Errors Harm Flashes in Season Opening Loss

Friday, February 13

Rock Hill, SC

4:00 PM

Kent State University

0-1

Winthrop University

1-0

Kent State

Winthrop

Photo by: David Dermer

Errors Harm Flashes in Season Opening Loss

2/13/2015 7:21:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Five Kent State errors resulted in the Golden Flashes dropping the first game of the 2015 season as host Winthrop scored six unearned runs in the 9-1 win.

"We didnt play fundamentally sound on either side of the baseball today," said Head Coach Jeff Duncan. "Nick Jensen-Clagg pitched well despite the lack of support defensively and offensively."

The Eagles were able to grab an early lead on a leadoff triple and sacrifice fly to plate a run in the first en route to the victory.

Starter Jensen Clagg then dug in to allow just one more hit through his five innings of work, striking out seven along the way while walking six.

However, six unearned runs were able to come across for Winthrop as they scored again in the 5^th, then posted a two-run 6^th, four-run 7^th and tallied their final run in the 8^th.

Kent State's sole run came in the 9^th on two outs. Dylan Rosa and Conner Simonetti were both walked before Luke Burch was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Another walk, this time to Zach Beckner, forced the run in.

Dan Kopcak followed Jensen-Clagg in relief with 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run and striking out two. Aaron Tadian finished the game on the mound for the Flashes with two hits, one earned run, one walk and one strikeout in 1.1 innings.

Zarley Zalewski had two of Kent State's five hits while Alex Miklos, Luca Fuscardo and Rosa all had one each. Burch had the team's first stolen base of the season.

The two teams square off again in a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch of game one scheduled for 1 p.m.

"We are much more capable than what we showed tonight," Duncan added. "We need to learn from this and have much more grit and enthusiasm for the game tomorrow. We will get better as long as we learn from the mistakes tonight."