Kent State University
11-8, 0
Ball State
12-11, 0
KSU Stumbles in Rubber Match
3/25/2018 4:10:00 PM | Baseball
Redbirds take series with seven unanswered runs
KENT, Ohio – Visiting Ball State scored seven unanswered runs from the fifth inning on and rolled to a series-clinching win over Kent State on Sunday afternoon at Schoonover Stadium.
KSU took leads of 1-0 and 2-0 on Brad Hamilton RBI singles in the first and third. The senior had three of Kent State's five hits. The Golden Flashes could not muster any kind of offense against Ball State reliever Nick Floyd.
Kent State's 2-0 lead disappeared on John Ricotta's fifth inning homer. It was BSU's third homer of the weekend. The Cardinals broke things open in the eighth when Justin Kirkpatrick drilled a bases-clearing triple to left.
Eli Kraus pitched well for the Golden Flashes in his first start in a couple of weeks. He left in the sixth after striking out five and walking two.
The Flashes now hit the road for a five-game trip. They'll play two in South Bend against Notre Dame on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Kalamazoo for the weekend.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: FLOYD, Nick (2-0)
L: Matthews, John (0-1)
Batting:
3B: KIRKPATRICK, Justin 1
HR: RICOTTA, John 1
RBI: FREED, Seth 2 ; RICOTTA, John 2 ; KIRKPATRICK, Justin 3
Base Running:
RUNS: RIEDEL, Jeff 1 ; POWELL, Noah 1 ; SEBBY, Chase 2 ; RICOTTA, John 1 ; BAKER, William 1 ; KIRKPATRICK, Justin 1
SB: RIEDEL, Jeff 1 ; FREED, Seth 1 ; SEBBY, Chase 1
CS: RIEDEL, Jeff 1
HBP: RIEDEL, Jeff 2
Batting:
RBI: Hamilton, Brad 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Mamarella, Mason 1 ; Kanavas, Nick 1
SB: Kanavas, Nick 1
CS: Hamilton, Brad 1
