East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University baseball team achieved a significant victory against the University of Michigan, winning 9-8 at Ray Fisher Stadium. This marks their first road win against a "Power Four" team since 2018.

Giano Zuccaro played a crucial role in the ninth inning by hitting a double that allowed Devan Zirwas to score and tie the game. Zuccaro later scored the decisive run on a passed ball. Ethan Davis secured the win for Eastern Michigan by pitching 1.3 innings without allowing any runs.

Eastern Michigan had nine hits during the game, with four being extra-base hits, and they drew nine walks. Devan Zirwas and Kevin Krill each had multiple hits, contributing significantly to the team's offense.

In the game's opening inning, Eastern Michigan took an early lead with Zirwas's triple and Bruce Jellison's sacrifice hit. The Wolverines quickly responded with three runs of their own in the first inning. Harrison Travis added to Eastern's lead with a solo home run in the second inning.

Michigan gained momentum in the sixth inning by scoring four runs, taking a 7-6 lead. Brendan Kleiman tied it again for Eastern Michigan in the seventh with an RBI single. In the ninth inning, Zuccaro's efforts helped secure the final lead for Eastern Michigan.

The victory improved Eastern's record to 11-10 (6-3 MAC), while Michigan fell to 12-12 (7-3 Big Ten). Travis hit his fifth home run of the season, tying him for second place on his team in this category.

Ethan Davis expressed his satisfaction after securing the win: "It was amazing, you know, just play to contact, trust the defense." Giano Zuccaro commented on his performance: "We work on dirt ball reads every week in practice."

Head Coach Robbie Britt emphasized teamwork: "Today's a good example of when you're process-oriented, results follow."

This victory ended an eight-game losing streak for Eastern Michigan in Ann Arbor and marked their first road win over a Big Ten Conference team since April 2017.

Eastern will continue its series of away games against Ohio Bobcats starting March 28.