Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Akron
Baseball Sweeps Akron With 7-3 Victory
4/18/2010 3:35:52 PM | Baseball
Eagles take all three games in Akron versus the Zips
Box score
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team completed a three-game sweep of the University of Akron Sunday afternoon, April 18, at Lee Jackson Field, as the Eagles claimed a 7-3 victory over the Zips.
The victory improves EMU to 18-18 on the year and 8-4 in the Mid-American Conference. It marks the first time the Eagles have had a .500 record since the second game of the season. The loss drops Akron to 15-19 overall and 2-10 in MAC play.
The win marks the first time since the 2008 season that EMU has swept all three games of a MAC series. The last time they did was versus Western Michigan University, April 18-20, 2008, at Oestrike Stadium. The last time the Eagles swept a MAC opponent on the road was at Western Michigan, May 17-19, 2007, in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Junior right fielder Bo Kinder (Wapella, Ill.-Clinton Community-Kaskaskia C.C.) had another solid day at the plate, as he finished 3-for-5 with one RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Over the last four games, Kinder is batting .500 (10-for-20) at the plate with two doubles, one homer, six runs scored, and four RBI.
Junior outfielder Ken Battiston (West Milton, Ohio-Milton Union) had a stellar day at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run and a double to go along with two runs scored and three RBI.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Kendall Lewis (Huntsville, Ohio-Indian Lake) went six and two-thirds innings in the game, giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits, while striking out three batters and improving his record to 4-2 this season.
A day after a 12-run performance versus the Zips, the Eagles got on the scoreboard early, as RBI singles by Kinder and senior Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) and an RBI double by Battiston led to three runs and a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. EMU tacked on two more in the third to go ahead, 5-0.
Akron made it a four-run game in the bottom of the fourth, as a solo home run to right field by Jake Plata limited Eastern Michigan to a 5-1 lead. The Zips tallied two more in the bottom of the seventh to make it a two-run game, 5-3, and force Lewis out of the game.
But the Eagles extended the lead in the top of the eighth, as a two-run home run to left center by Battiston plated sophomore Brent Ohrman (Adrian, Mich.-Adrian) to make it a 7-3 game, forcing Akron starting pitcher Benjamin Danzinger out of the game. Ohrman finished the contest 1-for-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to seven games.
The Eagles managed to keep the Zips at arm's length for the remainder of the game, as junior right hander Tim Combs (Dayton, Ohio-Wayne) went the final two and one-thirds of the game, giving up just one hit, to earn the save and secure the victory and the sweep.
The Eagles ride their four-game winning streak into the friendly confines of Oestrike Stadium Tuesday, April 20, when they host the Cleveland State University Vikings at 5 p.m. An audio-only broadcast of the game will be available on Eagle All-Access via EMUEagles.com. Click here to register.
