East Michigan News

Eastern Michigan University's baseball team opened their season with a high-scoring game against the University of Pittsburgh, ultimately falling 9-8 in extra innings at Centennial Park on February 14. This marked the most runs EMU has scored in a season opener since 2020 and the most hits against a "Power Four" opponent since 2018.

Bruce Jellison, Cooper Vance, and John Hale led Eastern's offense, each securing at least three hits and one RBI. Drew Beckner started as pitcher for EMU, allowing just one earned run off two hits over five innings. Nick Keane also performed well in his Division I debut, striking out six batters over three scoreless innings.

The scoring began in the third inning when Vance hit a home run to give Eastern a 1-0 lead. The Eagles extended their lead to 5-1 by the fifth inning with contributions from Giano Zuccaro and Kevin Krill. However, Pitt responded with six runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at eight apiece.

Despite threatening with a runner on second base in the 11th inning, Eastern fell short when Pitt hit a home run in the bottom of the 12th to win the game.

Several players had notable performances: Vance recorded his first collegiate game with three extra-base hits; Krill achieved his first RBI for EMU; Hale finished with three hits including his first homer as an Eagle; Zirwas contributed two RBIs with a double.

This match was significant historically for several reasons: it was EMU's first extra-inning season opener since defeating Clemson in 2014; it marked their highest number of hits against a Power Four opponent since playing Oklahoma State in 2018; and it was their longest game since facing Central Michigan in 2018.

EMU will face Pittsburgh again on February 15 for their next matchup. Fans can follow along via Eagle All-Access or social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram under emu_baseball.