The Eastern Michigan baseball team beat Kent State for the first time in five tries this season, setting up another game with the Golden Flashes in the semifinals of the Mid-American Tournament.

Friday evening’s 4-2 win over the top-seeded Golden Flashes moved Eastern Michigan into the final day of the MAC Tournament for the third straight year.

Some clutch hitting led Eastern (37-21) to a come-from-behind 12-11 win over Northern Illinois earlier in the day. Clutch pitching by Steve Weber and Collin Taylor was the story in the win over Kent State (41-14).

Weber allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits through six innings and Taylor earned his first save of the season after allowing one hit over the final two innings.

Weber did walk six Kent State batters, meaning he and the Eagles’ defense had to work out of several jams. Kent State left 12 runners on base during the game.

“I walked a lot more guys than I wanted to, but I battled all game,” Weber told MAC-Sports.com. “It was a battle. It was a grind. But my defense picked me up countless times and I can’t thank them enough.”

Zack Leonard had an RBI single in Eastern’s two-run first inning and added a sacrifice fly in bottom of the fifth that gave the Eagles a 4-1 lead. Ken Battiston (1 run) and Ben Magsig (1 RBI) both went 2-for-4 for Eastern.

T.J. Sutton and Kent Koch each went 3-for-4 and scored a run for Kent State.

The teams will meet for the third time in the tournament Saturday morning with the winner advancing to the 1 p.m. championship game.

MEN’S TENNIS
NCAA Individual Championships: Michigan sophomore Evan King lost 6-3, 6-0 to Ohio State’s Blaz Rola in the Round of 16 in Palo Alto, Calif. King’s season ends with a 30-9 record, the best by a Michigan player in 13 years. (Details)

WOMEN'S TRACK
NCAA East Preliminary Round: Michigan junior Julian Pervis placed third in her heat in the 100-meter hurdles on Day Two of the NCAA East Preliminary Round on Friday. Pervis time of 13.54 seconds earned her a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Pervis was the only Michigan athlete to advance on Friday as five others were eliminated from competition. (Details)

MEN'S TRACK
NCAA East Preliminary Round: Michigan freshman Ali Arastu and junior Craig Forys qualified for the NCAA championships with top 12 finishes in their respective events. Arastu with a sixth place finish in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, and Forys with a tenth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Several other Wolverines competed, but none advanced. (Details)