Baseball Faces Youngstown State in Tuesday Tilt

Eastern Michigan Baseball vs. Youngstown State
Date	Tuesday \| March 24 \| 3 p.m.
Venue	Oestrike Stadium \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Record Book (PDF).
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Social Media	X: @EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics IG: @emu_baseball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team is shooting for its third consecutive win as it welcomes the Penguins of Youngstown State University to Oestrike Stadium for a non-conference midweek tilt Tuesday, March 24, at 3 p.m.

Admission is free at Oestrike Stadium. Fans can stream the game live on ESPN+ as Greg Steiner and Evan Stockton will have the call and Elena Davis will report from the sideline. Live stats will be available on EMUEagles.com, where a post-game recap will be posted. 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
» The Eagles and Penguins are meeting for the sixth time. Eastern holds a 2-3 record all-time against YSU and 1-1 clip when facing it at home.
» Eastern run-ruled Youngstown State in Ypsilanti last season, 14-4, April 21.
» Eastern is looking to win three straight games for the first time this season.
» Most recently, Eastern won its first series of the season, taking two of three games from the Akron Zips, March 20-22.
» Eastern is hosting "Crayola Night" against the Penguins. Fans can participate in a poster making station and Crayola-themed trivia in between innings.
» 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 YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Eagles and Penguins are meeting for just the sixth time in the all-time series. Overall, Eastern is 2-3 against YSU and is looking to win consecutive games against it for the first time. The two most recently met in the 2019 season, a game that resulted in a 10-4 win for the Penguins.

LAST TIME AGAINST YSU
Eastern team got off to a hot start and did not look back, as it cruised to a 14-4 non-conference run-ruling victory over Youngstown State on the heels of a grand slam and five RBI day from Harrison Travis Tuesday, April 22, at Oestrike Stadium.Travis blew the game wide open with a second-inning grand slam for his seventh home run of the season. Fischer Hendershot got the start on the mound for the Eagles and pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts while walking just one. Nick Keane earned the first win of his NCAA Division I career as he entered the game in the fifth inning and tossed a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. YSU's Phil Brennaman was tagged with the loss.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE HORIZON
Eastern will face off against a Horizon League opponent for the 99th time in program history. The Eagles typically perform well against the conference, holding a 58-40 all-time record with a majority of its games (70) against the fellow mid-major coming against Oakland University, whom EMU holds a 48-22 all-time mark against.

LAST TIME: VS. AKRON, MARCH 20-22
Eastern earned its first series win of the campaign as it took two of three games from the Akron Zips, March 20-22.

Game One, L, 7-3
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 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 was credited with the win while Carmichael (0-4) was tagged with the loss.

Notables
» 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.
» Cole Egan tied a season high with three strikeouts.

Game Two, W, 9-8 (10)
Eastern earned its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season in dramatic fashion Saturday, March 21, securing a 9-8 walk-off victory in 10 innings against Akron. The win marked the first MAC win in the Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman era (2026-present). Eastern secured the win by scoring six runs in the final four innings highlighted by Devan Zirwas' game-tying two-run homer in the ninth to force extra innings. Eastern won the game off a bases-loaded hit by pitch from TJ Williams to end the contest in a 9-8 final. Sophomore Fischer Hendershot earned his first win of the season on the mound as he tossed a scoreless 0.2 innings. Akron's Garrett Groce (0-2) was tagged with the loss.

Notables
» Eastern played its second extra-innings contest of the season, securing its first win in such games. It previously went to extras at Austin Peay, Feb. 21, losing, 8-7. It marked the first walk-off win for the team since it walked off Kent State in 12 innings, 12-11, May 15, 2025.
» Eastern won for the first time on the new field at Oestrike Stadium.
» The Eagles recorded 13 total hits, their fifth time with double-digit hits this season. Eastern out-hit its opponent for the fifth time with 13 hits to Akron's 11. It moved to 2-3 when outhitting opponents.
» Eastern worked eight walks and drove in nine runs, both of which are the second most for EMU in one game this season.
» Devan Zirwas hit his eighth home run of the season in the form of a two-out game-tying shot in the bottom of the ninth. He drove in four runs, tying his career high set against Ball State, March 15, the most from an individual Eagle in one game this season. Zirwas recorded one triple and one homer in the game.
» Tommy Rose tossed at least three innings for the fourth time this season. He allowed zero runs for the first time in his career.
» Aidan Norris tossed his fourth scoreless appearance of the season, marking his third consecutive scoreless outing.
» Fischer Hendershot earned his first win of the season on the mound as he tossed a scoreless 0.2 innings.

Game Three, W, 6-2
Eastern powered past Akron, 6-2, Sunday, March 22, 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 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.

