Baseball Resumes MAC Play at Ball State Friday-Sunday

Eastern Michigan Baseball at Ball State
Date	Friday-Sunday \| March 13-15
Venue	Shebek Stadium \| Muncie, Ind.
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Record Book (PDF).
Watch	Facebook
Listen	WMUN (92.5 FM)
Live Stats	Game One \| Game Two \| Game Three
Social Media	X: @EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics IG: @emu_baseball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team hits the road looking for its first Mid-American Conference win of the season as it travels to Muncie, Ind., for a three-game series against the Ball State University Cardinals Friday-Sunday, March 13-15, at Shebek Stadium.

Friday's game will start at 3 p.m. while first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Fans can stream the game's live and access live stats on EMUEagles.com. 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.

FIRST PITCHES
» Eastern and Ball State, are meeting for the 176th-178th times this weekend. Ball State leads the series, 90-85-1 as EMU holds a 13-30 record when facing the Cardinals in Muncie since 1999.
» Ball State swept the Eagles last season in a three-game set in Ypsilanti, April 4-6. It also beat EMU in the first game of the MAC Tournament, 6-5, May 21.
» Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman is searching for his first Mid-American Conference win.
» Most recently, Eastern was defeated by Michigan State, 13-5, in its home opener at Oestrike Stadium, March 10.
» Eastern totals 22 newcomers, including seven freshmen and 15 transfers. The Eagles bring back 18 players from the 2025 season.
» Eastern returns key players in Devan Zirwas and Ty Stecko. Zirwas was named a top-150 outfielder by D1 Baseball and Stecko earned Preseason All-MAC honors from Perfect Game.
» Following the departure of Robbie Britt to the Boston Red Sox, former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Trevor Beerman was promoted to interim head coach for the 2026 season.
» At 30 years old, Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman is the youngest known coach at the NCAA Division I level.

ALL-TIME AGAINST BALL STATE
Eastern and Ball State are meeting for the 176th-178th times this weekend. Ball State leads the series, 90-85-1 as EMU holds a 13-30 record when facing the Cardinals in Muncie since 1999. Ball State has controlled the series in recent years as Eastern holds a 2-8 record in the last 10 games against the Cardinals. Eastern is looking to snap a five-game losing streak against them and is shooting to take consecutive road series in Muncie for the first time since at least 1999.

LAST SEASON AGAINST BALL STATE
Eastern dropped all four contests to the Cardinals last season. Eastern was swept in the regular-season series in Ypsilanti, April 4-6. Game two of the series featured a 14-inning contest that Eastern dropped, 4-2, after getting 'run-ruled' in the first game, 13-2 (7). EMU dropped the series-finale, 9-5. The MAC Tournament matchup saw Ball State take a 3-0 lead before Eastern scored five runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 advantage. The game entered a nearly 3.5 hour rain delay. After resuming play, the Cardinals scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the sixth as the game ended in a 6-5 final in favor of Ball State.

LAST TIME AT BALL STATE
Eastern won two of three games in Muncie, March 8-10, 2024, marking its first series win at Ball State since it swept the Cardinals in the 2007 season, April 20-22. EMU took game one, 10-9, and game two, 6-2, before dropping the series finale, 11-8.

LAST TIME OUT: VS MICHIGAN STATE, MARCH 10
Eastern opened its 2026 home slate on the all-new field at Oestrike Stadium with a 13-5 setback against Michigan State Tuesday, March 10. Michigan State got out to an early 7-0 lead after the top of the second and led for the remainder of the game. Spartan left-hander Bobby Crane (1-0) earned the win while Eastern starter Eli Henderson (1-2) was tagged with the loss.

NOTABLES VS MICH. STATE, MARCH 10
» Devan Zirwas homered for the team-leading sixth time this season with a three-run shot to right field in the top of the fifth inning. Zirwas' six homers rank second in the MAC, while his 15 RBI also lead Eastern and stand sixth in the conference by value. The game marked Zirwas' fourth with multiple RBI this season, a figure that paces EMU.
» Devan Zirwas' home run in the fifth inning marked Eastern's 18th of the season, a number that ranks the Eagles second in the conference.
» Aidan Norris pitched a season-long 2.0 scoreless innings, marking the second scoreless outing of the season after doing so at Austin Peay in 0.2 innings, Feb. 27.
» Ty Stecko walked for the 14th time this season, the most on the team and fourth most in the Mid-American Conference. Eastern drew at least five walks for the 14th time this season as it has failed to do so just three times in 2026.
» TJ Williams recorded his team-high 15th hit of the season as he reached base twice and swiped his seventh bag of the season, which also leads the team and ranks fourth in the league.

BATS HEATING UP
With 19 total hits against Miami in the final two games of the series, March 7-8, the Eagles finished with more hits than their opponent in two consecutive games for the first time this season. Their two-game stretch of 19 hits is second most this season, behind 20 hits at Austin Peay, Feb. 20 and Feb. 21. Outside of usual production from Nathan Borchardt and Ty Stecko, Nick Weaver and Demir Heidelberg got into a rhythm at the plate against Miami, March 6-8, as Weaver hit .500 with three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run) for two RBI and a 1.681 OPS with zero strikeouts. Heidelberg made his first two career starts Saturday and Sunday, batting .429 with three hits, one double, and one RBI in the series. Drew Jones also batted .286 with two hits, one double, and two RBI.

13 BULLPEN STRIKEOUTS/15 TOTAL K'S
The EMU bullpen continued its strong season against Miami, March 8, striking out 13 RedHawks and allowing just four earned runs over 7.1 innings of work. Thirteen strikeouts from the bullpen are the most from the Eagles since they struck out 15 opposing batters against Miami, April 11, 2022, a day that saw the pitching staff sit down 17 as a team via the strikeout, the most in program history in a single game since 1999. Eastern struck out a total of 15 RedHawks in the series finale Sunday, the third-most in a single game since 1999, second most in the MAC, and 10th most nationally by value.

