSU and a 6-16 mark when facing it in East Lansing. The Spartans have controlled the series in recent years as they have won seven of the last 10 matchups, including five straight, which marks EMU's longest losing streak against the Big Ten foe. The last three games have been within one run, including last season's 9-8 defeat. EMU's largest margin of victory against MSU was eight runs (13-5) in a contest that was played in East Lansing, April 11, 2012.
LAST TIME AGAINST MSU
The Spartans won a back-and-forth contest, 9-8. The Eagles battled back from down four (5-1) to take a 6-5 lead off a Logan Hugo grand slam. Eastern surrendered the lead it built in the fourth and ultimately lost, 9-8.
Current Baseball Operations Assistant Isiah Lindsey was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going three innings, surrendering one run on one hit, walking one and striking out three.
Former Eagle Glenn Miller's three extra base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-5 day, and included two doubles, a home run and two RBI.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE B1G
The contest against Michigan State will mark the 406th for Eastern against a Big Ten opponent. Overall, the Eagles post a 151-249-5 record when facing Big Ten teams. Additionally, the only four Big Ten institutions the Eagles have yet to face on the diamond are Maryland, Rutgers, USC, and UCLA. This season, EMU is 1-2 against Big Ten opponents as it split a home-and-home series with Michigan, besting the Wolverines on the road, 9-8, March 25, dropping a road contest at Ohio State, 13-7, March 11, and falling in the second half of the home-and-home against UM, 13-2, April 1. Overall, EMU is 2-3 against Big Ten opponents under Head Coach Robbie Britt, 1-5 against Power Four competition this season, and 2-8 all-time under Britt against the Power Four.
SPARTANS VS. THE MAC
The Spartans are 3-1 against the MAC this season, with all three wins coming over EMU rival, Western Michigan, whom the Eagles beat in a three-game set earlier this season, 2-1, March 14-15. MSU will have played five games against the MAC when the season is over.
MSU beat WMU the first two games of the season in Cary, N.C. before dropping a mid-week contest to CMU, 6-5, April 9, prior to run-ruling the Broncos, 14-4 (8 innings), April 15.
Michigan State has out-scored its MAC opponents 27-13, while EMU has been out-scored 34-18 by the B1G this season.
MULTIPLE P4 WINS FOR BRITT
With two wins over Michigan in his first two seasons as head coach, Robbie Britt became the fourth head coach in program history to earn multiple "power four" wins in his first two seasons at the helm of the program. Roger Coryell won five from 1989-90, Jay Alexander won six from 2009-10, and Mark Van Ameyde won four from 2015-16.
Furthermore, a win over Michigan State on Tuesday would mark the Eagles' first time winning multiple power conference games in one season since it won three in the 2018 campaign, beating Ohio State, March 4, and Oklahoma State, March 10-11. It would also mark the first time winning multiple games against the B1G since EMU beat Michigan State, 4-1, April 4, and Ohio State, 3-1, April 12, in the 2017 campaign.
KAPA & BECKNER: MAC'S 1 & 2 IN Ks
Pitchers Tyler Kapa and Drew Beckner rank one and two in the MAC in strikeouts, as Kapa posts 74 and Beckner has 67. The duo is the only in the conference from the same school to rank inside the top five in strikeouts. Eastern is also the only school in the conference with two pitchers above 65 strikeouts on the season, one of 10 Division I schools in the country to have two pitchers that rank inside the conference top-three in strikeouts, and one of six pitching duos in Division I to rank first and second in their respective conference.
KAPA's Ks
Senior right-hander Tyler Kapa has demonstrated high strike-throwing ability in ten appearances this season. He has sat down a total of 74 batters, good for the most in the conference. Kapa's 11 strikeouts at Albany, April 19 stand as the most in a single game in the MAC this season and a Division I career high for the Waterford, Mich., native. He also struck out nine two other times this season, making him the only pitcher in the MAC to fan at least nine batters on three different occasions.
The 6-foot-2 righty ranks highly in strikeouts per nine innings as he slots second in the conference and 23rd in the nation, averaging 12.18 Ks per nine.
HUGO CAREER HOMERS
Logan Hugo has hit 29 home runs in his career, tying him for the eighth-most in program history. Ryan Goleski (2001-03) holds the program's career record with 51 long balls.
