Eastern Michigan baseball’s senior starting pitcher Charlie Land gave up three runs from eight hits and struck out six on 121 pitches in eight and one-third innings, earning his second win of the season in a 4-3 win over Kent State on Saturday afternoon in Kent, Ohio.
The Eagles (9-14, 2-2 MAC) started off strong in the second inning when sophomore designated hitter John Montgomery hit a two-run home run, bringing the score to 2-0 after a Mitchell McGeein base hit earlier in the inning. The home run was Montgomery’s fourth of the season.
The Eagles struck again on a Tony DiLeo single in the fourth, bringing in McGeein once again on the only hit in the fourth inning.
Kent State finally got on the board in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Sawyer Polen to bring the score to 3-1 going into the sixth inning.
Charlie Land faced a scary moment in the sixth inning when a line-drive was hit right back at him on the mound, but he managed to catch the ball for the last out of the inning. Going into the ninth inning, Land had six strikeouts.
Montgomery managed another RBI with a single in the eighth inning to bring the score to 4-1, and bringing the last chance for Kent State in the ninth.
Kent State gave Eastern a scare when Land walked two batters, putting runners in scoring position. Sam Delaplane then took over for Land on the mound with an attempt to make the save, giving up two runs before striking out Kent’s last batter to end the game.
John Montgomery went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI’s. Tony DiLeo went 1-for-4 with one hit and one RBI. Also, Sam Delaplane notched his fourth save of the season, ending the game with one strike out.
Looking Forward:
The Eastern Michigan University baseball team will complete the three-game series against Kent State on Sunday with a doubleheader. First game of the afternoon will start at 1 p.m. while the second game of the day will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Social Media:
Follow Robert Sherman on twitter: @r__sherman
