The Eastern Michigan University baseball team (6-13), completed their home opener with a sweep of Niagara and will hit the road Tuesday for a game against Notre Dame.
The Eagles return home for a weekend series versus Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent Miami RedHawks.
Senior catcher Matt Hitt hopes to build on his eight-game hitting streak entering this weekend. Sophomore designated hitter Lee Longo is the team leader in batting average (.391) after going 10-for-14 during the Niagara series.
Junior pitcher Neil Butara found his way onto the starting rotation and might get to start over the weekend. Junior pitcher Steve Weber continues to be the ace pitcher despite a 1-2 record and 5.26 ERA. Weber leads EMU pitchers in strikeouts (18) and has only given up seven walks.
Eastern Michigan hopes to improve defensively after giving up 10 errors in the Niagara series, and in time for conference play.
“We’re going to have to play a little more solid defensively,” freshman pitcher Ryan Lavoie said. “The start of conference play is going to be tough, so we got to pick up the pace a little.”
Miami (11-9) had a seven-game winning streak, snapped with a 15-2 loss Sunday versus Morehead State. Before the winning streak, Miami had an up and down start to its season. The RedHawks won the opening series versus Furman in Greenville, S. Car. They lost in the First Pitch Invitational to Furman and Michigan State, but ended the series with a 1-0 shutout victory over Michigan State.
Miami lost a series versus Ole Miss and played five games in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The RedHawks grabbed three wins over Sacred Heart, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh.
Sophomore catcher John Crummy is the team leader in batting average (.420). Crummy and senior outfielder Ryan Brenner are tied in the runs batted in category with 18 RBI each. Brenner also leads the team in stolen bases (18).
The RedHawks pitching has been inconsistent at times throughout the season. Redshirt senior Shawn Marquardt and sophomore right-handed pitcher Charles Zubrod are the only starting pitchers with an earned run average lower than four (3.90 and 1.31 respectively).
Marquardt has 23 strikeouts with five walks and pitched two complete games. He was the only pitcher to pitch a shutout against Michigan State on Feb. 26, but Marquardt did give up seven runs in Miami’s loss to Morehead State on Sunday.
Zubrod has been in and out of the Miami bullpen, but pitched well in his two starts versus Miami (Fla.) and Canisius, where he earned only one run, struck out six and walked two. He has reduced his opponents to a .233 batting average. Zubrod started against Xavier Tuesday, so EMU might not bat against him this weekend.
The RedHawks have outhit opponents with a .299 batting average over a .297 average against, but have been outscored 122-105.
EMU lost 12-4 on the road to Notre Dame on Tuesday, while Miami played a home-and-home series against Xavier on Tuesday and Wednesday. Xavier won 8-3 over Miami on Tuesday.
First pitches for the Friday and Saturday games at Oestrike Stadium are at 3 p.m. The finale will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