HUGO BREAKOUT SEASON
Logan Hugo is in the midst of a breakout season. After winning the MAC Player of the Week award for the first time in his career, Feb. 25. Hugo is currently posting career highs in batting average (.311), slugging (.573), and OPS (.987).
His 12 doubles, 50 RBI, and 27 walks mark career highs, while his home runs (nine) are one away from tying his career high set in 2024 (10). Hugo needs one more run to equal his career high of 39 (2024), one more hit to tie his career best of 52 (2024), and three stolen bases to match his career high of 18 (2024).
HUGO CAREER DAY
Senior outfielder Logan Hugo had a career day in the 19-12 win over the RedHawks, March 22. Hugo went 5-for-6 from the plate with two home runs, two doubles, six RBI, and three runs. His five hits, two home runs, and six RBI all marked career-highs. The five hits - and 13 total bases stand as the most from an individual in the MAC this season while his two home runs stand as the second-most, and six RBI rank as the fourth-most in the conference.
SLAMMIN' EAGS
EMU excels in hitting grand slams as they have hit five this season with Harrison Travis recording the team's fifth in the 14-4 run-ruling win over YSU. EMU's five grand slams are its most since at least the 2018 season, and stand three short of tying for the sixth-most in NCAA Division I history in terms of value. Should it reach eight grand slams, EMU would be the seventh team in NCAA history to do so in a season. It would be the only MAC team on the list.
PLAYERS/PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Eastern has earned four MAC Weekly Honors, doubling the two it had last season. Most recently, Tyler Kapa was named MAC Pitcher of the Week, April 21. The honor marked the Eagles' fourth player of the week award of the season as Logan Hugo (Feb. 25) and Devan Zirwas (March 4) previously earned the recognition as position players, and Drew Beckner was named MAC Pitcher of the Week, April 14.
After Beckner's pitcher of the week nod, April 14, and Kapa's, April 21, the Eagles' have earned consecutive MAC Pitcher of the Week awards for the first time since the 2017 season when Brad Allen won it, March 27, followed by Brent Mattson the next week, April 3.
CONSECUTIVE POTW AWARDS
Eastern is one of three MAC schools to earn consecutive player/pitcher of the week honors, and the only school in the conference to do so for both the player and pitcher of the week award. Logan Hugo and Devan Zirwas won the player of the week award in consecutive weeks, Feb. 25, March 1, while Drew Beckner and Tyler Kapa recently won back-to-back pitcher of the week honors, April 14, April 21.
POTENT OFFENSE
Through 41 games, the Eagles offense ranks inside the MAC top five in six categories, including pacing the MAC with the fewest strikeouts, as they have gone down on strikes just 297 times, 25 fewer than the second-least strikeout total (Ohio - 322).
Stat Figure MAC Rnk.
Strikeouts (Least) 297 1st
Ks Per Nine 8.8 3rd
Runs Per Game 7.8 4th On-Base % 0.406 4th
Hit by Pitch 46 4th
Average .293 5th
PITCHING RANKINGS
Eastern pitching ranks inside the top five in the conference in value in six categories, most notably ranking first in extra-base hits (XBH) allowed (132) and home runs allowed (38).
Stat Figure MAC Rnk.
XBH Allowed 132 T1st
Homers Allowed 38 1st
At-Bats 1,419 2nd
Hits Allowed 425 5th
Doubles Allowed 82 4th
Triples Allowed 12 4th
ZIRWAS BREAKOUT YEAR
Zirwas is excelling after seeing just 48 at-bats in his redshirt freshman season at VCU in 2024. He has set career highs in at-bats (158), runs (38), hits (55), doubles (14), home runs (eight), RBI (46), total bases (95), walks (26), and stolen bases (two). He is also posting career best numbers in average (.348) and OPS (1.054). Zirwas has also improved his discipline at the plate as he struck out in 30 percent of his at-bats in 2024 and currently strikes out just 18% of the time this season.
