2008 Woodie Awards
Weekend leaves Western wounded and winless
Jon Oakley
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
TULSA, Okla. - Beyond the loss of four conference games, the Leathernecks lost two of their most important players to injuries.
Juniors Eric Eden and Lorenzo Gallaga left Saturday's contests unexpectedly.
Eden, the team leader with four wins, 31 strikeouts and a 3.28 earned run average, missed his scheduled start in the series opener due to arm soreness and was given an extra day of rest. In his appearance in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, he struggled through his two innings of work, giving up seven hits that resulted in four earned runs.
"They have got a good hitting team," Eden said. "You make a mistake, they are going to make you pay for it. Last week, I had a little more rest between my starts. I didn't feel real good coming in today. I tried to do what I could and help my team, but it didn't work out that well."
Eden was pulled without an injury report being made, but sources close to the team said the staff ace will be undergoing an MRI when the team returns to Macomb.
Gallaga was replaced by senior Kyle Surprenant in the third inning of Game 3 and was later taken to a local hospital with what appeared to be heat exhaustion.
The junior earned the starting shortstop job last weekend and started the first three games of the Oral Roberts series. Gallaga committed an error in each of his three starts, and in Game 3 a play was stopped so a cup of water could be brought to him.
"It was the feeling that I wanted to play, but at the same time, I was getting concerned for my health," Gallaga said. "I was getting twitches in my eyes - my eyes would close from time to time. I did have to throw up at one point, and I had a very bad headache. I think the heat was really getting to me."
Gallaga is hitting .364 with six RBIs and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. Surprenant started in his place in the final game of the series and went 0-for-2 before being pinch hit for by senior Jerry Prina, who also went 0-for-2.
The effect of Eden's injury will be clearer after the team returns to Macomb, but Gallaga will take things slowly and attempt to start in Tuesday's contest against Bradley.
Juniors Eric Eden and Lorenzo Gallaga left Saturday's contests unexpectedly.
Eden, the team leader with four wins, 31 strikeouts and a 3.28 earned run average, missed his scheduled start in the series opener due to arm soreness and was given an extra day of rest. In his appearance in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, he struggled through his two innings of work, giving up seven hits that resulted in four earned runs.
"They have got a good hitting team," Eden said. "You make a mistake, they are going to make you pay for it. Last week, I had a little more rest between my starts. I didn't feel real good coming in today. I tried to do what I could and help my team, but it didn't work out that well."
Eden was pulled without an injury report being made, but sources close to the team said the staff ace will be undergoing an MRI when the team returns to Macomb.
Gallaga was replaced by senior Kyle Surprenant in the third inning of Game 3 and was later taken to a local hospital with what appeared to be heat exhaustion.
The junior earned the starting shortstop job last weekend and started the first three games of the Oral Roberts series. Gallaga committed an error in each of his three starts, and in Game 3 a play was stopped so a cup of water could be brought to him.
"It was the feeling that I wanted to play, but at the same time, I was getting concerned for my health," Gallaga said. "I was getting twitches in my eyes - my eyes would close from time to time. I did have to throw up at one point, and I had a very bad headache. I think the heat was really getting to me."
Gallaga is hitting .364 with six RBIs and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. Surprenant started in his place in the final game of the series and went 0-for-2 before being pinch hit for by senior Jerry Prina, who also went 0-for-2.
The effect of Eden's injury will be clearer after the team returns to Macomb, but Gallaga will take things slowly and attempt to start in Tuesday's contest against Bradley.
Be the first to comment on this story