BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dominated nearly every inning of its pair of games with Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green State University as it took the opening two contests of a four-game weekend series between the two schools at Gary Haas Stadium today, May 7.

Eastern (15-19, 9-14 MAC) took game one, a seven inning affair, 8-0, before racing out to another big lead, 7-0, against Bowling Green (13-24, 11-16 MAC) in the nine-inning, game two and finishing the contest off 10-8. The wins moves EMU's current hot streak to five games, its best stretch since April 6-13, 2012 when it won five straight over Western Michigan, Michigan State, and Central Michigan, respectively.

Offensively, Eastern put together 18 runs on 28 hits, including nine for extra bases. Five of the hits were home runs, including four in game two, the most deep shots in a game for Eastern since it hit the same number March 27, 2016, against Bowling Green. Individually, junior Taylor Hopkins (Mason, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller) and senior Shane Easter (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Comstock) paced the teams, as they each went 5-for-9 on the day. Hopkins led the Eagles with five RBIs.

Defensively, Eastern got a pair of stellar outings out of its starting pitchers in the respective games. Senior right hander Luke McGuire (Shelby Twp., Mich.-Stevenson) offered arguably the best performance of his career in game one, as he tossed Eastern's first complete-game shutout since April 2, 2017, when Brent Mattson did it against Butler in a 4-0 win. Game two saw junior Justin Meis (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Bethel Park) go five scoreless innings and earn his second win of the season.

Game One: Eastern Michigan 8, Bowling Green 0

Heading into Friday's first game with the claim of scoring 46 runs in its last 21 trips to the plate, the Eastern offense continued its impressive hot streak early on against the Falcons. Hopkins led off the game with a single, one of three he went on to collect in the contest, before stealing second base two batters later. His extra base proved unnecessary, as junior Gabe Denton (Clare, Mich.-Clare (North Iowa)) cleared the sacs with a two-out, two-RBI blast to left field in the fourth at-bat of the game. The homer, Denton's team-leading seventh of the season, put the Eagles ahead, 2-0. Eastern added one more in the second inning via a Hopkins RBI-single, to go ahead, 3-0.

With run support in hand early, McGuire went to the mound with a majority-green clad crowd, which included his parents, in attendance. The Shelby Twp., Mich. native dominated from the start, needing just four batters to breeze through the first inning.

Following his quick first frame, McGuire was even more dominant as the game continued on. He tossed 1-2-3 innings in the second and third, respectively, before allowing two hits in the fourth. Still though, even when BGSU threatened, the composed McGuire matched every challenge, and was aided by incredible defense. A sharp 6-4-3 double play and fly out grounded the Falcons in the fourth, before McGuire bounced back with yet another 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the fifth.

Unable to score in the middle innings, Eastern's bats continued to grind. Still up, 3-0, in the top of the sixth, it was none other than Hopkins who came through again. With runners on second and third and two outs gone, the third-year Eagle, also playing in front of family and in his home state, smacked his third knock of the day, a two-RBI single that plated two more and put EMU well ahead, 5-0.

After a quick sixth frame that saw McGuire need just his 70th pitch of the game to bench the Falcons, his teammates were able to add another three runs in the top of the seventh, all with two outs. Again with two runners on, senior first baseman Eli Gora (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) plated one with an RBI-single, his second hit of the game. After another run came home via a BGSU miscue, it was senior Daniel Warkentin (Leamington, Ontario-Leamington District (Parkland)) that capped EMU's scoring efforts. His second triple in his last four games plated the Eagles' eighth run of the game and lifted the advantage to 8-0.

The run support was more than enough for the still-firing McGuire, who erased any chances of a Falcon comeback with his fourth 1-2-3 frame of the game, giving him his first-career complete-game shutout and giving Eastern its first team shutout of the season, 8-0. The shutout was the first for Eastern since April 7, 2019, versus Bowling Green.

Game Two: Eastern Michigan 10, Bowling Green 8

Picking up right where he left off in game one, Hopkins opened game two with a leadoff home run. The shot, one of five for the Green and White on Friday, was EMU's first leadoff homer since March 17, 2013 when Daniel Russell did it at Northern Kentucky.

