The Eastern Michigan University baseball program was on the road for a three-game weekend series at Akron from March 7 to 9.
Eastern Michigan won all three against Akron, making it the first time the Eagles have swept an opponent in a three-game series since they won three consecutive games in a weekend series against Northern Illinois at Oestrike Stadium, May 18 through 20, 2023.
With the series beginning on Friday, Eastern won the first game 6-5. Their offense was alive again, scoring six runs and getting 10 hits while drawing five walks. The win was EMU’s fifth win of the season, and they moved to 5-6 (1-0 MAC) for 2025.
Eastern also won the second game, 12-5, to improve to 2-0 in conference play after trailing by four runs in the early part of the game.
Eastern completed the sweep with a 9-2 victory behind 15 Eagle hits on Sunday.
Eastern Michigan’s offense had three players get multi-hit games, including Logan Hugo (Essexville, Michigan), Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio) and Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio). Hugo and Vance had three hits, and Zuccaro had two.
The Eagles had just two extra-base hits despite their offense controlling most of the game. Hugo hit a solo home run to left, and Zuccaro had a double. The right-handed hitting outfielder has three home runs this season and a .405 batting average.
The game was tied at three after seven innings in a back-and-forth battle until the eighth inning. In the eighth inning, EMU had multiple runners get on base with only one out via walk, single, or hit by pitch. The score was broken open when a fielder’s choice throwing error happened on Akron’s part to give the Eagles a 5-3 lead. Another hit by pitch helped the Eagles go up 6-3, highlighting how they won the first game.
Pitching in the opener was not at its best, but it was enough to give Eastern Michigan the win. Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio) was the hurler, and he pitched four innings, allowing three runs and nine hits, but he did have seven strikeouts.
The bullpen came in and replaced him in the fifth inning. Niko Kreuzer (Westerville, Ohio), Drew Norris (Leawood, Kansas) and Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Indiana) pitched a combined five innings, allowing two runs on just three hits. Davis picked up his first save of the season, and Norris picked up his first win.
Game two was also hitter-friendly, just like game one. Eastern Michigan had 10 hits as a team, with the highlight being a grand slam by Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pennsylvania). It busted EMU’s lead open to 9-4 after it was 5-4 before the swing. The home run came in the sixth inning after the Eagles were scoreless in the first four innings. Ironically, the swing was the only one the Eagles had for extra bases.
In addition to Zirwas, EMU had two other players record multi-hit games, including John Hale (Ashland City, Tennessee) and Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania), each having two singles.
Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Michigan) was the starter for EMU, and he threw 4.1 innings. He allowed four runs, seven hits and four walks, but he did strike out six batters. Fischer Hendershot (Flushing, Michigan) was the difference out of the bullpen for the Eagles. He pitched 3.2 innings, struck out five and allowed just one run. It was good enough to pick up his first save of the season.
The series' final game was where Eastern Michigan most showed up on offense. The bats tallied 15 hits in a blowout 9-2 win over Akron to sweep the series. Every player in Eastern Michigan’s lineup had a hit, and six had multi-hit games.
The Eagles players who had an impactful performance were Drew Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) and Logan Hugo (Essexville, Michigan), who had a three-run home run and a double for Eastern Michigan’s extra-base hits.
Although the Eagles won the game handily, Akron got themselves the early lead, scoring a first-inning run to go ahead 1-0. The top of the second was where the Eagles offense came on. After Jones homered, the Eagles would score a combined five runs over the next three innings to get in control 8-1. Akron would only score one run for the remainder of the contest, which came in the eighth inning.
Bobby Jones (Loveland, Ohio) took the ball to start the game for EMU. He pitched four innings and allowed just one earned run. He was replaced by Nick Keane (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Indiana), who combined pitched five innings and allowed just one run. Davis picked up his second save of the season, while Keane got his first win.
Up next, Eastern Michigan will stay on the road to take on Ohio State for one game in Columbus. The first pitch is at 3 p.m. ET. They will play their first home game on March 21, 2025, against Miami after six consecutive weeks away from home due to cold temperatures.
Check out The Echo's website for more EMU baseball program coverage.