MUELLER'S SEVEN BULLPEN STRIKEOUTS
Landon Mueller struck out a career-high seven batters in his relief appearance at Miami, March 8. His seven strikeouts out of the bullpen are the most by an EMU reliever since current Philadelphia Phillies prospect Luke Russo fanned 11 in five relief innings against Miami, April 11, 2022, a day that saw the pitching staff sit down 17 as a team via the strikeout, the most in program history in a single game since 1999.

NINTH INNING COMEBACK EFFORTS
Eastern has outscored its opponent 7-1 in the ninth inning this season and 14-8 in the eighth and ninth innings combined. Eastern allowed a run in the ninth inning for the first time this season against Michigan State, March 10.

POWER PRODUCTION
Eastern Michigan has hit 18 home runs through 17 games, ranking third in the Mid-American Conference and 85th nationally. Devan Zirwas and Ty Stecko lead the way with six and five home runs, respectively. Nathan Borchardt and Keegan Knupp have each chipped in two long balls.

BORCHARDT BATTING WELL
A newcomer to the NCAA Division I stage, Nathan Borchardt has done well at the plate thus far. He leads the Eagles with a .300 batting average with 12 hits, two doubles and two home runs, totaling eight RBI and 20 total bases. Despite an 0-for-4 performance at the plate against Michigan State, March 10, he batted .385 with five hits, one double, and one home run with a 1.121 OPS, two RBI, and nine total bases in the series at Miami, March 6-8.

STECKO'S HOT STICK
Ty Stecko's five home runs rank him third in the MAC and his 11 RBI puts him at 10th in the conference by value. Stecko also ranks among the top-10 in the MAC for walks (4th - 14), stolen bases (6th - five), and runs (8th - 12). Before going 0-for-2 with one walk against the Spartans, March 10, Stecko batted .333 with four hits and two walks in the Miami series, March 6-8.

STRONG PLATE DISCIPLINE
The Eagles have drawn 85 walks in 17 games. That total ranks 78th nationally and third in the Mid American Conference. Seventeen games into the season, Ty Stecko has worked 14 walks, leading the Eagles and ranking fourth in the MAC. Also showing a good eye at the dish is TJ Williams (12 walks) and Devan Zirwas (10 walks).

YEAR TWO ZIRWAS
Devan Zirwas leads the roster with 10 extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple, and six home runs). His 34 total bases lead the team while his .540 slugging percentage ranks second on the roster. Also, his 11 hits stand fourth. Currently ranking second in the MAC in home runs (six) and eighth in walks (10), while ranking sixth in RBI (15), Zirwas looks to build off a season where he totaled 69 hits, 20 doubles, eight homers, and 53 RBI off a .337 batting average and .997 OPS.

ZIRWAS CLOSING IN ON 100 HITS
Senior Devan Zirwas is closing in on the 100-hits milestone as he totals 93 in his three-year collegiate baseball career. Zirwas recorded 13 hits as a VCU Ram in 2024 before leading the Eagles with 69 last season. Zirwas totals 11 hits this season and would be the first Eagle to reach the milestone in 2026.

CLUTCH WITH TWO OUTS
Eastern Michigan has received strong two-out production from the heart of the order. Ty Stecko has eight two-out RBI, John Hale has seven, and Drew Jones has six. Nathan Borchardt is hitting .400 with two outs (4-for-10), Nick Weaver is batting .417 (5-for-12) while Drew Jones hits .385 (5-for-13) in the situation and John Hale bats .313 (5-for-16).

BULLPEN PRODUCTION
Outside of the Vanderbilt series, Feb. 17-18, the Eastern bullpen has allowed 55 earned runs in 75.0 innings of work. Emmett Gillies is a highlight out of the bullpen, owning a 1-0 record with a 1.35 ERA in six relief appearances. Over 6.2 innings, he has allowed five hits, one earned run, and struck out seven while walking two as opponents are hitting .208 against him. Fischer Hendershot joins him with five relief appearances with a 2.57 ERA, allowing just five hits off a .143 average with two saves, which ranks second in the MAC. Cole Egan and Landon Mueller chip in, as Egan has allowed two earned runs this season off six hits while striking out six and walking one. Mueller most recently struck out a career-high seven batters and allowed just one earned run in 3.2 relief innings at Miami, March 8.

PINCH HIT PRODUCTION
Eastern Michigan has received timely results off the bench. Kevin Krill owns a .500 pinch hitting average. Drew Jones, Nathan Borchardt, Ben Schechterman, Demir Heidelberg, Brue Jellison, and John Hale also hold pinch hits this season. Hale recently recorded a pinch-hit RBI single in the eight inning at Miami, March 8, marking his eighth hit and RBI of the season.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern begins a home-and-home series with Oakland University Tuesday-Wednesday, March 17-18. The first game will take place in Ypsilanti Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Oestrike Stadium, where admission is free. Game two will take place at Oakland in Rochester, Mich., Wednesday at 3 p.m.

FOLLOW US
Keep up with all things Eastern baseball by following the team on X @EMU Baseball, and on Instagram @emu baseball.

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Borchardt

Cole Egan

Emmett Gillies

John Hale

Demir Heidelberg

Fischer Hendershot

Eli Henderson

Drew Jones

Keegan Knupp

Kevin Krill

Landon Mueller

Aidan Norris

Ben Schechterman

Ty Stecko

Nick Weaver

TJ Williams

Devan Zirwas

Eastern Michigan Athletics