COMPLETE GAME
Eastern posted double-digit runs (15), hits (13), RBI (15), walks (offensive) (12), and strikeouts (pitching) (15) in the same game for the first time in 21 years in a 15-6 win at Albany, April 17. The Eagles last accomplished the feat against the NCAA Division II Wayne State Warriors, March 22, 2004. Eastern recorded 13 runs, 11 hits, 10 RBI, 10 walks (offensive), and 10 strikeouts (pitching) enroute to a 13-3 win. Additionally, the walks and strikeouts totals marked the most in the Head Coach Robbie Britt era.
JELLISON SACRIFICE FLIES
Junior infielder Bruce Jellison excels in hitting sacrifice flies as he ranks second in the MAC and 19th in the nation with six on the season. He most recently tallied his sixth SF of the season when he drove in Ty Stecko with a fly-out to right field in a 9-7 win over Albany, April 19. A first-year transfer from the highly-touted Wabash Valley College Junior College program, Jellison led all of JuCo with nine sacrifice flies in 2024.
DREW BECKNER ON THE BUMP
Senior left-hander Drew Beckner has pitched well this season. Through 12 starts (64.1 IP - 5th most in the MAC), he has struck out 67 batters (2nd in the MAC) while walking just 31, has allowed just 34 earned runs (9th in the MAC), and held opposing batters to a .251 average (7th in the conference). With a 3-1 record on the year, his three wins are tied for the sixth-most in the conference. Expected to make a minimum of two more starts this season, Beckner is on pace to set NCAA Division I career-best marks as a starter in innings pitched (75), strikeouts (78), and walks (36). He is currently averaging NCAA Division I career-bests in ERA (4.76) and WHIP (1.46).
BECKNER PUNCH OUTS
Drew Beckner recorded at least eight strikeouts in three consecutive outings, April 4-17. He is the first EMU pitcher to do so since Sam Delaplane (10, 8, 12) did in the 2017 season, March 31-April 14, posting 30 strikeouts total in the three starts. Beckner struck out eight in his start against Ball State, April 4, eight against Toledo, April 11, and 10 at Albany, April 17, for a total of 26 strikeouts.
CARDIAC EAGLES
Eastern has four comeback wins when trailing by at least three runs this season, surpassing the three it had in the 2024 campaign. Two of the four comeback wins have come in the ninth inning with the Eagles putting up eight runs in the frame for the victory. Eastern trailed Western Michigan, 7-2, entering the ninth, March 14, before putting up eight runs to win, 10-8. The Eagles accomplished the feat again in a 9-5 win over Ohio, March 29, as they entered the ninth down, 5-1, and rattled off eight to secure the 9-5 victory.
BETTER THAN PROJECTED
The Eagles were predicted to finish 10th in the conference in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. They have soared past that prediction, as they currently stand seventh in the conference with a 10-14 MAC record and at one point stood as high as second in the MAC.
AHEAD OF SCHEDULE (2024 WIN TOTAL)
The Eagles won 14 games in Robbie Britt's first season last year. Forty-one games into the 2025 campaign, the Eagles have already surpassed that total with 18 wins. They have also surpassed their 2024 win total when it comes to conference play, as their 13-3 win over NIU in the first game of a doubleheader, May 3 marked their 10th in the MAC.
EMU posted 13 wins in its first 41 games last season, eight of which came in conference play.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Eagles exploded for a season-best offensive performance in game three against the RedHawks, March 22. Eastern set season highs in runs (19) and RBI (18), while also knocking 18 hits and drawing 11 walks, both of which are its second-highest total of the season. Eastern Michigan's 19 runs and 18 RBI stand as the sixth-most in a single game in the MAC, while its five doubles are the fourth-most and hits are the fifth-most and walks are the sixth-most. Its runs and RBI total all serve as the most in the Robbie Britt era.
Eastern's bats particularly popped off in the second inning, scoring nine runs. Its nine runs that inning are the most under Britt and the most since Eastern plated 10 against Toledo, May 4, 2021.
Eastern nearly matched that performance in its 18-13 win over Ohio, March 29. It tied a season best with 18 RBI while setting a season best with 19 hits.
TEAM TRIPLE DOUBLES
The Eagles have reached double-digit marks in runs, hits, and RBI 11 times this season. They hold a 10-1 record in such games. Most recently, Eastern posted 10+ in each category in the 13-3 run-ruling win over Northern Illinois, May 3. Eastern scored 13 runs off 13 hits with 12 RBI.
