Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, May 16
Ypsilanti, Mich.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
19-34, 0
7
vs
15
Ohio
11-43, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 3 |
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Hale Reaches 100 Career Hits on Senior Day Against Ohio
5/16/2026 7:32:00 PM | Baseball
Eagles honored their 2026 senior class with a pregame ceremony
Photo Gallery | Senior Ceremony Full Video | Senior Ceremony Cinematic Highlight
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University baseball senior John Hale reached the 100-career hits mark as the Eagles fell to Ohio University, 15-7, on Saturday, May 16, in the regular-season finale at Oestrike Stadium.
Eastern honored its 17-man 2026 senior class with a pre-game ceremony.
How it Happened
On an afternoon that honored 17 senior Eagles in a pregame ceremony, Eastern Michigan found itself in an early hole and was unable to recover despite an impressive 16-hit offensive effort. Ohio struck first with an RBI single in the opening frame, then broke the game open in the fourth inning on a three-run home run by Dylan Shepherd and an RBI single, pushing the lead to 5-0.
The Eagles answered in the bottom of the fourth as Tristan Crane (Berkley, Mich./Brother Rice/Texas A&M Corpus Christi) singled home TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas), but Ohio continued to apply pressure. EMU's deficit grew to 7-1 after the top of the fifth, with a Shepherd RBI single and a run coming home on a stolen base and error. In the bottom of the fifth, Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) laced his first career triple to score Keegan Knupp (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange), trimming the margin.
Ohio's power bats took over in the seventh, as Will Henson launched a two-run homer and Grant Wilson followed with a two-run shot to make it 11-3. The Eagles responded with two-out rallies, including another RBI single from Crane in the seventh. In the eighth, a surge saw Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) double home Knupp before Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) and Crane added an RBI to cut the deficit to 11-7. However, Ohio put the game out of reach with four insurance runs in the ninth, highlighted by home runs from Shirley and Hill.
The game ended in a 15-7 final in favor of Ohio.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record dropped to 19-34 (12-21 MAC), and Ohio's improved to 11-43 (8-25 MAC).
» Eastern's 16 hits tie for its second-most this season, marking its seventh 15+ hit game of the season and 20th with double-digits.
» EMU pitching struck out 11 batters, its fourth-highest total of the season and 17th time with double-digit strikeouts.
» EMU batters struck out just three times, its second-lowest total of the campaign as it holds a 7-4 record when striking out five times or less.
» EMU honored its 2026 senior class with a pregame ceremony. The class included Jack Angus (Darien, Ill./Montini Catholic/Stetson), Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Frontier C.C.), Emmett Gillies (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley/Akron), John Hale, Eli Henderson (Gallatin, Tenn./Trousdale County/Columbia State C.C.), Bruce Jellison, Drew Jones, Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.), Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.), Leewood Molessa (Pullman, W. Va./Williamstown/UMBC), Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha), Drew Norris (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley/Johnson C.C.), Michael Pfeiffer (Brownsboro, Ala./Huntsville/Northwest-Shoals C.C.), Ethan Rowland (Lafayette, Ca./Acalanes/Saint Peter's), Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's), TJ Williams, and Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU).
» Nick Weaver (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood/Elgin C.C.) caught multiple runners stealing for the seventh time this season as he is up to 28 runners caught stealing, ranking first in the MAC, inside the top-three nationally, and second in program history in the modern statistical era (1999-present).
» Tristan Crane recorded his 10th multi-hit game of the season with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, driving in three runs to bring his season total to 26 RBI this season. He extended his hitting streak to seven games, his second longest of the season and the longest on the team to end the year. Crane's three RBI tie a career-high and marked his sixth game with multiple RBI this season.
» John Hale hit the first triple of his NCAA career as the three-bagger marked his 99th career hit as an Eagle. He drove in one run on the play for his 26th RBI of the season. He later singled to second base for his 14th multi-hit game and 100th career NCAA Division I career. He finished his career with 101 hits.
» Keegan Knupp notched his eighth multi-hit game with a 4-for-5 showing, bringing his season-total to 36 knocks. His four hits set a career-high, surpassing the three he had at Austin Peay, Feb. 21.
» TJ Williams notched two hits, marking his 15th multi-hit game of the season, which ranks him third on the team. His double went down as his fifth of the season.
» Cole Egan (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny/George Mason) tallied his 24th appearance of the season, tying Rob Wendzicki (2008) for the fifth-most in program history in the modern statistical era (1999-present). He tossed his 13th scoreless outing of the year as he didn't allow a run in his last four appearances.
» Landon Mueller twirled his seventh scoreless outing of the year. He didn't allow a run in his final three outings of the year.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles and Bobcats met for the 147th time. Eastern posts a 75-72 record when facing Ohio, and a 16-17 record when facing it at home since 1999.
» Eastern finishes the season with 245 walks, ranking ninth in program history. After striking out 11 batters, EMU totals 392 strikeouts this season, ranking fourth in program history.
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) – Eastern Michigan University baseball senior John Hale reached the 100-career hits mark as the Eagles fell to Ohio University, 15-7, on Saturday, May 16, in the regular-season finale at Oestrike Stadium.
Eastern honored its 17-man 2026 senior class with a pre-game ceremony.
How it Happened
On an afternoon that honored 17 senior Eagles in a pregame ceremony, Eastern Michigan found itself in an early hole and was unable to recover despite an impressive 16-hit offensive effort. Ohio struck first with an RBI single in the opening frame, then broke the game open in the fourth inning on a three-run home run by Dylan Shepherd and an RBI single, pushing the lead to 5-0.
