East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University (EMU) baseball team concluded its season with a loss in the second round of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Baseball Championships. The sixth-seeded Eagles were defeated by the fifth-seeded University of Toledo Rockets, 6-2, at Crushers Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

This season marked significant progress for EMU as they qualified for postseason play for the first time since 2018. The team improved their win total from last year by seven games overall and three games in conference play.

Cooper Vance stood out during the game with three hits, including his career-best 14th double of the season. Senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Kapa started on the mound for EMU but was relieved after one inning by junior Michael Pfeiffer, who delivered a solid four-inning performance.

Toledo's Brady Sasse secured the win while Kapa was tagged with the loss. The Rockets took an early lead with a two-run home run and maintained control throughout most of the game.

Eastern Michigan managed to score their first run in the fourth inning when Bruce Jellison hit an RBI single. Despite several opportunities to close the gap, including having bases loaded in one inning, EMU struggled to capitalize against Toledo's defense.

The Eagles added another run in the ninth inning with Giano Zuccaro's sacrifice fly but ultimately fell short as Toledo secured a 6-2 victory.

In terms of individual performances, Vance went 3-for-4 at bat and recorded his sixth game this season with at least three hits. Jellison achieved his 29th RBI of the season during this tournament. Pfeiffer pitched four innings allowing just three hits and recording three strikeouts.

Historically, Eastern Michigan now holds a record of 38-27 in MAC Tournament games and has faced Toledo eight times within this context, holding an even record of 4-4 against them.

Head Coach Robbie Britt now has a conference tournament coaching record of 10-6 over his six-year career. After this match-up against Toledo, EMU’s all-time record against them stands at 102-78.

For more updates on EMU Baseball, fans can follow their social media accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram under @EMU_Baseball or emu_baseball respectively.