Baseball Sets Sights on 2017 MAC Tournament

Baseball at MAC Tournament
Date	Wednesday-Sunday, May 24-28
Venue	Avon, Ohio \| Sprenger Stadium
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Audio	Eagle All-Access
Video	ESPN 3
Twitter	@EMUBaseball
Tournament Central	MACSports.com
2017 Bracket	Bracket (PDF)

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University baseball team continues its 2017 season when it heads to the Mid-American Conference Tournament this week, Wednesday-Sunday, May 24-28, at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The No. 3 seeded Eagles will begin the double-elimination playoff by squaring off with the No. 6 seeded Western Michigan University Broncos, Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
   The action can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMU_Baseball. Live stats will be available through EMUEagles.com. Audio will also be streamed through Eagle All-Access with Chad Bush and Greg Steiner on the call, while a video stream will be offered through ESPN 3.

ALL-TIME AT THE MAC TOURNAMENT: EMU will be making its 15th appearance in the MAC Tournament, and its first back-to-back appearances since making seven straight from 2006-12. The Eagles hold a 33-21 all-time record in the playoff, and also own the second-most titles with four, most recently in 2008. EMU also will have its highest seed at No. 3 since coming into the tournament as the No. 2 seed back in 2008.

ALL-TIME VS THE BRONCOS: The Eagles and Broncos have met 171 times in their respective histories, marking the second-most common opponent for EMU all-time. The series is in a virtual deadlock, with WMU holding the slight edge with an 86-85 all-time tally. When the two squads met earlier this season in Kalamazoo, WMU won the final two games to take the series, 2-1. Versus WMU in postseason play, EMU is a perfect 3-0, with the last meeting coming in the first round of the 2008 tournament.

BUCKING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan, the defending MAC Tournament champions, finished the regular season with a 12-12 conference record, and a 23-27 overall tally. In six previous neutral site games, WMU is 4-2 .
   The offense is the straw that stirs the drink for the Broncos, ranking tops in the MAC and 18th in the country with a team batting average of .310. They out-hit their opponents, 562-517, yet are still being out-scored, 321-302. Out of its nine regular starters, the lowest batting average is .269, while seven hit above .300.
   The defense, on the other hand, is eighth in the MAC with a staff ERA of 5.59. They allow opponents to hit at a .297 clip, but show good command, striking out 328 to 232 walks. Wednesday's projected starter, Kyle Mallwitz, has a 3.80 ERA in 87.2 innings, including nine starts.

RECAPPING THE MAC SEASON: EMU finished the regular season with a 14-10 record, good for a second place finish in the MAC West and a third-place finish overall. The 14 wins in conference play were the most for the Eagles since winning 14 back in 2012. Out of the eight MAC weekend series, EMU won five of them, taking two of three over Bowling Green, Miami, and Toledo, and sweeping Ohio and Northern Illinois.

LAST SEASON AT THE MAC TOURNAMENT: At the 2016 MAC Tournament, the Eagles owned the No. 8 seed, yet were still able to make a nice run. After a first round loss to top seeded Kent State, EMU went on a tear, defeating No. 5 Northern Illinois and No. 4 Toledo to rematch with Kent State in the semifinals. EMU got the job done, defeating KSU 10-5 to force a decisive second semifinal later that night. Despite a valiant effort, Kent came away victorious in the nightcap, 4-2, to eliminate EMU.

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 (21st, 192), RBIs (17th, 110), doubles (17th, 36), and home runs (t-23rd, 18). He has done this in the sixth-most at bats in EMU history with 732.

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 2.83 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 18 appearances (10 starts) and 76.1 innings. His ERA ranks third in the conference, while his strikeout total is second in the MAC. His 200 career strikeouts rank 11th in Eastern Michigan laurels, while his 82 this season are the 10th-most in a single EMU season. Delaplane is also ranked tied for fourth in all-time saves with 10.

MASHING MONTGOMERY: Senior John Montgomery has been the spark plug in the EMU offense in his final season, leading EMU in five offensive categories. He is also the team leader with 14 multi-RBI games, as well as six three-hit contests. Additionally, Montgomery is second in the MAC with 12 home runs. His 20 career homers ranks t-19th all-time at EMU, while he is also just the 26th player to reach the 100-RBI plateau.

SURE HANDED FIELDERS: At the end of the regular season, the EMU defense ranked second in the conference and 81st in the country with a .973 fielding percentage. In addition, in the modern statistical era (since 1999), that is the highest team fielding percentage for an EMU team.

OESTRIKE MAGIC: In the 4-3 series clinching win over Toledo, May 19, the Eagles had their third walk-off win of the season, as Jordan Peterson smacked a game-winning single up the middle. The victory was EMU's eighth home win of the 2017 season, and clinched Eastern's 34th winning record at Oestrike Stadium in the last 47 seasons, finishing the season at 8-6.

TAKE YOUR BASE: EMU has taken what the opposing pitching staffs have offered this season, drawing 230 walks as a team, which ranks fourth in the MAC and 76th 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 53 games, freshmen have combined to make 152 starts in the infield, led by Nick Jones, who has 44 starts at third base and catcher.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Delaplane

Nick Jones

Mike Mioduszewski

John Montgomery

Jordan Peterson

Eastern Michigan Athletics