East Michigan News

Eastern Michigan University's baseball team faced a narrow defeat against Central Michigan University in their series finale on May 11, at Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium. The game concluded with a score of 7-6, marking a crucial Mid-American Conference (MAC) loss for Eastern Michigan.

The Eagles led the game 6-4 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. However, Central Michigan capitalized on a bases-loaded situation with no outs, scoring three runs to clinch the series victory. This outcome sets up an important MAC series for Eastern Michigan as they prepare to face Kent State University from May 15-17, which will significantly impact their chances of qualifying for the conference tournament.

Bruce Jellison was instrumental in Eastern's offensive efforts, achieving an NCAA career-high with four RBIs and securing three hits out of five attempts. Michael Pfeiffer made notable contributions from the bullpen by striking out six batters—a personal best—while allowing two runs off two hits over three innings.

Emmett Gillies started on the mound for Eastern and pitched two innings, allowing three runs off three hits while striking out and walking two. Central Michigan's Cayden Smith earned the win, whereas Ethan Davis took the loss for Eastern.

Following this result, Eastern holds a record of 19-26 overall and 11-16 in MAC play. Central Michigan also stands at 19-32 overall with an identical conference record. Currently, Eastern maintains the sixth and final playoff spot in the MAC Tournament scheduled from May 21-25.

The game began with Jellison's RBI-single giving Eastern an early lead. Central responded in the second inning by scoring three runs to take control. Drew Norris relieved Gillies in the third inning and pitched two scoreless innings before Pfeiffer took over in the fifth.

Eastern regained momentum in the sixth inning when Connor Walsh's two-RBI double put them ahead again. Despite this effort, CMU leveled up once more before ultimately taking advantage of wild pitches and sacrifice flies to secure their win.

In terms of statistics, Eastern reached ten hits for the 25th time this season but could not convert this into a victory despite leading through much of the game. Notable performances included Jellison's multi-hit game and Logan Hugo reaching his career-best hit total for a season.

Looking ahead, Eastern will travel to South Bend for their final regular-season non-conference match against Notre Dame on May 13 at 4:30 p.m., before facing Kent State University later that week.