Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Edwardsville, Illi.
1 p.m. CT
Eastern Michigan University
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SIUE
5-8
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Eastern Michigan
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SIU Edwardsville
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Photo by: Brody Hall/Walt Middleton Photography
Baseball Drops Tightly Contested Series Finale at SIUE, 4-3
3/1/2026 6:25:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles rallied late but could not complete the comeback
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University baseball team came up short in a tightly contested non-conference match up at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, falling 4-3 Sunday, March 1, at the Simmons Baseball Complex. The Eagles rallied late but could not complete the comeback.
How it Happened
SIUE took early control at the Simmons Baseball Complex with two runs in the first inning, capitalizing on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. The Cougars added one run in the third, putting the Eagles in a 3-0 deficit.
The Eagles' breakthrough came in the top of the fifth inning. After TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas) reached base for the third time, Keegan Knupp (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) drove a two-run homer to deep center field to bring EMU within one run. SIUE responded in the bottom half, scoring on a wild pitch to restore a 4-2 lead.
Eastern Michigan continued to fight, with Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.) delivering a clutch RBI double in the eighth inning to score Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) and trim the deficit to a single run. The Eagles were unable to tie the game in the ninth as it ended in a 4-3 win for the Cougars.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record shifted to 4-8 (0-0 MAC) and SIUE's went to 5-7 (0-0 OVC).
» EMU pitching issued a season-low two walks, its second time doing so this season.
» Eastern faced an Ohio Valley Conference team for the seventh time this season. It is 3-4 when facing the conference.
» Tommy Rose (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth) started on the mound for the first time in his career. He went 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs off five hits, with one strikeout, and two walks.
» Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha) tied a season long with three innings pitched, he didn't allow a run or issue a walk for the first time as an Eagle while striking out two opposing batters.
» Keegan Knupp homered for the second time in his career with a two-run blast to left field in the top of the fifth inning. His two RBI marked his first multi-RBI game of his career.
» Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) recorded his first double and sixth extra-base hit of the season with a two-bagger to left field in the fifth. He reached base for the 11th-straight game, the longest streak on the team.
» Kevin Krill grabbed his first extra-base knock and RBI of the year with a pinch-hit double to right-center field in the eighth inning.
» TJ Williams and John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) each extended their hitting streaks to four consecutive games with one hit apiece.
Historical Notes
» Eastern and SIUE met for the fourth time in program history. The series is tied 2-2.
» Eastern faced an OVC team for the 94th time in program history. It is 46-48 all-time when facing the conference.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan travels to South Bend, Ind., to face the University of Notre Dame Tuesday, March 3. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Follow Us
Keep up with all things Eastern baseball by following the team on X @EMU_Baseball, and on Instagram @emu_baseball.
How it Happened
SIUE took early control at the Simmons Baseball Complex with two runs in the first inning, capitalizing on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. The Cougars added one run in the third, putting the Eagles in a 3-0 deficit.
The Eagles' breakthrough came in the top of the fifth inning. After TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas) reached base for the third time, Keegan Knupp (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) drove a two-run homer to deep center field to bring EMU within one run. SIUE responded in the bottom half, scoring on a wild pitch to restore a 4-2 lead.
Eastern Michigan continued to fight, with Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.) delivering a clutch RBI double in the eighth inning to score Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) and trim the deficit to a single run. The Eagles were unable to tie the game in the ninth as it ended in a 4-3 win for the Cougars.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record shifted to 4-8 (0-0 MAC) and SIUE's went to 5-7 (0-0 OVC).
» EMU pitching issued a season-low two walks, its second time doing so this season.
» Eastern faced an Ohio Valley Conference team for the seventh time this season. It is 3-4 when facing the conference.
» Tommy Rose (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth) started on the mound for the first time in his career. He went 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs off five hits, with one strikeout, and two walks.
» Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha) tied a season long with three innings pitched, he didn't allow a run or issue a walk for the first time as an Eagle while striking out two opposing batters.
» Keegan Knupp homered for the second time in his career with a two-run blast to left field in the top of the fifth inning. His two RBI marked his first multi-RBI game of his career.
» Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's) recorded his first double and sixth extra-base hit of the season with a two-bagger to left field in the fifth. He reached base for the 11th-straight game, the longest streak on the team.
» Kevin Krill grabbed his first extra-base knock and RBI of the year with a pinch-hit double to right-center field in the eighth inning.
» TJ Williams and John Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) each extended their hitting streaks to four consecutive games with one hit apiece.
Historical Notes
» Eastern and SIUE met for the fourth time in program history. The series is tied 2-2.
» Eastern faced an OVC team for the 94th time in program history. It is 46-48 all-time when facing the conference.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan travels to South Bend, Ind., to face the University of Notre Dame Tuesday, March 3. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Follow Us
Keep up with all things Eastern baseball by following the team on X @EMU_Baseball, and on Instagram @emu_baseball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nutter (1-0)
L: Rose, Tommy (0-1)
S: Harris (3)
Batting:
2B: Stecko, Ty 1 ; Krill, Kevin 1
HR: Knupp, Keegan 1
RBI: Knupp, Keegan 2 ; Krill, Kevin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, TJ 1 ; Knupp, Keegan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1
SB: Williams, TJ 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1
CS: Zirwas, Devan 1
HBP: Stecko, Ty 1 ; Hale, John 1
PO: Weaver, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Fry 1
RBI: Willoughby 2 ; Thompson-Al 1
SH: Kang 1
SF: Willoughby 1 ; Thompson-Al 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Niedzwiedz 2 ; Bloomer 2
HBP: Willoughby 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
3b/rf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
ph/3b
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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