Although it did not score in the second inning, the Eastern offense was far from done for the day. In fact, it put up runs in five consecutive frames, beginning in the third, when senior infielder Christian Bault (Maineville, Ohio-Archbishop Moeller (Lincoln Trail)) put yet another Falcon pitch over the fence. The Eagles followed with three more runs in the fourth. Senior Mike Monahan (Saline, Mich.-Saline) got the party started with a one-out double to center field. Monahan, who has been on a tear in recent weeks, was walked on four straight pitches in his first plate appearance game one, a decision BGSU likely wishes it would have considered in game two. He later came around to score on a Hopkins RBI-single. Junior Will Oberg (Wayzatta, Minn.-Wayzatta (Heartland)) crossed the plate later in the inning, before a Hopkins score capped the three-run fourth, a frame that put Eastern up, 5-0.

With his offense continuing to support him, Meis continued to impress in his 10th start of the 2021 campaign. After working out of no-out, two-runner-on jams in both the first and second innings, the Steel City product tossed nearly flawless frames in his final three trips to the bump. He allowed only two hits in innings three-through-five, to preserve Eastern's lead.

With Eastern up 7-0, Meis exited the game before the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately for EMU, Bowling Green was able to string together enough offense to plate four in the frame, and cut the Eagles' lead to three, 7-4. Undeterred by the challenge, the Eastern bats answered yet again in the top of the seventh. With Gora on base, Warkentin etched his name onto the EMU blast list, as he went deep for the first time in his Eagle career, a two-run shot that put Eastern ahead, 9-4.

With the game still too close for comfort, Head Coach Eric Roof went to an unusual relief arm in four-year starter Davis Feldman (Warren, Mich.-Warren), a choice that proved successful as the sixth-year stud blanked BGSU in the seventh.  

Eastern added one more in the eighth, again via the long ball, this time by Denton, to build its advantage to six, 10-4, a lead it eventually took into the bottom of the ninth.

Bowling Green refused to quit as it plated four runs in its final trip to the plate. With the pressure on, junior hurler Zach Fruit (Dundee, Mich.-Dundee (Lansing)) came in to toss the final out of the game, and give Eastern its second win of the day, 10-8.

Eastern will close its series with the Falcons Saturday, May 8, when the two teams meet for a second day of doubleheader play. The same format as today's contest, a seven-inning contest will be played at noon and will be followed by a nine-inning series finale.

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio baseball team (24-15, 15-11 MAC) opened a four-game Mid-American Conference weekend rivalry series against Miami (19-22, 12-15 MAC) by taking both games of a Friday (May 7) doubleheader at Bob Wren Stadium. The Bobcats got things started with a 3-1 win in seven innings in game one and then blanked the RedHawks, 1-0, in nine innings in game two of the twin bill.

Game One: Ohio 3, Miami 1 (seven innings)
Senior left fielder Sebastian Fabik (Lebanon, Ohio) broke a one-all tie in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run home run that proved to be the winning margin, and junior southpaw starting pitcher Joe Rock (Aliquippa, Pa.) struck out 12 in just six innings.

Rock surrendered a leadoff solo home run to Miami redshirt freshman center fielder Benji Brokemond in the top of the first inning but settled in after that to hold the RedHawks at bay. He gave up just three more hits, none of which went from extra bases, and a walk the rest of the way as he improved to 8-1 on the season.

The Bobcats evened the score in the home half of the second courtesy of a leadoff homer by graduate student third baseman Trevor Hafner (Perrysburg, Ohio). Fabik then put Ohio in front with his two-run blast in the ensuing frame, a lead that Ohio never relinquished.

Senior left-handed pitcher Brett Manis (Port Huron, Mich.) then retired the side in the seventh to lock up the victory for the Bobcats. He struck out one as he earned his sixth save of the year.
 
Game Two: Ohio 1, Miami 0 (nine innings)
Senior right-handed starting pitcher Edward Kutt IV (Westlake, Calif.) continued the pitching brilliance for Ohio in game two, tossing eight shutout innings and striking out 10 while giving up just a single and a walk. He earned the win on the mound to improve to 7-3 on the year. Manis then recorded his seventh save, tossing a scoreless ninth inning and striking out one.

