Eagles Journey to DeKalb for Big Weekend Series

Baseball at Northern Illinois (15-31, 9-9 MAC)
Date	Friday-Sunday, May 12-14
Venue	DeKalb, Ill. \| McKinzie Field
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	NIUHuskies.com
Audio/Video	NIUHuskies.com ($)
Twitter	@EMUBaseball

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team wraps up the Mid-American Conference road slate when it heads to Northern Illinois University for a three-game set, May 12-14. The series opens with a Friday contest starting at 4 p.m, followed by a 2 p.m. start time on Saturday, and a 1 p.m. first pitch for the series finale on Sunday.
The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Live stats will be available through NIUHuskies.com. A subscription based live stream will also be available through NIU's website.

ALL-TIME VS THE HUSKIES: Eastern and NIU have met a combined 116 times in their histories. EMU holds the all-time advantage, 70-46. The two teams first met in 1951 and have met every season since 1998. Last season, NIU took two of three from the Eagles, with EMU's lone win a walk-off home run from Mike Mioduszewski on Senior Day. Eastern had the last laugh though, knocking NIU off in the MAC Tournament with a 6-2 victory.

HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois enters the weekend with a 15-31 mark, and are tied with EMU with 9-9 record in Mid-American Conference action. In 12 games at McKinzie Field, the Huskies are just 4-8 overall. In six MAC weekends, NIU has series wins over Ball State and Toledo, yet has dropped three-game sets to Central Michigan, Kent State, Buffalo, and Bowling Green. They however have not been swept by a MAC foe this season.
Offensively, NIU is in the middle of the MAC with a .257 team batting average. They are being out-scored overall, 283-209, and out-hit, 430-399. Leading the way for NIU is Samuel Vega, who has a .302 batting average, inlcuding 55 hits, six doubles, and 25 RBIs.
Defensively, NIU is near the top of the league with a staff ERA of 5.13. The Huskies allow opponents to hit at a .281 clip, and struggle with command, striking out 281 batters to 244 walks. Potential starting pitcher Joe Hawks leads NIU, and is sixth in the MAC with a 3.27 ERA.

OFFENSE WAKES UP BEFORE THE WEEKEND: In the 11-6 defeat to Michigan State, May 10, EMU had its best offensive output in a while. The six runs were the most runs produced by the Eagles in 10 games, while the 12 hits were EMU's first double-digit hit output since April 18 against Oakland. In addition, John Montgomery smacked his team-leading 10th home run of the season, the first homer for EMU in 10 games, while Jeremy Stidham had a triple, his team best second of the season and the first for the Eagles since April 2.

DELAPLANE DELIVERING THE GOODS: Senior Sam Delaplane is putting together a fine final season in the Green and White. The closer turned Friday night starter leads EMU with a 2.80 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 16 appearances (eight starts) and 64.1 innings. His ERA ranks fourth in the conference, while his strikeout total is second in the MAC and 94th in the nation. His 192 career strikeouts rank 11th in Eastern Michigan laurels. In his last six outings, Delaplane has recorded at least six K's, totaling 53 overall. Delaplane is also ranked tied for fourth in all-time saves with 10.

MIODUSZEWSKI REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: Redshirt senior Mike Mioduszewski has been one of EMU's top offensive threats in his four years at EMU, and he is beginning to see it pay off by seeing his name etched in the EMU record book in multiple offensive categories. Currently he ranks in the top-25 for hits (24th, 185), RBIs (t-19th, 106), doubles (t-19th, 34), and home runs (25th, 16). He has done this in the 11th most at bats in EMU history with 703.

MASHING MONTGOMERY: Senior John Montgomery has been the spark plug in the EMU offense in his final season, leading EMU in six offensive categories. He is also the team leader with 15 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games as well as six three-hit contests. Additionally, Montgomery is second in the MAC with 10 home runs. His 18 career homers rank tied for 22nd all-time at EMU.

GOTTA EARN THOSE RUNS: Since entering MAC play, Matthew Beaton has been almost unhittable. The senior relief pitcher has not allowed an earned run in 10.1 MAC innings, the highest inning total without yielding an earned run in conference this season. For his career, Beaton holds a 3.36 ERA in 101.2 innings pitched.

ALL-TIME IN THE MAC: 2017 marks the 45th season EMU has participated in the Mid-American Conference as a program. Eastern holds a 574-532-3 all-time record in conference play. The program owns five regular season championships, as well as four tournament championships, most recently in 2008.

RUN EAGLES RUN: Just a season after finishing in the top-five in steals in the country, EMU has not equaled that output this season, but are still in the top half of the nation in steals. Currently, EMU ranks second in the MAC and 79th in the nation with 54 stolen bases. Leading the way is redshirt senior Marquise Gill, who is fourth in the MAC with 13 steals. His 58 career steals ranks 10th in EMU history.

TAKE YOUR BASE: Thus far on the season, EMU has taken what the opposing pitching staffs have offered, drawing 194 walks as a team, which ranks fifth in the MAC and 96th in the country. The Eagles have already shattered last year's walk total, as EMU had just 175 bases on balls in 2016. The program record for walks in a single season was 286, set by the 1982 team.

IMPACT FRESHMEN IN THE INFIELD: This season, EMU has often relied on 'true' freshmen in starting roles. In 49 games, freshmen have combined to make 134 starts in the infield, led by Nick Jones, who has 38 starts at third base and catcher.

WOLVERINES ON THE HORIZON: EMU will play its final road regular season game and final midweek contest when it returns to Ann Arbor for a solo game against The University of Michigan. First pitch against the Wolverines is set for 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Beaton

Sam Delaplane

Marquise Gill

Nick Jones

Mike Mioduszewski

John Montgomery

Jeremy Stidham

Eastern Michigan Athletics