Duquesne and Pittsburgh Next Up For Baseball Flashes
4/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Game Notes (PDF Format)
The Matchup
The Kent State University baseball team (20-21, 7-8 MAC East) will look to get back on track after a disappointing weekend when they travel to Duquesne at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 27 before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Panthers at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 28 at Gene Michael Field.
Last Time Out
The Bowling Green Falcons took 2-of-3 games from the Flashes last weekend. In game one Friday, sophomore Andy Sonnanstine showed once again why hes regarded as one of the top pitchers in the Mid-American Conference, going a career-high 8.1 innings while giving up just one earned run for his sixth win of the season. Sonnanstine (6-4) struck out seven and walked only two. Chad Kinyon was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored.
Game two saw the Flashes dig themselves in an early hole, never to recover as Bowling Green pounded out 16 hits and evened the three-game series at 1-1 with a 6-3 win. Bowling Green starter Keith Laughlin (2-1) picked up the win as he struck out 11 Golden Flashes and allowed five hits in 6.0 innings of work. Laughlin and the BGSU defense never allowed a Kent State base runner past first base until the sixth inning, picking off three runners in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
In game three, Kent State jumped out in front 5-2 but could not hold on for the win as Bowling Green won 7-6. The Falcons recorded 16 hits for the second straight day, seven of which were extra base hits, and touched up Kent State starter Marco DiMichele for five runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings. Emmannuel Burriss finished the day going 3-for-5 with a RBI.
Scouting Duquesne
Duquesne is 12-19 overall and 5-7 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Joe Berletic leads the team in hitting with .355 average. Andy Gallina (.267) and Mike Grecco (.250) are tied for the team lead in home runs with five while Steve Maiolo leads the Dukes in RBI with 24.
The Dukes are coached by Mike Wilson who is in his 11th season at Duquesne.
The Series With The Dukes
The Flashes own a 12-7 record all-time vs. the Dukes, including a 16-2 win earlier this season back on April 7 in Kent. Kent State took both games last year from Duquesne winning the first, 25-6, April 2 at Duquesne and then took the next meeting at home April 23, 12-9. Duquesne last defeated the Flashes back on April 2, 2002, a 7-5 win at Duquesne.
Scouting Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh enters Wednesdays game winners in nine of its last 11, owning a 26-10 overall record and currently sit in second place in the Big East with a 10-4 conference mark.
The Panthers offense spouts five hitters above the .300 plateau, with P.J. Hiser leading the way with a .377 average. Hiser also leads the team in home runs (13) and RBI (40) and has a .787 slugging percentage. Peter Parise and Jim Negrych are both hitting .358 while Tony Cashman is second on the team with six homers to go with a .307 overall average. Ben Copeland (.353) and Bryan Spamer (.309) round out the .300 hitters for Pittsburgh.
Pittsburghs ace on the mound is Nick Evangelista (3.86 ERA) who is 5-1 in eight starts and leads the team in innings pitched (51.1) and strikeouts (48). Hiser also is one of Pitts top hurlers with a 4-0 record in nine starts. Hiser has a 3.91 ERA in 50.2 innings to go with 43 Ks.
The Panthers are coached by Joe Jordano who is in his seventh season as the head man at Pitt.
The Series with Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has a slight edge in the all-time series, 23-22. The Panthers walked away with a 3-1 win in Pittsburgh back on March 31 in a rain-shortened five-inning game. The two teams split two games last season, with each team winning at their home field.
Freshmen Providing a Spark Offensively
True freshmen Emmannuel Burriss and Will Vazquez have been a pleasant surprise offensively for the Flashes of late. Burriss, a shortstop who batted .579 in five games last week, is hitting .460 with seven RBI in his last 14 games and has upped his overall average from .189 to .286 during that span. Vazquez has started the last six games for Kent State at catcher, making his first career start at Akron April 18. Vazquez has tallied at least one hit in every game he has played and has six RBI to his credit. In his very first collegiate game at Akron, Vazquez drove an RBI single through the left side in his first at-bat and threw out a runner at second attempting to steal in his very first pick-off attempt.
More Flashes To Watch
As of April 26, senior Chad Kinyon is leading the Golden Flashes in almost every offensive category. He leads the team in batting average (.346), hits (54), home runs (8), RBI (41) and slugging percentage (.571) among others. His eight homers are good for ninth-best in the MAC and his 41 RBIs are good for seventh. Kinyon is also one of two Golden Flashes to start all 41 games this season - senior Matt Sega being the other. Sega is second on the team with seven homers and 31 RBI to go with his .305 average. Sega connected on his third-career grand slam against Wright State April 6 and drove in the game-winning run in the top of the eighth in a 4-3 win over Akron April 18. Red-shirt freshman Andrew Davis also has come on of late, increasing his batting average to .300. 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.
Sophomore right-hander Andy Sonnanstine is leading the KSU pitching staff with a 6-4 record. He has made 11 starts and has recorded a team-leading 68 Ks to compliment a 2.74 ERA in 72.1 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 3-5 with a 5.54 ERA while Justin Laraway has a 2-3 record and a 3.56 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. Marco DiMichele has started the last two Sunday MAC games for the Flashes and is 0-1 with a 6.11 ERA in 11 overall appearances. DiMichele has 23 Ks in 28.0 innings and has one save under his belt.
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 April 18. 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.
Reliever Chad Wagler is 1-1 in 14 appearances with team-best three saves in 31.2 innings pitched. He has 30 strikeouts compared to just four walks. Smith is second among all KSU relievers in innings pitched (29.0) and has 24 strikeouts against 11 walks in 11 appearances.
No Sophomore Slump
Sophomore pitcher Andy Sonnanstine leads the Mid-American Conference in starts (11) and is second in strikeouts (68) and innings pitched (72.1) as of April 26. He is 6-4 on the year with a 2.74 ERA, best among the KSU starters. He struck out a career-high 13 batters in the 11-1 win over Marshall April 9, helping him garner MAC East Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time in his career. He has only allowed 12 walks all season and has worked six innings or more in 10 of his 11 starts. Sonnanstine fell two outs shy of recording his first career complete game in the win over Bowling Green April 23. In that game, Sonnanstine went 8.1 innings, striking out seven and retired the Falcons in order in five of the eight full innings.
Close Calls
Kent State has had several games go down to the wire this season as 23 games have been decided by three runs or less, 12 of which have been one-run games.