The Bobcats were being no-hit through five innings but broke through with a two-out double by senior center fielder Isaiah Peterson (Lincoln, Neb.). Ohio then broke a scoreless tie in the seventh as graduate student first baseman Harry Witwer-Dukes (Monmouth, Ore.) beat out an infield single and scored one out later on a base hit back up the middle by Hafner, which proved to be the winning margin.

Ohio and Miami will play another doubleheader on Saturday (May 8) at The Wren. First pitch of the seven-inning game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, with the nine-inning game two following 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

DEKALB, ILL. – Powered by a career day at the plate from junior Sean O'Keefe the Western Michigan baseball team won its third straight series opener 10-8 over Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon.

O'Keefe was dominant at the plate going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a career-high five RBIs and belting two home runs, a career-high. O'Keefe also matched his career-high for the sixth time with three hits against the Huskies.  The junior first baseman now ranks second on the team with five home runs this season.

Fellow junior Justin McIntyre also had a big day at the plate with a perfect 2-for-2 day with a home run, three runs scored, two walks and two RBIs. McIntyre hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning for his fourth home run of the season.

Leading off for the Broncos junior Connor Charping went a stellar 5-for-6 with one RBI and three runs scored. Charping also had one double and led the Broncos with two stolen bases. Charping is now 22-of-23 in stolen base attempts this season.

Behind Charping was junior Blake Dunn who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. The 2019 Golden Spikes Award Watch List member also registered a team-high two walks. Senior Drew Devine also drew two walks while going 2-for-3 at the plate.

As a team the Broncos registered 10 runs on 15 hits with five extra-base hits including two home runs. It's the ninth game this season the Broncos have scored double digit runs and the 16th game having registered double-digit hits.

Earning his first win of the season sophomore LHP Dane Armbrustmacher in relief pitched 4.2 innings allowing one earned run on two hits with a career-high eight strikeouts. Junior RHP Brenden Lovell earned his first save of the season throwing 0.2 innings, throwing four pitches and recording the final out on an NIU double play.

With the win Western Michigan has now won three straight series openers and has an overall record of 16-19 and 15-10 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU and NIU continues it series on Saturday, May 8 with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Western Michigan got the scoring going early with five runs in the first two innings of play. WMU scored three runs on three hits in the top of the first as the Broncos had runners on first and second with no outs. On the second pitch of the at-bat, O'Keefe belted his fourth home run of the season to give the Broncos a 3-0 advantage.

In the top of the second the Brown & Gold scored two runs on four hits with three of the four hits being RBI doubles. McIntyre led off the inning with a double down the left field line before advancing to third on a wild pitch. The Broncos then got back-to-back RBI doubles from Charping and Dunn to extend its lead to 5-0.

Northern Illinois stormed right back in the bottom of the second with five runs on six hits to tie the game at five. The game stayed tied until the top of the fourth when O'Keefe blasted his second home run of the game and fifth of the season to give WMU a 7-5 lead.  The Huskies tied the game once again in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run over the left field wall.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Justin McIntyre registered a two-run home run to centerfield for his fourth of the season and gave WMU a 9-7 lead. The Broncos held a two run lead until the bottom of the eighth when NIU rocketed a solo home run to right centerfield to trim the Broncos lead down to one.

In the top of the ninth the Broncos added an insurance run as Blake Dunn recorded an RBI single to give WMU a 10-8 advantage. NIU brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth before the Broncos turned a 4-6-3 double play to secure the victory.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Round 1 in the battle of Mid-American Conference heavyweights goes to Central Michigan.
 
The next three rounds promise to be every bit as hard fought on the field and as entertaining from the stands.
 
Pitchers Jordan Patty and Ian Leatherman combined to hold down the fort, and the Chippewas used a four-run seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie and defeat Ball State, 7-3, on Friday in the opener of a four-game series between the Mid-American Conference's top two baseball teams.
 
The win gave first-place CMU, which is 21-4 in league action, a two-game lead over the second-place Cardinals (19-6). They are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium and are slated to close the series on Sunday (1 p.m.).
 
"It was far from perfect, but they just hung together, they battled, competed well and just trusted themselves throughout the game," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said.
 
