The 2024 college baseball season is underway and the boys of summer went down south to begin their season at Belmont University, losing three out of four games to the Bruins, but exploded on offense in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
The weekend series also saw the Eagles begin a new era of baseball as head coach Robbie Britt, who replaced Eric Roof after five seasons, coached his first regular season games wearing the Script E.
It was also Britt’s first games as a Division I head coach as well, having coached at the University of Charleston in West Virginia for four seasons.
After scoring just two and three runs on Friday and Saturday, EMU combined for 23 runs over a doubleheader Sunday afternoon after the doubleheader was supposed to take place Saturday.
The series saw some weather issues on both Friday and Saturday as Friday’s contest had to be moved up two hours and as previously mentioned, Saturday saw only one game be played and that was due to very cold temperatures in Nashville.
Game One:
Eastern Michigan dropped the first game of the weekend, 4-3. Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio) took the ball for the Eagles going six innings and allowing two earned runs, striking out seven and allowing just one walk over 80 pitches.
Aaron Pirkle (New Albany, Ohio) came on in relief and pitched two innings, allowing one run and striking out two batters. The pitching effort from both arms still allowed enough runs to lose the game by one in a game in which EMU did not see the lead.
On offense, the Eagles settled in nicely, getting nine hits, which included multi-hit games from three players: Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.), Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio) and Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario).
The Eagles had three doubles in the first game of the series and those were the only extra base hits of the game. EMU was able to tie the first game in the third inning at one, but that was the only time after the first inning Belmont did not lead the game.
Belmont only had five hits in the first game, although it was enough to sneak by Eastern Michigan in the first game.
Game Two:
The second game of the week was similar to the first game of the week. Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio) offered some good stuff on the mound, throwing for six innings while striking out eight batters, although four walks and some deep counts forced him to come out of the game earlier than what he would have liked.
Andrew Dukesherer (Byron Center, Mich.) was the only pitcher to come out of Eastern Michigan’s bullpen, pitching two innings and allowing one run.
Eastern Michigan only saw Giano Zuccaro record a multi-hit game to the Eagles’ benefit, and it was ultimately the Bruins’ little hit offense that took game two.
Game Three:
The bats came alive for the Eagles in the third game, scoring five runs in the first inning. Five players recorded multi-hit games, and Zuccaro and Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif), who crushed two home runs in the third game.
Despite as a team allowing six runs, Nick Chittum (Grosse Ile, Mich.) pitched five innings himself with just two earned runs and also adding four strikeouts to his name. A bullpen performance from Niko Kreuzer (Westerville, Ohio) would help EMU secure the victory.
The Eagles had nine extra base hits in the third game of the weekend. That’s where offense comes in to play in the game of baseball and the Eagles had that going in the third game.
The offense scored 12 runs in the first four innings of this game. They scored 16 or more runs on just two occasions last season, and this year, through four games, they already have one of these efforts.
Game Four:
The fourth game saw Belmont have their best offense of the weekend. Winning the game over Eastern Michigan, 9-7, in one that the Eagles hoped to move their season record back to .500.
Darren Kraft (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) hit a home run for EMU in the top of the sixth inning to hit his first home of the year. That would be the only extra base hit for the Eagles in the fourth game despite scoring seven runs.
Additionally, the Eagles had two other players get multi-hit games, finishing with 10 hits in the loss.
Big Picture:
Despite losing three out of four games, the Eagles out hit the Bruins in all four games of the series. They just lacked extra base hits, but there are so many games in baseball and weekends like this are bound to happen. It is a good sign for the Eagles that they are able to get men on base.
The starting pitching through the weekend series showed some potential for EMU. Eastern Michigan’s staff had a 6.35 ERA last season and they look to improve on that mark from a year ago.
The Eagles will make a return to Nashville for one more game this season when they play at Vanderbilt on March 5, but they still remain more than five weeks from the home opener at Oestrike Stadium when they take on Michigan, March 19.
Up Next:
Due to the cold temperatures in Michigan, the Eagles stay on the road for 16 more games. It will go to Evansville, Ind. to take on Southern Indiana for a three-game weekend series. First pitches are scheduled for 2, 3 and 5 p.m. ET, respectively.
For more information on the Eastern Michigan University baseball team, you can visit the echo’s website.