Notables
» 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.
» Eastern had a season-high four stolen bases.
» 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 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.

SERIES WINNERS
Not only did the series win against the Zips, March 20-22, mark the first series victory of the season, It also marked the first series win since it won two of three games at Albany, April 17-19, 2025. It was the first time winning a series at Oestrike Stadium in nearly two seasons. Prior to beating the Zips, Eastern last won a home series in the 2024 campaign against Central Michigan, March 28-30.

GOING FOR THREE STRAIGHT WINS
Eastern is looking to win three straight games for the first time this season. A win against the Penguins would mark the first three-game winning streak since the Eagles swept Akron to open the 2025 MAC slate, March 7-9.

BATS ARE BACK
After struggling offensively in the season's early-going, the Eastern bats have heated up in the past two series against Ball State, March 13-15, and Akron, March 20-22

EMU Offense Prior to BSU Series
.193 BA , .336 SLG%, .323 OB%, .659 OPS, 168 SO, 85 BB

EMU Offense in the Since the BSU Series
.307 BA, .480 SLG%, .423 OB%, .903 OPS, 43 SO, 32 BB

The improvement features a 114-point increase in batting average, 144-point jump in slugging percentage, 100-point surge in on-base percentage, and a 244-point advancement in OPS. In the Akron series specifically, Eastern hit .261 with a .766 OPS (.360 SLG%, 406 OB%). It recorded 29 hits, eight extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, one home run) and struck out 23 times while working 19 walks.

HITTING CONSISTENCY
EMU has posted nine or more hits nine times this season with seven of those occurrences coming in the last nine games. Eastern won both games where it posted nine or more hits this weekend, walking off the Zips, 9-8 (10) with its season-high 13 hits Saturday and sealing the series victory with a 6-2 win that saw nine Eastern hits Sunday.

ZIRWAS FINDING RHYTHM
Devan Zirwas found his rhythm at the plate against Michigan State, March 10, and at Ball State, March 13-15. He batted a blistering .500 average with a 1.544 OPS, totaling nine hits, four of which went for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs) resulting in nine RBI and 17 total bases. The left-handed bat posted three games with multiple RBI and two with multiple hits as his best performance of the week came in the series finale at Ball State, March 15, knocking a career-best four hits with one double and one home run while driving in a quartet of Eagles. His four hits rank second in the MAC in the individual single-game category. Zirwas is coming off another strong series against the Zips, March 20-22, as he led the team with four RBI and three extra-base hits. All four of his RBI came in the 9-8 walk-off win, March 21. His four RBI are the fourth most in a single game in the conference.

ZIRWAS' INCREASED POWER
After knocking 20 doubles last season (fifth in program history), Devan Zirwas has added even more power to his bat in 2026. What was a double last year is a homer in 2026 as he leads the Eagles and ranks second in the MAC with eight bombs, tying his season total from 2025. The left-handed bat smashed a trio of extra-base hits last weekend against Akron, recording one double, triple, and home run. His home run in the second game of the series tied the score at eight in the bottom of the ninth, forcing extra innings as EMU emerged victorious, 9-8 (10).

EXTRA BASE ZIRWAS
Devan Zirwas leads the team with 16 extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples, eight home runs) as his eight home runs rank second in the conference. Twenty-three games into the season, he is 13 extra-base hits away from tying his 29 from last season (20 doubles, one triple, eight homers). With 30 regular-season games remaining and factoring in Zirwas' 0.69 extra-base hits per game, he is expected to end the season with 36 extra-base knocks, seven more than he had in 2025.

DEV'S CAREER SLUGGING
Devan Zirwas posts a .579 slugging percentage in 74 games in the Script E, currently ranking fifth in program history. He posted a .561 slugging percentage in 2025 and a .620 clip this season.

HEIDELBERG'S EMERGENCE
Freshman Demir Heidelberg has burst onto the scene as of late. Heidelberg leads the team with a .344 batting average in a limited sample size (32 at-bats) and ranks third on the team with four doubles. The freshman is riding a five-game hitting streak, the second longest on the team currently as he has recorded one double in three consecutive games. He had consecutive multi-hit games against Akron, March 20-21, and drove in a career-best two runs against the Zips on Sunday.

RUTHERFORD RAMPING UP
Sophomore righty Cal Rutherford has stepped up his game this season. In five appearances, Rutherford posts a 2.60 ERA and holds a 1-0 record. In 17.1 innings, he's allowed five earned runs off 11 hits while striking out 14 batters and walking six while opponents are hitting .193 off him.

