Jeff Czachowski Senior Director, Sales, Service, & Operations | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
Jeff Czachowski Senior Director, Sales, Service, & Operations | Eastern Michigan Athletics Website
Bobby Jones delivered a complete game performance for Eastern Michigan University, marking his first of the season and third overall for the Eagles in 2024. Despite his efforts, the team narrowly lost to Northern Illinois University with a score of 5-4 on Thursday at Ralph McKinzie Field.
The Eagles found themselves trailing 4-0 but managed to put their first run on the board in the fifth inning when Logan Hugo scored through Blake McRae's fielder's choice. The Huskies extended their lead to 5-1 before Eastern Michigan responded in the seventh inning with Cooper Vance scoring off another RBI from McRae.
Eastern Michigan continued to close the gap in the eighth inning with Brendan Kleiman hitting a solo home run, bringing the score to 5-3. Jones maintained control on the mound, retiring NIU batters consecutively in both the seventh and eighth innings.
In a final push during the ninth inning, Hugo was driven in by Lucas Johnson, narrowing NIU's lead to just one run. However, EMU's rally ended there as they could not overcome NIU’s advantage.
Jones' performance included allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out four over eight innings. This matched his career-high innings pitched previously set against Western Michigan University earlier this season. Notably, Nick Chittum is another EMU pitcher who has achieved complete games this year.
McRae contributed significantly with two RBIs and drew his 29th walk of the season. Glenn Miller advanced runners with his tenth sacrifice bunt of the year, ranking him second in such plays within MAC and seventeenth nationally.
Hugo recorded two hits for his thirteenth multi-hit game this season while Vance tied a team-high by drawing three walks and stealing two bases. The Eagles managed seven hits compared to NIU’s five but ultimately fell short.
This game marked their 138th encounter against NIU, maintaining an all-time series lead despite this loss. The teams are set to meet again for their second game of a three-game series tomorrow.
For more updates on EMU Baseball, fans can follow their social media channels across various platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok.
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