Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, April 6
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
13-15, 0
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Ball State
23-10, 0
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Photo by: Steven King/Steve King Studios
Baseball Suffers Series-Finale Setback Against Ball State
4/6/2025 6:12:00 PM | Baseball
The Eagles took a two-run lead into the ninth inning before the Cardinals scored six in the frame to win, 9-5
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell in the series finale against the Ball State University Cardinals, 9-5, in Mid-American Conference (MAC) action at Oestrike Stadium Sunday, April 6.
The Eagles took a two-run lead (5-3) into the ninth inning before the Cardinals rallied to plate six in the frame to win. Ball State's Garret Harker (3-1) was credited with the win, while Eastern's Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
Junior utility man Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./ Norwin/ Mount St. Mary's) paced the EMU offense as he went 2-for-3 from the plate with two hits, two RBI, one home run, and one walk. Senior right-hander Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) got the start on the mound for the Eagles and pitched 5.1 innings into the game, allowing three runs (all earned), while striking out six and walking five.
How it Happened
After the first inning was scoreless, Eastern Michigan got on the board with a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior infielder Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) to give the Eagles the early 1-0 advantage in the second. A two-run home run by Stecko increased the EMU lead to 3-0 after two innings, as the homer marked his seventh of the year.
After leading 3-0 heading into the fifth inning, Eastern Michigan surrendered three runs off one sacrifice fly, one single, and one triple. However, the Eagles took the lead back in the sixth thanks to another RBI from Jellison, as he shot one through the right side of the infield to score senior catcher Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./ Sherwood/ Frederick C.C.) from second base to make it 4-3.
Eastern furthered its lead in the seventh as junior infielder Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./ West Allegheny/ VCU) lined a double into left-center, scoring senior outfielder Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber), and extending the lead to 5-3 in the seventh.
With a two-run lead heading into the ninth, the Cardinals got the first two batters on and then hit a three-run homer to get a 6-5 lead. BSU would push across three more runs in the frame en route to the victory.
Game Notes
» Ball State's record improved to 23-10 (10-2 MAC) on the season while Eastern's shifted to 13-15 (8-7 MAC).
» Stecko's home run was his seventh of the season, he is now tied for the team lead and ranks inside the top 10 (seventh) in the MAC in the category in terms of value.
» Stecko finished the day going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one walk, and one run. He is now up to seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI outings this season.
» Kapa got the start for Eastern Michigan. Entering the game second on the team in strikeouts and ninth in the conference with 38, his six-strikeout performance marked the sixth time he finished with six or more strikeouts this season, and moved him up to fourth in the conference in terms of value with 44 strikeouts in 2025.
» Jellison's two RBI day marked his fifth multi-RBI game of the season. He is tied for the third-most multi-RBI games on the team.
» Kleiman had his ninth multi-hit day of the year with one single and one double. The double went down as his seventh of the season, surpassing the six he had in the 2024 campaign in his 25 games played in 2025.
» Niko Kreuzer (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis Desales) pitched in relief for Eastern Michigan, pitching one scoreless inning, his fourth scoreless outing of the season.
» Zirwas' double was his 10th of the year. He is tied for fourth in the conference in the category in terms of value. His RBI was the 33rd of the season as he slots eighth in the MAC in the stat.
» Eastern pitching combined for 11 strikeouts, marking the fifth time this season they have eclipsed the double-digit mark. Eastern is 2-3 when striking out 10 or more this season.
» Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) reached base for the 10th consecutive game, currently serving as the Eagles' longest streak of reaching base after Cooper Vance's (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) 22-game streak came to an end in the loss to BSU.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles and Cardinals played each other for the 175th time in the history of the series. Ball State leads these games, 89-85-1.
Up Next
Eastern remains at home for a three-game home series against the University of Toledo Friday-Saturday, April 11-13.
Follow Us
For all things EMU Baseball, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMU_Baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and emu_baseball on Instagram.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team fell in the series finale against the Ball State University Cardinals, 9-5, in Mid-American Conference (MAC) action at Oestrike Stadium Sunday, April 6.
The Eagles took a two-run lead (5-3) into the ninth inning before the Cardinals rallied to plate six in the frame to win. Ball State's Garret Harker (3-1) was credited with the win, while Eastern's Ethan Davis (Brownstown, Ind./Brownstown Central/Marian/Frontier C.C.) (2-1) was tagged with the loss.
