Baseball Aims for Consecutive Series Wins Against Central Michigan Friday-Sunday

Eastern Michigan Baseball vs. Central Michigan
Date	Friday-Sunday \| March 27-29
Venue	Oestrike Stadium \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Record Book (PDF).
Watch	Game One \| Game Two \| Game Three
Listen	Game One \| Game Two \| Game Three
Live Stats	Game One \| Game Two \| Game Three
Social Media	X: @EMU _Baseball \| @EMUAthletics IG: @emu_baseball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Fresh off its third consecutive win, the Eastern Michigan University baseball team looks to carry its momentum into Mid-American Conference Play as it welcomes rivals Central Michigan University to Oestrike Stadium for a pivotal conference set Friday-Sunday, March 27-29.

Friday and Saturday's first pitches are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. while Sunday's game will start at 1:05 p.m.

Admission is free at Oestrike Stadium. Fans can stream game one live on ESPN+ as Greg Steiner will have the call and Elena Davis will report from the sideline. Games two and three will be streamed live on Eagle All-Access. 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 Chippewas are meeting for the 186th-188th times this weekend. Eastern is 99-86 all-time against CMU and 13-30 when facing them in Mount Pleasant since 1999.
» Eastern dropped a three-game set to the Chippewas last season in Mount Pleasant, 2-1, May 9-11.
» Eastern is looking to win four straight games for the first time this season and first time since the 2023 campaign.
» Eastern is shooting for consecutive series wins for the first time since March 2025.
» EMU has thrived in late-inning situations as two of its last three wins have come in walk off fashion.
» Most recently, Eastern walked off Youngstown State via a bases-loaded walk, winning 8-7, March 24.
» After hitting .193 prior to the Ball State series, March 13-15, Eastern's offense has vastly improved, batting .306 since.
» 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 CMU
The Eagles and Chippewas will meet for the 186th-188th times this weekend. Overall, Eastern holds the lead in the series with a 99-86 all-time record against CMU and a 13-30 record when facing it in Mount Pleasant since 1999. CMU has controlled the series in recent years as Eastern holds a 4-6 record against the Chippewas in the series' last 10 games. Central rattled off 12 straight against Eastern from 2018-22, marking the Eagles' longest losing streak against the in-state rival in the modern statistical era (1999-present). After taking two-of-three games from Central Michigan at home in the 2024 season, Eastern is looking for consecutive home series wins over CMU since it won two-of-three contests in 2007, May 4-6, and did so again in 2009, May 14-16.

LAST TIME AGAINST CMU
Eastern lost two-of-three games at Central Michigan last season, May 9-11. Each game was decided by two runs or less as CMU outscored EMU, 25-24 in the series. Game one saw the Eagles fall, 11-9, May 9, while they rebounded to take game two, 9-7, May 10, before falling in the series finale, 7-6, May 11. Ty Stecko led the EMU offense in the series with a .556 batting average off five hits and one home run, resulting in seven RBI and eight total bases. Devan Zirwas was also productive, driving in three runs with three doubles in the series. Former EMU student-athlete turned assistant coach, Harrison Travis, batted .385 with four extra-base hits (three doubles and one home run).

LAST TIME AGAINST CMU AT HOME
Eastern beat Central Michigan in a home series for the first time since 2016 as it took 2-of-3 games, March 28-30, 2024. Both wins came in walk off fashion as Logan Hugo delivered a walk off single to center field in game one for the 5-4 win. CMU took game two, 8-5, before Aidan Arbogast was the hero in the series finale with a walk off sacrifice fly to cap a five-run ninth inning for EMU to secure the 6-5 win.

CMU CONNECTIONS
The Eagles will see two familiar faces in its series against the Chippewas. Current CMU junior Nathan Ball started his collegiate career with the Eagles in 2024 as he batted .286 with an .842 OPS. In 63 at-bats, he knocked 18 hits, seven extra-base hits (four doubles, one triple, two homers), drove in nine runs, and totaled 30 bases. Former Eagle turned CMU assistant Aaron Hilt spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons overseeing the Eastern pitching staff. Under his tutelage, the Eagles set the program strikeout record with 416 in the 2022 season and improved that figure to 451 strikeouts in 2023.

