Baseball Under The Lights At Wright State Tuesday
4/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Kent State University baseball team (17-19, 6-6 MAC East) will travel to Dayton, Ohio Tuesday, April 20 to take on the Wright State Raiders at 6:30 p.m. at Nischwitz Stadium. The Flashes won the earlier meeting with the Raiders, 12-1, back on April 6 at Gene Michael Field and own a 19-9 record in the all-time series.
Flashes Avoid Series Sweep
Kent State lost the first two games of a weekend series with the Akron Zips, but salvaged the win on Sunday to avoid its first MAC series sweep in over three years.
Despite another strong outing by KSU starter Andy Sonnanstine in game one, three costly errors in the sixth and missed scoring opportunities ultimately did the Flashes in. Kent State had its scoring chances throughout the game, but stranded 11 runners on base. After Akron took the Saturday game 4-3, Kent State rebounded for a 4-3 win in the rubber game on Sunday. Matt Segas single through the left side scored Chad Kinyon from third for the game-winning run in the eighth. Akron would not go quietly, however, as they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth. But KSU reliever Evan Smith got Brady Steineck to line into a game-ending double play to secure the win for the Flashes.
Bullpen Seals The Deal For Kent State
Kent State relievers Shane Curry, Ryan Davis and Evan Smith combined to pitch the final 3.1 innings of Kent States 4-3 win over the Zips Sunday. Clinging to a one-run lead, the three combined to allow one run on four hits to close out the game and help Kent State avoid its first MAC series sweep since the 2001 season.
Smith has been a pleasant surprise for Kent State out of the bullpen. He leads all KSU relievers in innings pitched (28.0) and has 23 strikeouts against 11 walks in 10 appearances.
Scouting Wright State
The Raiders are 13-23 on the season and 5-7 in the Horizon League. Wright State has one hitter batting over the .300 plateau. Bryan Vickers (.308) leads the team in homers (9), RBI (24), triples (2) and slugging percentage (.633). The Raiders have four other hitters flirting with .300 with Ross Vagedes (.299), Chris Jergens (.298), Brian Shoup (.294) and Ross Oeder (.290) all batting above .290.
On the hill, the Raiders are led by Chris Coleman who is 5-4 in 10 starts with a 5.57 ERA. He leads the team in Ks (36) and innings pitched (64.2).
The Raiders are coached by Ron Nischwitz who is in his 30th year at Wright State.
A Glance at the Flashes
As of April 19, senior Chad Kinyon is leading the Golden Flashes in almost every offensive category. He leads the team in batting average (.338), hits (47), home runs (8), RBI (38) and slugging percentage (.576) among others. His eight homers are good for fifth-best in the MAC and his 38 RBIs are good for seventh. Kinyon is also one of two Golden Flashes to start all 36 games this season - senior Matt Sega being the other. Sega is second on the team with seven homers and 30 RBI to go with his .316 average. Sega connected on his third-career grand slam against Wright State April 6. Red-shirt freshman Andrew Davis also has come on of late, increasing his batting average to .315. Davis went 4-for-6 with five RBI and two scores against Duquesne April 7 and had the game-winning two-RBI base hit to best Marshall in the bottom of the 12th Easter Sunday. Chuck Moore is hitting .281 with two homers, 10 doubles and 12 RBI.
Sophomore right-hander Andy Sonnanstine is leading the KSU pitching staff with a 5-4 record. He has made 10 starts and has recorded a team-leading 61 Ks to compliment a 2.95 ERA in 64.0 innings of work. He recently struck out a career-high 13 batters in an 11-1 win over Marshall April 9, earning him MAC East Pitcher of the Week honors. Junior right-hander Jason Brunke is 3-4 with a 5.55 ERA while Justin Laraway has a 2-3 record and a 3.83 ERA. Brunke recorded a season-best 10 Ks against Richmond Feb. 29. In the loss to Toledo March 28, Laraway pitched the first 7.0 innings, striking out 10 batters and giving up just three hits in the no decision. He then pitched a five-hit game in 6.0 innings of work at Ohio April 4 for his second win of the season.
Nail Biters
Kent State has had several games go down to the wire this season as 20 games have been decided by three runs or less, 10 of which have been one-run games.
Look Out!
Sophomore Joe Tucker has already been hit by 14 pitches in the 2004 season, a new Kent State single-season record, breaking the old mark set last season by Tucker and Kurt Eichorn who had 13 each. The centerfielder/second baseman is on pace for 22 plunkings by seasons end.
On Deck
Kent State will take on the College of Wooster at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 22 at Gene Michael Field.
