The Eastern Michigan University baseball team spent its weekend at no other than Oestrike Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich., for a three-game series against Ohio University.
After rain postponed Friday's matchup, the Eagles and Bobcats played a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13, followed by one game on Sunday, April 14, to wrap up the weekend series.
The final game of the series marked the 141st all-time matchup between the two as the Eagles lead the series, 71-70.
Game One
After EMU started the game behind, 1-0, things would heat up offensively as they put up six runs in the second inning that was highlighted by a grand slam from junior Aidan Arbogast (Livonia, Mich.) and a triple from senior Cory Taylor (Shelbyville, Ind.) to give the Eagles a 6-1 advantage.
Taylor's triple put him tied for second in the MAC in triples with his third of the season, while he leads the Eagles in the category.
The Bobcats answered back in the third inning as they scored two runs to cut the deficit, to 6-3. EMU added onto the lead as sophomore Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio) finished the inning with the lone run for the Eagles to make things, 7-3.
Ohio tallied two runs to come within two, 7-5, but Arbogast stepped back up to the plate in the sixth inning and drilled a three-run home run to widen the lead, 10-5. EMU then added three runs in the following inning as Vance knocked a two-run single to extend the Eagles' lead, 13-5.
Holding Ohio to just one more run, the Eagles comfortably took game one with a 15-6 win.
Arbogast finished the game with seven RBIs and two home runs, which is the most RBIs in a game from an EMU player since former Eagle Jordan Peterson did it against Northern Illinois University in 2017.
Taylor ended the game batting 2-for-5 at the plate for his 11th multi-hit game, while Blake McRae (Armada, Mich.) finished the game 2-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and a homer, marking his 15th multi-hit game and eighth game with multiple RBIs.
Senior Bobby Jones took the mound for the Eagles as he secured the win. Jones finished the game with 10 strikeouts which set an EMU season-high and career-high.
Game Two
The second game on Saturday saw the Eagles fall behind from the jump as Ohio produced a 3-0 lead and held EMU scoreless until the sixth inning. In the frame, Taylor notched a run-scoring double as EMU scored two runs to cut the deficit, 3-2.
After Ohio improved its lead to 5-2 in the eighth inning, the Eagles scored on a two-run double from Kyle Schroedle (Redding, Calif.) to bring the deficit within one, 5-4.
The Bobcats added two runs to their total in the final inning as EMU was unable to complete the comeback and dropped the second game of the series, 7-4.
Junior Lucas Johnson (Hamilton, Ontario) notched three hits in the game for the Eagles which marked his third time this season with three hits. Junior Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) would go on to finish the day with two hits. It is his 12th multi-hit game of the 2024 season.
Game Three
The final game began with a second-inning explosion from the Bobcats as they totaled five runs to run out to a 5-0 lead. The Eagles wouldn't answer until the fifth inning where Schroedle drilled a two-run home run which also scored junior Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md.) to cut the deficit, 5-2.
The Bobcats added two more runs to its total in the sixth inning as they held the Eagles scoreless until the ninth inning. Ohio opened the final frame with a two-RBI single to extend its lead to 9-2. EMU then tacked on two more runs as Schroedle would score Zuccaro, followed by an RBI single from junior Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich.) to score Schroedle.
The ninth-inning rally would fail to come alive as it wasn't enough for EMU as Ohio was able to secure a 9-4 win and the series win, 2-1.