LAST TIME: VS. YOUNGSTOWN ST., MARCH 24
Eastern walked off the Penguins, 8-7, March 24, as Tristan Crane worked a bases-loaded walk to secure the 8-7 comeback win. The win marked Eastern's third consecutive as Demir Heidelberg drove in a career-high four runs. Eastern came back from down five runs, scoring a total of four runs in the eighth and ninth innings for the win. Greg Kennedy (1-0) tossed a scoreless two innings out of the bullpen with a career-high three strikeouts to earn the first win of his NCAA Division I tenure.

Notables
» Eastern pitching struck out 10+ batters for the fourth time this season, leading to a 2-4 record.
» Eastern worked a season-high 10 walks, its most since it walked 12 times in a 15-6 win at Albany, April 17, 2025.
» Eastern struck out just five times, tying its season low for the third time this season. EMU is 2-1 when striking out five times or less in 2026.
» Eastern swiped a season-high six bases. The performance marked the second straight setting a season high in the category as its four stolen bases against Akron, March 22, was previously a season high.
» Eastern came back from a deficit of three or more runs for the second time this season. It previously rallied from down five runs to beat Little Rock, 11-6, Feb. 14.
» Demir Heidelberg extended his hitting streak to six consecutive games. He drove in two runs off a single in the sixth inning, marking his second consecutive multi-RBI outing. He later drove in two more off a single to left field in the eighth, marking his fourth multi-hit game and giving him a career-high four RBI.
» Greg Kennedy put up his second consecutive scoreless outing. He previously allowed zero runs at Notre Dame, March 3. His 2.0 innings pitched tied a career-high while his three strikeouts stand as the most in his career, and he earned his first career win.
» Tristan Crane drove in a career-high three runs off a bases-loaded hit by pitch, sacrifice fly in the eighth, and a bases-loaded walk to end the game in the ninth inning.

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.

SERIES WINNERS X2?
After topping Akron, 2-1, March 20-22, Eastern is looking to win a second consecutive series for the first time since it swept the Zips to start MAC play last season, March 7-9, and took 2-of-3 games from rivals Western Michigan, March 14-15. A series victory over CMU would mark the first consecutive series wins under Interim Head Coach Trevor Beerman and first rivalry series victory.

CARDIAC EAGLES
Eastern has won three consecutive games, two of which have come in walk-off fashion. TJ Williams wore a bases-loaded hit by pitch to lift EMU to victory over Akron, 9-8 (10), March 21, before Tristan Crane worked a bases-loaded walk to seal the comeback against Youngstown State, 8-7, March 24. The walk offs mark the first time Eastern has pulled off two walk-off victories in the span of three games since it walked off this weekend's opponent, Central Michigan, in game one and three of the 2024 series in Ypsilanti, March 28-30, 2024. Logan Hugo delivered a walk-off single to center field in game one for the 5-4 win. Aidan Arbogast was the hero in the series finale with a walk off sacrifice fly to cap a five-run ninth inning for EMU to secure the 6-5 win. Additionally, Crane's walk-off walk was the first from the program since May 11, 2015, when it topped Oakland, 11-10.

GOING FOR FOUR STRAIGHT WINS
Eastern is looking to win four straight games for the first time this season and first time since it won its last four games of the 2023 season, beating Oakland in a midweek, 17-8, May 16, and sweeping Northern Illinois, May 18-20.

BATS ARE BACK
After struggling offensively in the season's early-going, the Eastern bats have heated up lately.

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

EMU Offense Since the BSU Series
.306 BA, .463 SLG%, .432 OB%, .895 OPS, 48 SO, 42 BB

The improvement features a 113-point increase in batting average, 127-point jump in slugging percentage, 109-point surge in on-base percentage, and a 236-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. Eastern also worked a season-high 10 walks against Youngstown State, March 24, while striking out a season-low five times.