BIG FISCH IN A LITTLE POND
Freshman right-hander Fischer Hendershot has the most saves of any freshman in the MAC as he ranks second on the team and sixth in the conference in terms of value with three behind Ethan Davis' four. Hendershot's three saves are the most from an Eastern freshman since Thomas House recorded four in his freshman campaign in 2018. He most recently earned a save in the Eagle's 9-7 win over Albany, April 19, as he got the final out of the game.
LIMITING POWER
Eastern pitching has allowed 132 extra-base hits (XBH) this season, tying for the fewest in the conference as Kent State and Miami have also allowed 132 XBH.
KINGS OF THE FIFTH
The Eagles have thrived in the fifth inning, scoring roughly 20% of their total runs (321) in the frame as they have scored 63 runs in the fifth, their highest total in any inning this season and 11 runs more than their second-highest scoring inning (3rd - 52 runs).
STRONG IN THE NINTH
Eastern has allowed just 18 runs in the ninth inning, its least amount of runs allowed in any inning this season. The 18 runs allowed in the ninth account for just 5.2 percent of its total runs allowed (342).
IMPORTANCE OF THE SIXTH
The sixth inning has provided insight on whether the Eagles will win or lose the game. When leading after six innings, Eastern posts a 13-4 record. Conversely, when trailing after six, EMU is 2-17. EMU earned its 13th win of the season when leading after six innings in the first game of a doubleheader against Northern Illinois, May 3, as it concluded the sixth with a 10-1 advantage and won the game, 13-3 (8 innings). Most recently, the Eagles came back to win for the second time after being down after six innings against Ohio, March 29. Eastern concluded the sixth inning in the first game of the doubleheader that day trailing, 5-1, and came back to win, 9-5.
Eastern lost for the fourth time after leading after the sixth inning in game two of a doubleheader at BGSU, April 26. EMU led, 6-4, after six, but lost, 10-9.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
Drew Beckner recently reached the 200 strikeouts milestone with his eight against Ball State, April 4. He currently has 223 in his career. Cooper Vance is eight hits away from reaching 100 in his career. Giano Zuccaro is 13 hits away from reaching the 200 mark, two home runs away from posting 20 in his career, and three doubles from 50. Brendan Kleiman needs 16 knocks to reach 100 in his NCAA career.
ONE WEEK, TWO SAVES
Junior right hander Ethan Davis had a strong week as he earned one save in both of his appearances out of the bullpen against Akron, March 7-9. Davis tallied 3.1 innings pitched and allowed just one run while issuing zero walks and striking out two. Davis' four saves lead the Eagles and stand as the fifth-most in the MAC. Furthermore, he is the first Eastern hurler to earn two saves in one week since Trevor House did so in the 2021 season against Toledo in the first game of a doubleheader, May 11, and against Northern Illinois, May 15. Davis plays a large role in the much improved Eastern bullpen that through 41 games has doubled its save total from last season (four).
KAPA'S COMPLETE GAME
Tyler Kapa pitched a seven-inning complete game against Presbyterian in the first game of a doubleheader, March 1, becoming the first EMU hurler to throw a complete game since his teammate, Bobby Jones threw an eight-inning complete game last season against Northern Illinois (May 16). Kapa is one of 219 pitchers nationally and seven in the MAC to have thrown a complete game this season. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs, while striking out nine and walking two. Overall, he is tied for 45th in the nation with his one complete game.
SERIES IN REVIEW: VS. NIU, MAY 2-3
Eastern most recently dropped a three-game series to NIU, 2-1, May 2-3.
Game One
Eastern entered the ninth down 12-6, but mounted a ninth-inning comeback that fell short, losing, 12-9. Harrison Travis led the Eagles' offense with three hits and three RBI.
Game Two
Eastern bounced back to win game two in run-ruling fashion, 13-3. Starting pitcher Tyler Kapa (4-5) earned the win in the first game as the Eagles' offense was led by John Hale who went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBI as he reached base in every plate appearance.
Game Three
Ty Stecko paced the EMU offense with two hits, including his team-leading 10th home run of the season.
ON THE HORIZON
Eastern will return to MAC play as it aims to make a playoff push beginning with a three-game set against rivals Central Michigan University Friday-Sunday, May 9-11.
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.
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