Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 20
Ypsilanti, Mich.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-17, 0
3
vs
7
Akron
10-10, 0
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Akron
0
0
1
1
0
0
2
1
2
7
11
2
Eastern Michigan
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
7
1
Photo by: Kaye Rich
Baseball Drops Home Series Opener to Akron
3/20/2026 7:01:00 PM | Baseball
Eastern took a 1-0 lead but was outscored 7-2 the remainder of the game.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell to the University of Akron, 7-3, in a Mid-American Conference series opener Friday, March 20, at Oestrike Stadium.
Eastern took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but was outscored 7-2 the remainder of the game.
Eastern's John Carmichael (Destrehan, Ill./Destrehan/McClennan C.C.) got the start for the Eagles and went five innings, allowing two runs off six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Akron's Brady Bowen (2-0) was credited with the win while Carmichael (0-4) was tagged with the loss.
How it Happened
Eastern Michigan struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) singled to score TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas).
Akron tied the game in the third inning and took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a solo home run from Easton Amundson. The Zips added two more runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 4-1.
The Eagles mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. Jellison delivered his second RBI single of the day, followed by an RBI double from freshman Demir Heidelberg (Homewood, Ill./Homewood Flossmor) that cut the deficit to 4-3. However, Akron's offense responded by scoring one run in the eighth and two in the ninth to secure the victory.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record went to 4-17 (0-7 MAC) and Akron's improved to 10-10 (4-3 MAC).
» Bruce Jellison recorded two hits in five at-bats for his first multi-hit game of the year, adding two RBI. He has now recorded a hit in five of the last six games. The two RBI marked his fourth and fifth of the season and his second multi-RBI game of the season, most recently doing so Feb. 14, at Little Rock.
» Demir Heidelberg recorded the second multi-hit game of his career with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with one RBI, the second of his collegiate tenure. Heidelberg previously knocked two hits at Miami, March 7, and drove in the first RBI of his career against the RedHawks the next day, March 8.
» TJ Williams knocked a pair of hits for his team-leading seventh multi-hit game. Williams leads the team with 21 hits this season, ranking ninth in the MAC.
» John Carmichael went at least five innings for the fourth time this season, doing so in four of his six starts. He allowed just two earned runs, tying for his season low originally set at Austin Peay, Feb. 20, 2026.
» Cole Egan (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny/George Mason) tied a season high with three strikeouts.
» Ben Schechterman (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora/Ohio State) worked two walks for the second time in his career and for the first time this season.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles met Akron for the 78th time. Eastern holds a 48-30 record all-time against the Zips and a 10-14 mark when facing it at Oestrike Stadium since 1999.
Up Next
The Eagles and Zips will do it again tomorrow, Friday, March 21, at 3 p.m. for the second of three games.
Follow Us
Keep up with all things Eastern baseball by following the team on X @EMU_Baseball, and on Instagram @emu_baseball.
Eastern took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but was outscored 7-2 the remainder of the game.
Eastern's John Carmichael (Destrehan, Ill./Destrehan/McClennan C.C.) got the start for the Eagles and went five innings, allowing two runs off six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Akron's Brady Bowen (2-0) was credited with the win while Carmichael (0-4) was tagged with the loss.
How it Happened
Eastern Michigan struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) singled to score TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas).
Akron tied the game in the third inning and took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a solo home run from Easton Amundson. The Zips added two more runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 4-1.
The Eagles mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. Jellison delivered his second RBI single of the day, followed by an RBI double from freshman Demir Heidelberg (Homewood, Ill./Homewood Flossmor) that cut the deficit to 4-3. However, Akron's offense responded by scoring one run in the eighth and two in the ninth to secure the victory.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record went to 4-17 (0-7 MAC) and Akron's improved to 10-10 (4-3 MAC).
» Bruce Jellison recorded two hits in five at-bats for his first multi-hit game of the year, adding two RBI. He has now recorded a hit in five of the last six games. The two RBI marked his fourth and fifth of the season and his second multi-RBI game of the season, most recently doing so Feb. 14, at Little Rock.
» Demir Heidelberg recorded the second multi-hit game of his career with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with one RBI, the second of his collegiate tenure. Heidelberg previously knocked two hits at Miami, March 7, and drove in the first RBI of his career against the RedHawks the next day, March 8.
» TJ Williams knocked a pair of hits for his team-leading seventh multi-hit game. Williams leads the team with 21 hits this season, ranking ninth in the MAC.
» John Carmichael went at least five innings for the fourth time this season, doing so in four of his six starts. He allowed just two earned runs, tying for his season low originally set at Austin Peay, Feb. 20, 2026.
» Cole Egan (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny/George Mason) tied a season high with three strikeouts.
» Ben Schechterman (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora/Ohio State) worked two walks for the second time in his career and for the first time this season.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles met Akron for the 78th time. Eastern holds a 48-30 record all-time against the Zips and a 10-14 mark when facing it at Oestrike Stadium since 1999.
Up Next
The Eagles and Zips will do it again tomorrow, Friday, March 21, at 3 p.m. for the second of three games.
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: Bowen, Brady (2-0)
L: Carmichael, John (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Brody Chrisman 1
3B: Tucker Biehl 1 ; Kelton Phillips 1
HR: Easton Amundson 1
RBI: Gabe Mathison 1 ; Tucker Biehl 1 ; Brody Chrisman 1 ; Kyle McConachie 1 ; Bowen, Blake 1 ; Easton Amundson 1 ; Kelton Phillips 1
SH: Kyle McConachie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gabe Mathison 1 ; Tucker Biehl 1 ; Brody Chrisman 1 ; Kyle McConachie 1 ; Easton Amundson 1 ; Kelton Phillips 2
SB: Tucker Biehl 1 ; Brody Chrisman 1 ; Bowen, Blake 1 ; Easton Amundson 1 ; Prince DeBoskie 1
HBP: Brody Chrisman 1 ; Easton Amundson 1
Batting:
2B: Heidelberg, Demir 1
RBI: Jellison, Bruce 2 ; Heidelberg, Demir 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, TJ 2 ; Stecko, Ty 1
HBP: Stecko, Ty 2 ; Heidelberg, Demir 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ BaseballINF
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