Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, March 22
Ypsilanti, Mich.
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
6-17, 0
6
vs
2
Akron
10-12, 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
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
4
1
Eastern Michigan
0
0
0
2
2
0
2
0
X
6
9
0
Baseball Secures First MAC Series win Under Beerman, Tops Akron Behind Rutherford's Eight Strikeouts
3/22/2026 3:46:00 PM | Baseball
Rutherford's eight strikeouts are a career high as he earned his first win of the season
Re-Watch Game | Cal Rutherford Highlight
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team powered past the University of Akron, 6-2, Sunday, March 22, at Oestrike Stadium, securing its first Mid-American Conference series win in the Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman era (2026-present) behind a strong six inning, two earned-run start from Cal Rutherford.
Rutherford (Canton, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) (1-0) struck out a career-best eight batters and earned his first win of the season while Akron's Trieg Matthews (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
After falling behind 2-0, Eastern scored a total of six unanswered runs, plating two runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings for the 6-2 win.
How it Happened
Akron struck first in the top of the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a two-run double.
Eastern Michigan found its rhythm in the bottom of the fourth, pulling even when Demir Heidelberg (Homewood, Ill./Homewood Flossmor) laced a double down the left field line, driving in Keegan Knupp (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) and Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Oakland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.).
The Eagles seized control in the fifth as Knupp came through with a clutch two-run single to right center, plating Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) and Kriss Sydlowski (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline/ USC Sumpter) for a 4-2 advantage. The momentum continued in the seventh when Nick Weaver (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood/Elgin C.C.) delivered a two-RBI single, bringing home Knupp and Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) to cap the scoring.
Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to secure the series win for EMU with a 6-2 Sunday final.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record improved to 6-17 (2-7 MAC), and Akron's fell to 10-12 (4-5 MAC).
» Eastern out-hit its opponent for the sixth time this season with nine hits to Akron's four. It moved to 3-3 when outhitting opponents as it has accomplished the feat in each of the last two games.
» Eastern has posted nine or more hits in seven of its last nine contests.
» The game marked the first series win and MAC series victory of the 2026 campaign. The game also marked the Eagles' first time winning on a Sunday this season.
» Cal Rutherford got the ball for his second consecutive start. He went 6.0 innings, allowing two runs off four hits while striking out a career-best eight batters and issuing one walk. His eight strikeouts tie for the most by an Eagle this season after John Carmichael (Destrehan, La./Destrehan/McCLennan C.C.) sat down eight via the strikeout at Austin Peay, Feb. 20. Rutherford and Carmichael's eight strikeouts rank third in the MAC single-game standings.
» Keegan Knupp went 2-for-4 at the dish with two RBI. The game marked his second with multiple hits and RBI as he previously did so at Austin Peay, Feb. 21 (three hits), and at SIUE, March 1 (two RBI).
» Demir Heidelberg drove in a pair of runs for the first time in his career with a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth inning. The double marked his fourth extra-base hit of the season as he has recorded one double in his last three games.
» Nick Weaver drove in two runs, marking his second game with two or more RBI this season. Weaver first drove in multiple runs with a career-best three RBI at Ball State, March 15.
» Devan Zirwas recorded two hits for his sixth multi-hit game of the season, the second most on the team. He recorded his sixth double of the season in the eighth, marking his team-best 16th extra-base hit.
Historical Notes
» Eastern met Akron for the 80th time. Eastern holds a 50-30 record all-time against the Zips and a 12-14 mark when facing it at Oestrike Stadium since 1999.
» Eastern won a series for the first time under Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman. The series win marked the first MAC series victory for the first-year skipper as well.
Up Next
The Eagles will face Youngstown State University Tuesday, March 24, at 3 p.m., at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Follow Us
Keep up with all things Eastern baseball by following the team on X @EMU_Baseball, and on Instagram @emu_baseball.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team powered past the University of Akron, 6-2, Sunday, March 22, at Oestrike Stadium, securing its first Mid-American Conference series win in the Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman era (2026-present) behind a strong six inning, two earned-run start from Cal Rutherford.
