Eagles Welcome the Huskies for Senior Weekend

Baseball vs.Northern Illinois (19-28, 12-9 MAC)
Date	Friday-Sunday, May 13-15
Location	Oestrike Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	emueagles.com
Live Audio	Eagle All-Access
Twitter	@EMU_Baseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team wraps up the 2016 home schedule when it welcomes Northern Illinois University to Oestrike Stadium for a three-game Mid-American Conference set. The series opens with a Friday evening contest starting at 6 p.m. Saturday's game will start at 3 p.m., while Senior Day on Sunday is set to begin at 1 p.m.

    The action can be followed via live stats or live audio on EMU All-Access with Greg Steiner and Chad Bush on the call. Play by play is also available by following our Twitter account, @EMU_Baseball.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Eastern and NIU have met a combined 112 times in their histories. EMU holds the all-time advantage, 68-44. The two teams first met in 1951 and have met every season since 1998. Most recently, NIU took two of three from the Eagles in 2015, with EMU winning the first game, 8-0, followed by NIU sweeping a doubleheader.

HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH THE HUSKIES: NIU enters the weekend with an identical record to EMU at 19-28, but they are three games up on Eastern in the conference standings at 12-9. In true road games, the Huskies have an 11-15 mark, but are 7-2 in MAC road games. Most recently, NIU was swept by Toledo at home May 6-8.

    Offensively, NIU holds a .262 team batting average, but only has one player above .300 with Brad Wood batting .306. They are being outscored, 325-280, and outhit, 498-427. They also have a 280-197 K/BB ratio.

    Defensively, NIU sees some struggles with a 6.05 staff ERA. They are allowing opponents to hit .300 against them, including 79 doubles, 10 triples, and 41 home runs. The starting rotation holds 3.50, 4.12 and 4.50 ERA's, while the best bullpen arm has a mark of 5.66.

RUBY ANNIVERSARY: The 2016 season sees a milestone anniversary for Eagle baseball, as it has been 40 years since the 1976 EMU squad finished the season as College World Series runners-up. The 2016 squad will honor that team, as well as the 1975 College World Series team with a ceremony before the Friday game, recognizing members of the teams who have returned for the weekend.

FRESHMAN FIRSTS: In the 11-5 win over Oakland, May 10, a trio of freshman collected career firsts. John Rensel Jr. clubbed his first career home run, a three-run shot to the opposite field. It was also his first career three-RBI game. Gary Clift Jr. got his first collegiate win after pitching an inning of relief. Finally, Caleb Hester earned his first collegiate save when he entered with a one run lead and pitched the final 2.2 innings.

DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Entering the weekend, EMU has already tied its number of conference wins from a year ago (9), while also sitting one win away from tying its win total from 2015 (20), which was Head Coach Mark Van Ameyde's first year at the helm.

TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS: With two weekends and six MAC games left to play in 2016, EMU currently sits in fifth place of 11 teams in the standings. With so much baseball yet to be played, EMU can finish anywhere from 11th place, all the way up to second place, and first in the West Division. The top eight teams make it to Avon, Ohio for the MAC Tournament, and EMU is seeking their first bid since 2012.

SENIOR WEEKEND: This weekend marks the final games at Oestrike Stadium for six seniors; Michael Marsinek, Tony DiLeo, Mitchell McGeein, Austin Wilson, Augie Gallardo, and Jackson Martin. The Senior Day ceremonies will take place before Sunday's game.

TRACKING THE TATERS: Senior Mitchell McGeein entered his final season with 19 career homers, good for 20th on the all-time EMU list. He currently leads the team with 11 home runs this season, putting him in a tie for fifth-place all-time with 30.

WILSON ON FIRE: Senior Austin Wilson, in his final year in an Eagle uniform, is on fire with the season nearing its close. The veteran is currently on a 14-game hitting streak, and is hitting a blistering .400 in that span. Wilson also has seven multi-hit games during the streak, with 22 hits total. The streak has raised his batting average from .175 to .280 on the year, which is third on the team.

RBI MACHINE: In the last nine games, junior John Montgomery has been a machine when it comes to knocking in runners. The infield/outfielder has driven in 12 runs on 10 hits, including five multi-RBI games. He now has a team-best nine multi-RBI contests this season.

DAZZLING ROOKIE: Freshman Tyler Butzin has been the brightest star of a talented class of newcomers for the Eagles this season. The 'true' freshman ranks eighth in the conference in ERA with a 3.14 mark, which is also the top ERA for any freshman starting pitcher in the MAC. He leads the team with 63.0 innings pitched, including eight starts, and also has a save to his credit this season. He struck out a career-best nine batters against Ball State, May 8.

RUN EAGLES RUN: EMU has been alert and impactful on the base paths this season, as the team currently ranks third in the country in steals (112). In addition, redshirt junior Marquise Gill is sixth in the nation in steals with 32 on the season. The 112 steals this season are the seventh most in program history. The program record was set in 1981, and tied in 2004, with 147.

EAGLES DIG THE LONG BALL: EMU currently ranks 55th in the nation, and third in the MAC, in home runs with 38 as a team this season. Individually, senior Mitchell McGeein has hit a team-high 11 so far, which is tied for seventh in the MAC and 48th in the country. The Eagles hit a season-high four home runs in the win over BGSU, March 27.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOK: A trio of Eagles are rewriting the record books in 2016 with their season and career performances. In addition to being on the career home runs list, senior Mitchell McGeein is on the career list for walks with 87 (T-13th), doubles with 37 (16th), RBI's with 108 (T-17th), and at-bats with 616 (18th). Junior closer Sam Delaplane is tied for fifth on the career saves list with 10 in his three years, while redshirt junior Marquise Gill is tied for second in single-season stolen bases with 32, with his career total of 42 ranking 15th all-time. Senior Austin Wilson is also on the all-time steals list, currently ranking T-15th all-time with 37 swipes.

BUCKEYES ON THE HORIZON: EMU plays its final midweek contest with a single game against Ohio State University, Tuesday, May 17. First pitch in Columbus is set for 6:35 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tyler Butzin

Gary Clift Jr.

Sam Delaplane

Tony DiLeo

Augie Gallardo

Marquise Gill

Caleb Hester

Michael Marsinek

Jackson Martin

Mitchell McGeein

John Montgomery

John Rensel Jr.

Austin Wilson

Eastern Michigan Athletics