HITTING CONSISTENCY
EMU has posted nine or more hits 10 times this season with eight of those occurrences coming in the last 10 games. Eastern won both games where it posted nine or more hits this past weekend, walking off the Zips, 9-8 (10) with its season-high 13 hits Saturday, March 21, and sealing the series victory with a 6-2 win that saw nine Eastern hits Sunday, March 22. EMU again knocked nine hits in its 8-7 walk off of Youngstown State, March 24. The game also marked EMU's third time winning when being outhit this season as it is 3-12 in such situations.

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). Zirwas reached base twice against Youngstown State with a fourth-inning walk and fifth-inning fielder's choice as he stole two bases.

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-four 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 29 regular-season games remaining and factoring in Zirwas' 0.67 extra-base hits per game, he is expected to end the season with 35 extra-base knocks, six more than he had in 2025.

DEV'S CAREER SLUGGING
Devan Zirwas posts a .571 slugging percentage in 75 games in the Script E, currently ranking seventh in program history. He posted a .561 slugging percentage in 2025 and holds a .594 clip this season.

HEIDELBERG'S EMERGENCE
Freshman Demir Heidelberg has burst onto the scene as of late. Heidelberg leads the team in batting average for those with over 30 at-bats as he is batting .361 and ranks third on the team with four doubles. The freshman is riding a six-game hitting streak, the longest on the team currently and one away from tying TJ Williams' seven-game streak earlier this season. He had consecutive multi-hit games against Akron, March 20-21, and drove in a career-high four runs against the Penguins Tuesday, March 25. His four RBI tie for the most from an individual Eagle this season.

HEIDELBERG AMONG MAC FRESHMEN
Demir Heidelberg's .361 batting average ranks second among MAC freshmen while his four doubles tie for the third most.

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 FIVE 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 11-4 in the ninth inning this season and 23-13 in the eighth and ninth innings combined. Eastern scored one run in the ninth inning against Youngstown State, March 24, and three in the eight inning while holding the Penguins scoreless after the seventh frame.

POWER PRODUCTION
Eastern Michigan has hit 25 home runs through 24 games, ranking sixth 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 at Ball State, March 15, while Nathan Borchardt, John Hale and Keegan Knupp have each chipped in two long balls. Zirwas' eight homers rank second in the MAC and 63rd 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 fourth in the MAC. He also ranks highly in the MAC for hit by pitch (6th - seven) walks (7th - 15), and stolen bases (11th - 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 18 walks (sixth in the MAC) and 14 strikeouts, the best walk-to-strikeout ratio on the squad. On the base paths, Williams has been a key weapon, leading the team with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts, ranking sixth in the MAC. He has been effective situationally, hitting .303 with runners on base and advances runners at a .462 clip. He recently wore a walk-off hit by pitch against Akron, March 22.

STRONG PLATE DISCIPLINE
The Eagles have drawn 127 walks in 24 games. That total ranks 63rd nationally and third in the Mid-American Conference. Twenty-four games into the season, TJ Williams has worked 18 walks, leading the Eagles and ranking fourth 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 (13 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, 19 runs, a .594 slugging percentage, and .936 OPS. Currently ranking second in the MAC in home runs (eight), sixth 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 85 earned runs in 107.1 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 4.05 ERA and has not allowed a run in his last four appearances. 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. Greg Kennedy earned his first career win against Youngstown State, March 24, entering to start the eighth inning and tossing two shutout frames with a career-best three strikeouts and no walks.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern hosts Washtenaw County rival, the University of Michigan in a non-conference midweek tilt Tuesday, March 31, 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.

Baseball Aims for Consecutive Series Wins Against Central Michigan Friday-Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Nathan Borchardt

Tristan Crane

John Hale

Demir Heidelberg

Fischer Hendershot

Logan Hugo

Bruce Jellison

Greg Kennedy

Keegan Knupp

Landon Mueller

Aidan Norris

Tommy Rose

Cal Rutherford

Ty Stecko

Nick Weaver

TJ Williams

Devan Zirwas

Eastern Michigan Athletics