Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, April 6
Varsity Field
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
5-26, 0
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4
Miami
13-15, 0
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Miami
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Eastern Michigan
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6
9
2
Photo by: Steven King/Steve King Studios
Amanda Akles' Walk-Off Home Run Pushes EMU Past Miami, 6-4
4/6/2018 4:11:00 PM | Softball
The junior became the first Eagle since 2013 to hit a walk off dinger
Photo Gallery.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Junior Amanda Akles' (La Habra, Calif-La Habra) two-run walk-off home run pushed the Eastern Michigan University softball team past Miami University, 6-4, Friday afternoon, April 6, at Varsity Field. Eastern Michigan (5-26, 1-7 MAC) overcame an early deficit behind a pair of homers off the bat of Akles to knock off Miami (13-15, 2-5 MAC) in the first game of the weekend series.
Akles' late game heroics marked the first time since 2015 that an Eagle blasted a walk-off home run, while she is the first Eagle to hit two dingers in a game since Michelle Kriegshauser did so last year against Savannah State, March 19, 2017. The win snapped EMU's 18-game losing skid and also marked the first home victory for the Green and White since defeating the University of Akron, 3-0, April 1, 2017.
As a team, the Green and White out-hit the RedHawks, 9-8, including four extra bases knocks. Akles had an outstanding day at the dish, going a perfect 3-for-3, including a pair of two-run round-trippers, tying her career-high for homers in a single game. The La Habra, Calif. native moved up in the record book as she is now eighth in program history with 18 career home runs. In addition to Akles, five other Eagles produced a hit, with junior Olivia Logan (Riverview, Mich.-Riverview) having her sixth multi-hit game of the year. Logan went 2-for-4 at the dish, while adding a pair of RBIs and a run to her stat line.
In the circle, junior Nicolle Miranda (Wilmington, Calif.-Port of Los Angeles) and senior Trisha Trujillo (Whittier, Calif.-California) shouldered the work. Coming into the game in the third inning, Trujillo (3-8) fanned a career-high 10 batters through 4.2 innings of three-hit ball en route to her third win of the season. The Whittier, Calif. product's 10 strikeouts serve as a season-high for the pitching staff, as well as the most since Nicolle Miranda recorded 12 strikeouts versus UMass-Lowell, Feb. 19, 2016. Menawhile, Miranda became just the 10th Eagle in program history to surpass 400 career-innings pitched, tossing 2.1 frames and striking out three.
Miami started the home run frenzy in the second inning to jump to an early 3-0 lead over the Green and White. The RedHawks extended their lead to four in the third frame with a solo home run. However, that would be the last time MU would score, as Eastern's defense was locked tight for the remainder of the day.
The Eagles began to erase the four-run deficit in the bottom of the fourth. After Logan reached first on an error, Akles stepped into the batter's box and pounded out her first homer of the day to get Eastern within two.
Eastern was relentless in the fifth as Logan used a two-RBI single to center to score freshman Casey Skeens (Poca W. Va-Poca) and senior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan), knotting the score at four.
After holding off the RedHawks to start the seventh, Logan started things off with a single to short, before being plated with Akles' walk-off homer.
EMU closes out the series against Miami, Saturday, April 7, with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Varsity Field.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Junior Amanda Akles' (La Habra, Calif-La Habra) two-run walk-off home run pushed the Eastern Michigan University softball team past Miami University, 6-4, Friday afternoon, April 6, at Varsity Field. Eastern Michigan (5-26, 1-7 MAC) overcame an early deficit behind a pair of homers off the bat of Akles to knock off Miami (13-15, 2-5 MAC) in the first game of the weekend series.
?? | @amanda_akles goes oppo for her second dinger of the game to give EMU a walk-off win! #EMUEagles #FridayFeeling @NCAAsoftball @NFCAorg pic.twitter.com/XNa7fShjPp
— EMUSoftball (@EMUSoftball) April 6, 2018
Akles' late game heroics marked the first time since 2015 that an Eagle blasted a walk-off home run, while she is the first Eagle to hit two dingers in a game since Michelle Kriegshauser did so last year against Savannah State, March 19, 2017. The win snapped EMU's 18-game losing skid and also marked the first home victory for the Green and White since defeating the University of Akron, 3-0, April 1, 2017.
As a team, the Green and White out-hit the RedHawks, 9-8, including four extra bases knocks. Akles had an outstanding day at the dish, going a perfect 3-for-3, including a pair of two-run round-trippers, tying her career-high for homers in a single game. The La Habra, Calif. native moved up in the record book as she is now eighth in program history with 18 career home runs. In addition to Akles, five other Eagles produced a hit, with junior Olivia Logan (Riverview, Mich.-Riverview) having her sixth multi-hit game of the year. Logan went 2-for-4 at the dish, while adding a pair of RBIs and a run to her stat line.
In the circle, junior Nicolle Miranda (Wilmington, Calif.-Port of Los Angeles) and senior Trisha Trujillo (Whittier, Calif.-California) shouldered the work. Coming into the game in the third inning, Trujillo (3-8) fanned a career-high 10 batters through 4.2 innings of three-hit ball en route to her third win of the season. The Whittier, Calif. product's 10 strikeouts serve as a season-high for the pitching staff, as well as the most since Nicolle Miranda recorded 12 strikeouts versus UMass-Lowell, Feb. 19, 2016. Menawhile, Miranda became just the 10th Eagle in program history to surpass 400 career-innings pitched, tossing 2.1 frames and striking out three.
Miami started the home run frenzy in the second inning to jump to an early 3-0 lead over the Green and White. The RedHawks extended their lead to four in the third frame with a solo home run. However, that would be the last time MU would score, as Eastern's defense was locked tight for the remainder of the day.
The Eagles began to erase the four-run deficit in the bottom of the fourth. After Logan reached first on an error, Akles stepped into the batter's box and pounded out her first homer of the day to get Eastern within two.
Eastern was relentless in the fifth as Logan used a two-RBI single to center to score freshman Casey Skeens (Poca W. Va-Poca) and senior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan), knotting the score at four.
After holding off the RedHawks to start the seventh, Logan started things off with a single to short, before being plated with Akles' walk-off homer.
EMU closes out the series against Miami, Saturday, April 7, with a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Varsity Field.
#RapidReaction | Hear from @amanda_akles & @teeersh_ after EMU tips Miami 6-4! #EMUEagles pic.twitter.com/zSuUuJ2RlV
— EMUSoftball (@EMUSoftball) April 6, 2018
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Trujillo, Trisha (3-8)
L: VIERSTRA, Courtney (9-9)
Batting:
HR: WURTS, Megan 1 ; GLIHA, Kaitlyn 1
RBI: WURTS, Megan 3 ; GLIHA, Kaitlyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WURTS, Megan 1 ; GLIHA, Kaitlyn 1 ; WILMOT, Lily 1 ; LOTT, Morgan 1
SB: MOORE, Mackenzie 1
HBP: TRAN, Haeley 1
Batting:
2B: Hostetler, Haley 1 ; Holdsworth, Lauren 1
HR: Akles, Amanda 2
RBI: Logan, Olivia 2 ; Akles, Amanda 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Skeens, Casey 1 ; Hostetler, Haley 1 ; Logan, Olivia 1 ; Anderson, Arielle 1 ; Akles, Amanda 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
3B
/ SoftballOF/SS
/ Softball1B
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballThank You, Team 38
Monday, May 07
Overcoming Adversity: A Lauren Holdsworth Feature
Saturday, February 24
Closing Out a Legacy: Michelle Kriegshauser
Thursday, May 18
EMU Softball Signs Alyssa Feiler
Saturday, March 25