Junior utility man Ty Stecko (North Huntingdon, Pa./ Norwin/ Mount St. Mary's) paced the EMU offense as he went 2-for-3 from the plate with two hits, two RBI, one home run, and one walk. Senior right-hander Tyler Kapa (Waterford, Mich./Kettering/Alma/Mott C.C./Davenport) got the start on the mound for the Eagles and pitched 5.1 innings into the game, allowing three runs (all earned), while striking out six and walking five.
How it Happened
After the first inning was scoreless, Eastern Michigan got on the board with a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior infielder Bruce Jellison (Hartland, Mich./Hartland/Wabash Valley) to give the Eagles the early 1-0 advantage in the second. A two-run home run by Stecko increased the EMU lead to 3-0 after two innings, as the homer marked his seventh of the year.
After leading 3-0 heading into the fifth inning, Eastern Michigan surrendered three runs off one sacrifice fly, one single, and one triple. However, the Eagles took the lead back in the sixth thanks to another RBI from Jellison, as he shot one through the right side of the infield to score senior catcher Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./ Sherwood/ Frederick C.C.) from second base to make it 4-3.
Eastern furthered its lead in the seventh as junior infielder Devan Zirwas (Imperial, Pa./ West Allegheny/ VCU) lined a double into left-center, scoring senior outfielder Logan Hugo (Essexville, Mich./Essexville Garber), and extending the lead to 5-3 in the seventh.
With a two-run lead heading into the ninth, the Cardinals got the first two batters on and then hit a three-run homer to get a 6-5 lead. BSU would push across three more runs in the frame en route to the victory.
Game Notes
» Ball State's record improved to 23-10 (10-2 MAC) on the season while Eastern's shifted to 13-15 (8-7 MAC).
» Stecko's home run was his seventh of the season, he is now tied for the team lead and ranks inside the top 10 (seventh) in the MAC in the category in terms of value.
» Stecko finished the day going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one walk, and one run. He is now up to seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI outings this season.
» Kapa got the start for Eastern Michigan. Entering the game second on the team in strikeouts and ninth in the conference with 38, his six-strikeout performance marked the sixth time he finished with six or more strikeouts this season, and moved him up to fourth in the conference in terms of value with 44 strikeouts in 2025.
» Jellison's two RBI day marked his fifth multi-RBI game of the season. He is tied for the third-most multi-RBI games on the team.
» Kleiman had his ninth multi-hit day of the year with one single and one double. The double went down as his seventh of the season, surpassing the six he had in the 2024 campaign in his 25 games played in 2025.
» Niko Kreuzer (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis Desales) pitched in relief for Eastern Michigan, pitching one scoreless inning, his fourth scoreless outing of the season.
» Zirwas' double was his 10th of the year. He is tied for fourth in the conference in the category in terms of value. His RBI was the 33rd of the season as he slots eighth in the MAC in the stat.
» Eastern pitching combined for 11 strikeouts, marking the fifth time this season they have eclipsed the double-digit mark. Eastern is 2-3 when striking out 10 or more this season.
» Harrison Travis (Soddy Daisy, Tenn./Soddy Daisy/Carson-Newman) reached base for the 10th consecutive game, currently serving as the Eagles' longest streak of reaching base after Cooper Vance's (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk) 22-game streak came to an end in the loss to BSU.
Historical Notes
» The Eagles and Cardinals played each other for the 175th time in the history of the series. Ball State leads these games, 89-85-1.
Up Next
Eastern remains at home for a three-game home series against the University of Toledo Friday-Saturday, April 11-13.
Follow Us
For all things EMU Baseball, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMU_Baseball on X (formerly Twitter) and emu_baseball on Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Garrett Harker (3-1)
L: Davis, Ethan (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Blake Bevis 2
3B: Nick Husovsky 1
HR: Alex Richter 1
RBI: Alex Richter 4 ; Dylan Grego 1 ; Nick Husovsky 1 ; Blake Bevis 2
SF: Alex Richter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gavin Balius 2 ; Alex Richter 1 ; Dylan Grego 1 ; DJ Scheumann 1 ; Garrett Arnold 1 ; Korbin Griffin 1 ; Clay Jacobs 1 ; Brett Griffiths 1
SB: Gavin Balius 1 ; Alex Richter 1 ; Dylan Grego 1
CS: Dylan Grego 1
Batting:
2B: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 1
HR: Stecko, Ty 1
RBI: Zirwas, Devan 1 ; Jellison, Bruce 2 ; Stecko, Ty 2
SF: Jellison, Bruce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hugo, Logan 1 ; Kleiman, Brendan 2 ; Travis, Harrison 1 ; Stecko, Ty 1
SB: Stecko, Ty 1
Game Leaders
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Players Mentioned
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