It marked the fourth consecutive weekend that CMU has won a MAC series opener. But unlike the previous three, where Patty, the starter, was nearly untouchable and the Chippewas won in blowouts, CMU had to muster every bit of grit to grind out a win against the Cardinals.
 
"We fell behind and we made a couple mistakes and didn't capitalize on an (early) opportunity against a really good team," Bischel said. "We just kept competing, which shows our growth over the past couple of months."
 
The Chippewas broke a 3-3 tie with a four-run seventh inning. Mario Camilletti drew a one-out walk, and then Zach Gilles singled with two out. Garrett Navarra singled to plate Camilletti with the go-ahead run, and then a Ball State error – one of three committed by the Cardinals on the day – allowed Gilles to score to make it 5-3.
 
Chase Rollin then delivered a huge two-run single to make it 7-3.
 
The Chippewas trailed 3-1 when Jakob Marsee tied it with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. It was his team-leading fourth homer of the season.
 
The game featured a battle of two of the MAC's premier starters in Patty and Ball State's John Baker.
 
Patty (7-1), who a week ago threw the first perfect game in CMU history, allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walked one and struck out three over seven innings for the win. Baker (5-3) went 6 2/3 in taking the loss. He surrendered six runs (three earned) on seven hits, struck out seven and walked three.
 
"Baker is one of the better pitchers, probably, that the league has seen, I don't think I'm exaggerating there," Bischel said. "He's tough to beat and we hung in there. Marsee had the big hit to tie it, and we kept grinding away in the seventh."
 
Ball State took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, ending Patty's scoreless inning streak at a school-record 41 1/3 innings. The previous mark (40) was set in 1974 by Chris Knapp.
 
"Ball State's an awfully good offensive team and (Patty), I think he would tell you, wasn't real sharp and they jumped on mistakes," Bischel said. "He really gutted it out in the fifth, sixth and seventh (innings) when we were down a couple (runs) and gave us a chance to come back. He just competed."
 
Leatherman allowed two hits, walked two and struck out two over the final two frames to bring it home.
 
But it was far from easy. He surrendered back-to-back hits to open the eighth and then retired three in a row, the last on a strikeout. Two walks and a Chippewa error loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Leatherman got a strikeout and a fly ball to end it.
 
"Ian, it was kind of the same story (as Patty)," Bischel said. "There was a lot of traffic on the bases and in terms of pitch execution he was struggling. He just competed through it. We played enough defense and made it work."

KENT, OHIO- Collin Mathews hit a grand slam down the right field line, capping a seven-run seventh inning and invoking the run rule in a 13-3 victory on graduation Friday. 

Mathews drove a 1-2 pitch and hooked it inside the foul pole for the walk-off shot. That blast capped off the opener of the annual Wagon Wheel series and a 3-for-5 night at the plate for the center fielder. 

The night started with seven Golden Flash student-athletes celebrating their graduation in a pre-game ceremony. Six student-athletes earned their undergraduate degree with Ben Carew earning his Master's this season. Carew took that momentum into his first at-bat of the night, a solo shot to left field to start the scoring. Kent State added single tallies again in the third and the fourth on the back of a Mathews single and a Kirby double in the fourth to lead 3-0. 

The Zips scored an unearned run in the fifth, capitalizing on a throwing error to get on the scoreboard. Akron got two more in the sixth on a pair of run-scoring ground outs and pulled within one at 4-3. Friday night starter Collin Romel was able to limit the damage in that pivotal sixth inning, getting a groundout to end the frame. The lefty went all seven innings for his third win of the season, he scattered five hits, walked four and struck out four. 

The offense kicked it into high gear over their final two trips to the plate. Eric Wentz gave Romel some insurance as he singled home Justin Kirby to make it 5-3 and Kyle Jackson came home a moment later on a balk to make it a three-run game again. In the seventh, the Flashes scored on a single, wild pitch and sac fly before Mathews sent everyone home early with his fifth homer of the season. 

The Flashes once again evened their record on the season and sit at 20-20 overall and 13-12 in the MAC. Akron falls to 10-29 overall and 4-25 in conference play. The two teams will meet for a pair of seven-inning games tomorrow afternoon, first pitch is set for 1 p.m.