Rutherford (Canton, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) (1-0) struck out a career-best eight batters and earned his first win of the season while Akron's Trieg Matthews (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
After falling behind 2-0, Eastern scored a total of six unanswered runs, plating two runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings for the 6-2 win.
How it Happened
Akron struck first in the top of the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead on a two-run double.
Eastern Michigan found its rhythm in the bottom of the fourth, pulling even when Demir Heidelberg (Homewood, Ill./Homewood Flossmor) laced a double down the left field line, driving in Keegan Knupp (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) and Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Oakland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.).
The Eagles seized control in the fifth as Knupp came through with a clutch two-run single to right center, plating Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU) and Kriss Sydlowski (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline/ USC Sumpter) for a 4-2 advantage. The momentum continued in the seventh when Nick Weaver (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood/Elgin C.C.) delivered a two-RBI single, bringing home Knupp and Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) to cap the scoring.
Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to secure the series win for EMU with a 6-2 Sunday final.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record improved to 6-17 (2-7 MAC), and Akron's fell to 10-12 (4-5 MAC).
» Eastern out-hit its opponent for the sixth time this season with nine hits to Akron's four. It moved to 3-3 when outhitting opponents as it has accomplished the feat in each of the last two games.
» Eastern has posted nine or more hits in seven of its last nine contests.
» The game marked the first series win and MAC series victory of the 2026 campaign. The game also marked the Eagles' first time winning on a Sunday this season.
» Cal Rutherford got the ball for his second consecutive start. He went 6.0 innings, allowing two runs off four hits while striking out a career-best eight batters and issuing one walk. His eight strikeouts tie for the most by an Eagle this season after John Carmichael (Destrehan, La./Destrehan/McCLennan C.C.) sat down eight via the strikeout at Austin Peay, Feb. 20. Rutherford and Carmichael's eight strikeouts rank third in the MAC single-game standings.
» Keegan Knupp went 2-for-4 at the dish with two RBI. The game marked his second with multiple hits and RBI as he previously did so at Austin Peay, Feb. 21 (three hits), and at SIUE, March 1 (two RBI).
» Demir Heidelberg drove in a pair of runs for the first time in his career with a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth inning. The double marked his fourth extra-base hit of the season as he has recorded one double in his last three games.
» Nick Weaver drove in two runs, marking his second game with two or more RBI this season. Weaver first drove in multiple runs with a career-best three RBI at Ball State, March 15.
» Devan Zirwas recorded two hits for his sixth multi-hit game of the season, the second most on the team. He recorded his sixth double of the season in the eighth, marking his team-best 16th extra-base hit.
Historical Notes
» Eastern met Akron for the 80th time. Eastern holds a 50-30 record all-time against the Zips and a 12-14 mark when facing it at Oestrike Stadium since 1999.
» Eastern won a series for the first time under Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman. The series win marked the first MAC series victory for the first-year skipper as well.
Up Next
The Eagles will face Youngstown State University Tuesday, March 24, at 3 p.m., at Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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: Rutherford, Cal (1-0)
L: Trieg Matthews (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Kelton Phillips 1 ; Austin Lafferty 1
RBI: Kelton Phillips 2
SH: Tucker Biehl 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Austin Lafferty 1 ; Gio Melchione 1
SB: Gio Melchione 1
CS: Kelton Phillips 1 ; Brody Chrisman 1
HBP: Brody Chrisman 1 ; Austin Lafferty 1 ; Gio Melchione 1
Batting:
2B: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Heidelberg, Demir 1
RBI: Knupp, Keegan 2 ; Heidelberg, Demir 2 ; Weaver, Nick 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sydlowski, Kriss 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Krill, Kevin 1 ; Jones, Drew 1 ; Knupp, Keegan 2
SB: Borchardt, Nathan 1 ; Sydlowski, Kriss 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jones, Drew 1
HBP: Weaver, Nick 1 ; Hale, John 1
Game Leaders
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H
2
RBI
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AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballHave a day Cal Rutherford🔥
Sunday, March 22
vs. Akron
Sunday, March 22
Big time players 🤝 big time plays
Sunday, March 22
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