WEDNESDAY
Eastern Michigan University baseball (15-9) took on the University of Michigan (6-15) yesterday at Oestrike Stadium. For the complete results, go to www.EasternEcho.com. For more sports updates, add @Echo_Sportspage on Twitter.
TUESDAY
The EMU baseball team lost 2-1 to Cleveland State (6-14) in its second consecutive 10-inning game this week.
In the top of the 10th, an error by Eagles third baseman Ben Magsig, led to an unearned winning run. The Eagles would put a man in scoring position in the bottom of the 10th, but Brandon Ohrman struck out the final two batters of the inning, clinching victory for the Vikings.
SUNDAY
EMU defeated Buffalo in the bottom of the 11th, 6-5. The Eagles won on a single to left field, sending in Junior Tucker Rubino from second for the go-ahead score.
“Today was a rough game,” Rubino said. “We busted our butts, hung in there and got the win today.”
Rubino had one hit with two RBI Sunday to help the Eagles improve their record to 3-0 in MAC play.
The Eagles hosted three games against Buffalo this weekend, winning them all. EMU started the year off on a 14-game trip, and is glad to finally be home.
“It feels outstanding,” coach Jay Alexander said. “We have been able to finally relax a bit. We get a hopeful crowd. We get to sleep in our own bed. It’s been really good for us.”
Rubino was says he too was glad to be home.
“It’s awesome,” Rubino said. “It feels great not living in hotels, waking up, and sticking to a routine. I can wake up and do what I want.”
The stats don’t lie. The Eagles are 5-1 at home this year, and have one two 10th inning victories, first of which came on April 19th against Alma College.
Alexander said his team put themselves in that position Sunday.
“We played pretty well this weekend, but we had a bad game today,” Alexander said.
EMU’s starting pitcher Steve Weber struck out seven, but was rattled in the top of the fourth inning. Weber walked his first batter and started throwing wild. The Eagles infield committed errors as well leading to more hits and more runs.
“His performance today was average,” Alexander said. “He is much better than that. We didn’t help him out much either. We gave away some plays. He’s a strong kid though; he’ll continue on.”
Rubino said they lost focus out there, and the cold was no help.
“It’s cold out,” Rubino said. “This is good for us though. We have got to focus more on the little things in MAC play and eliminate errors.”
Weber came out in the top of the fifth inning, and handed the ball over to Junior Collin Taylor.
“I tell my team to play hard every pitch,” Alexander said. “Today we flat out couldn’t catch. First rule in baseball is to catch the ball.”
Rubino and the Eagles had no answer for Buffalo until the bottom of the eighth when they rallied and scored three runs.
Rubino singled to right-center with two outs to score runners with bases loaded leaving a base runner at third. Next to bat was Magsig, who brought in the next run to tie the game, 5-5.
In the next inning, the Eagles threatened to score, leaving a runner on third. But the Eagles couldn’t score, leaving two on base. Momentum had shifted to the Eagles side. They didn’t allow a hit in the last three innings, and closed Buffalo out in the bottom of the tenth.
The Eagles won four in a row prior to their game against Cleveland State.