Rutherford when starting
10.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 11 K's, 3 BB

MUELLER'S LAST THREE OUTINGS
Junior righty Landon Mueller has excelled out of the bullpen in his last five outings. In his 12.2 innings pitched out of the pen, he posts a 4.26 ERA and has allowed just six earned runs off 12 hits while striking out 17 opposing batters and walking five. Opponents hit .235 off him in the stretch. As a starter in his first three outings of the season, Mueller went 5.2 innings with a 17.47 ERA while striking out five and walking eight. Mueller most recently tossed two scoreless outings against Akron, March 22.

NINTH INNING COMEBACK EFFORTS
Eastern has outscored its opponent 10-4 in the ninth inning this season and 20-13 in the eighth and ninth innings combined. Eastern scored one run in the ninth inning at Ball State, March 13, and three runs in the eighth in the series finale, March 15. Eastern most recently scored two runs in the ninth inning against Akron, March 22 off Devan Zirwas' two-run game-tying homer, eventually winning the game 9-8 in 10 innings.

POWER PRODUCTION
Eastern Michigan has hit 25 home runs through 23 games, ranking fifth in the Mid-American Conference. Devan Zirwas and Ty Stecko lead the way with eight and five home runs, respectively. Nick Weaver has burst onto the scene with a trio of bombs, two of which came last weekend at Ball State, while Nathan Borchardt, John Hale and Keegan Knupp have each chipped in two long balls. Zirwas' eight homers rank second in the MAC and 59th in the country.

BORCHARDT BATTING WELL
A newcomer to the NCAA Division I stage, Nathan Borchardt has done well at the plate thus far. He ranks third on the team with a .297 batting average with 19 hits, seven doubles and two home runs, totaling 11 RBI and 32 total bases. He has five multi-hit games this season, the third most on the team. He also leads the team with a .350 average with runners in scoring position while advancing runners at a .474 rate.

STECKO'S HOT STICK
Ty Stecko's five home runs rank him fifth in the MAC. He also ranks among the top-10 in the MAC for hit by pitch (6th - seven) walks (7th - 15), and stolen bases (10th - five). He is three hits from reaching 100 in his career.

TJ'S BEST D1 SEASON
After seeing limited playing time at Kansas in the 2025 season, TJ Williams has been one of the most consistent contributors in the lineup, in 21 games played, he's hitting .304 with a .427 on-base percentage, both of which rank inside the top three on the team. He leads the team with 19 hits and ranks among the top offensive producers in total bases (29), while also showing plate discipline with 16 walks (sixth in the MAC) and 13 strikeouts, the best walk-to-strikeout ratio on the squad. On the base paths, Williams has been a key weapon, leading the team with seven stolen bases in nine attempts, ranking eighth in the MAC. Situationally, he has been effective, hitting .323 with runners on base, .333 against lefties, and advances runners at a .486 clip. He recently wore a walk-off hit by pitch against Akron, March 22.

STRONG PLATE DISCIPLINE
The Eagles have drawn 117 walks in 23 games. That total ranks 85th nationally and fourth in the Mid-American Conference. Twenty-three games into the season, TJ Williams has worked 16 walks, leading the Eagles and ranking sixth in the MAC. Also showing a good eye at the dish is Nathan Borchardt (13 walks, 15 strikeouts), while John Hale (13 walks, 13 strikeouts) and Bruce Jellison (12 walks, 14 strikeouts) have done well.

TEAM-LEADING ZIRWAS
Devan Zirwas leads the roster with 16 extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, and eight home runs), 25 RBI, 57 total bases, 18 runs, a .620 slugging percentage, and .969 OPS. Currently ranking second in the MAC in home runs (eight), fourth in doubles (six) and fifth in RBI (25), Zirwas looks to build off a season where he totaled 69 hits, 20 doubles (fifth in program history), eight homers, and 53 RBI off a .337 batting average and .997 OPS.

BULLPEN PRODUCTION
Outside of the Vanderbilt series, Feb. 17-18, the Eastern bullpen has allowed 79 earned runs in 101.2 innings of work. Tommy Rose is a highlight out of the bullpen with a 4.11 ERA in six total appearances with eight walks and six strikeouts. Aidan Norris holds a 4.50 ERA, and Fischer Hendershot joins him with eight relief appearances with a 5.84 ERA, allowing nine hits off a .220 average with two saves, which ranks third in the MAC.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern hosts Central Michigan University for a three-game MAC series Friday-Sunday, March 27-29. The series will take place 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.

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Borchardt

John Carmichael

Cole Egan

John Hale

Demir Heidelberg

Fischer Hendershot

Bruce Jellison

Nick Keane

Keegan Knupp

Landon Mueller

Aidan Norris

Tommy Rose

Cal Rutherford

Ty Stecko

Nick Weaver

TJ Williams

Devan Zirwas

Eastern Michigan Athletics