The Eagles answered in the bottom of the fourth as Tristan Crane (Berkley, Mich./Brother Rice/Texas A&M Corpus Christi) singled home TJ Williams (Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick/Kansas), but Ohio continued to apply pressure. EMU's deficit grew to 7-1 after the top of the fifth, with a Shepherd RBI single and a run coming home on a stolen base and error. In the bottom of the fifth, Hale (Ashland City, Tenn./Sycamore/Motlow State C.C.) laced his first career triple to score Keegan Knupp (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange), trimming the margin.
Ohio's power bats took over in the seventh, as Will Henson launched a two-run homer and Grant Wilson followed with a two-run shot to make it 11-3. The Eagles responded with two-out rallies, including another RBI single from Crane in the seventh. In the eighth, a surge saw Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) double home Knupp before Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Brush/Ohio State) and Crane added an RBI to cut the deficit to 11-7. However, Ohio put the game out of reach with four insurance runs in the ninth, highlighted by home runs from Shirley and Hill.
The game ended in a 15-7 final in favor of Ohio.
Game Notes
» Eastern's record dropped to 19-34 (12-21 MAC), and Ohio's improved to 11-43 (8-25 MAC).
» Eastern's 16 hits tie for its second-most this season, marking its seventh 15+ hit game of the season and 20th with double-digits.
» EMU pitching struck out 11 batters, its fourth-highest total of the season and 17th time with double-digit strikeouts.
» EMU batters struck out just three times, its second-lowest total of the campaign as it holds a 7-4 record when striking out five times or less.
» EMU honored its 2026 senior class with a pregame ceremony. The class included Jack Angus (Darien, Ill./Montini Catholic/Stetson), Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Frontier C.C.), Emmett Gillies (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley/Akron), John Hale, Eli Henderson (Gallatin, Tenn./Trousdale County/Columbia State C.C.), Bruce Jellison, Drew Jones, Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin/Frederick C.C.), Kevin Krill (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland/Kalamazoo Valley C.C.), Leewood Molessa (Pullman, W. Va./Williamstown/UMBC), Landon Mueller (Fremont, Neb./Fremont/Omaha), Drew Norris (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley/Johnson C.C.), Michael Pfeiffer (Brownsboro, Ala./Huntsville/Northwest-Shoals C.C.), Ethan Rowland (Lafayette, Ca./Acalanes/Saint Peter's), Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin/Mount St. Mary's), TJ Williams, and Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny/VCU).
» Nick Weaver (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood/Elgin C.C.) caught multiple runners stealing for the seventh time this season as he is up to 28 runners caught stealing, ranking first in the MAC, inside the top-three nationally, and second in program history in the modern statistical era (1999-present).
» Tristan Crane recorded his 10th multi-hit game of the season with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, driving in three runs to bring his season total to 26 RBI this season. He extended his hitting streak to seven games, his second longest of the season and the longest on the team to end the year. Crane's three RBI tie a career-high and marked his sixth game with multiple RBI this season.
» John Hale hit the first triple of his NCAA career as the three-bagger marked his 99th career hit as an Eagle. He drove in one run on the play for his 26th RBI of the season. He later singled to second base for his 14th multi-hit game and 100th career NCAA Division I career. He finished his career with 101 hits.
» Keegan Knupp notched his eighth multi-hit game with a 4-for-5 showing, bringing his season-total to 36 knocks. His four hits set a career-high, surpassing the three he had at Austin Peay, Feb. 21.
» TJ Williams notched two hits, marking his 15th multi-hit game of the season, which ranks him third on the team. His double went down as his fifth of the season.
» Cole Egan (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny/George Mason) tallied his 24th appearance of the season, tying Rob Wendzicki (2008) for the fifth-most in program history in the modern statistical era (1999-present). He tossed his 13th scoreless outing of the year as he didn't allow a run in his last four appearances.
» Landon Mueller twirled his seventh scoreless outing of the year. He didn't allow a run in his final three outings of the year.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles and Bobcats met for the 147th time. Eastern posts a 75-72 record when facing Ohio, and a 16-17 record when facing it at home since 1999.
» Eastern finishes the season with 245 walks, ranking ninth in program history. After striking out 11 batters, EMU totals 392 strikeouts this season, ranking fourth in program history.
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: Lichtenauer, Evan (2-4)
L: White, Carter (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Stack, Tyler 1
HR: Henson, Will 1 ; Shepherd, Dylan 1 ; Shirley, Colton 1 ; Wilson, Grant 1 ; Hill, Cam 1
RBI: Boyd, Cameron 1 ; Henson, Will 2 ; Shepherd, Dylan 4 ; Shirley, Colton 2 ; Wilson, Grant 2 ; Hill, Cam 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Alexander, Brady 1 ; Harmon, Reese 1 ; Boyd, Cameron 1 ; Henson, Will 4 ; Stack, Tyler 3 ; Shepherd, Dylan 1 ; Shirley, Colton 1 ; Wilson, Grant 2 ; Hill, Cam 1
SB: Alexander, Brady 1 ; Henson, Will 1 ; Stack, Tyler 2 ; Shepherd, Dylan 1
CS: Boyd, Cameron 1 ; Wilson, Grant 1
HBP: Boyd, Cameron 1 ; Henson, Will 1
Batting:
2B: Williams, TJ 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 1
3B: Hale, John 1
RBI: Crane, Tristan 3 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Jones, Drew 1 ; Hale, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, TJ 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Knupp, Keegan 2 ; Jellison, Bruce 1 ; Jones, Drew 1 ; Hale, John 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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