Baseball Draws No. 1 Seed Central Michigan To Begin MAC Tournament
5/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Tournament Bracket (PDF Format)
MAC Tournament Central
The Matchup
The No. 6 seeded Kent State baseball team (31-24, 14-10 MAC East) will be making its record-setting 13th straight appearance in the MAC Tournament this week when they head to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. May 26-29, with the winner gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Flashes will face MAC regular season champion and No. 1 seed Central Michigan Chippewas (33-22, 18-6 MAC West) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. All games can be followed live via the internet by logging on to www.mac-sports.com
Flashes In The MAC Tourney
Kent State is 27-20 all-time in the MAC tournamet. The Flashes have won the title four times (1992, 93, 2001, 02) and have advanced to the NCAA tournament six times (1964, 92, 93, 94, 2001, 02).
Hot Flashes
Kent State is peaking at the right time, winning 11 of its last 14 games and seven of their last nine conference games to close out the regular season and clinch a berth in the 2004 MAC tournament.
Streaker
Senior Chad Kinyon is currenly riding a season-high 15 game hitting streak heading into the 2004 MAC Tournament. Kinyon, the MAC East Player of the Week May 17, has 26 multiple-hit games and 16 multiple RBI games this season to lead Kent States offensive attack.
Moore Named MAC East Player of the Week
Junior outfielder Chuck Moore has been named this weeks Mid-American Conference Player of the Week for the East Division May 24. The honor is the second of the season for Moore and the fifth for Kent State this season.
Moore earns the weekly award after hitting .538 (7-for-13) over three games as the Golden Flashes took two of three games from the MAC East Division champion Miami RedHawks this past weekend. The junior had seven hits, one double, one home run and three RBIs and scored four runs. Moore went 3-for-5 with a home run in the loss on Friday before going 2-for-5 with an RBI in the 8-7 win Saturday. He then concluded the series by going 2-for-3 with three runs, an RBI and a double in the 14-10 win on Sunday.
Rembielak Gets MAC Win No. 200
With a 14-10 win over Miami May 23, head coach Rick Rembielak became the fifth head coach in MAC history to record 200 conference victories. Rembielak also won his 350th game overall Apr. 7 in Kent States 16-2 win over Duquesne. Rembielak is the 12th coach in MAC history to register 350 or more victories. Rembielak has a career record of 200-100 in MAC games and is 368-248-1 overall.
Kinyon, Davis Spark KSU Offense
Senior Chad Kinyon and red-shirt freshman Andrew Davis have caught fire at the right time and are a big reason the Flashes are headed to the MAC tournament. Kinyon is riding a season-high 15-game hit streak and is batting .443 in his last 15 games with six homers, 18 RBI and seven doubles. Davis is batting .479 in his last 10 games with seven doubles and seven RBI and recorded a career-high five hits (5-for-6) in the win at West Virginia May 11.
Scouting The Tournament Field
No. 1 Central Michigan
Central Michigan, who claimed their first regular season championship since 1993 and 11th overall, finished the season with an 18-6 record in the MAC and a 33-22 record overall.
The Chippewas are led at the plate by Jim Geldhof who is hitting .429 with nine home runs and 68 RBI. Kurtis Wells (.367) leads the leads the team with 70 RBI and has 10 home runs, two triples and 11 doubles. Bryan Mitzel leads the team in home runs (14) and is third with 66 RBI. He also has two triples and 12 doubles.
Central Michigan spouts a team ERA of 4.79 and are led by starter T.J. Johnson who is 6-4 in 10 starts with a 3.39 ERA in 15 appearances. Johnson, who has five complete games this season, leads the team with 92 strikeouts in 87.2 innings. The Chippewas are coached by Steve Jaksa who is in his second season.
No. 2 Miami
The RedHawks won their first MAC East Division crown in program history with 14-8 mark in conference play this season and will face No. 5 Northern Illinois at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Miami leads the conference in hitting with a .323 team average and is third in pitching with a combined 4.59 ERA.
Junior Mike Ferris is batting .372 and leads the MAC in home runs (21), slugging percentage (.796), on base percentage (.527) and walks (59). Brian Canada is hitting .380 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and 47 RBI while John Slone is right on pace with Ferris, hitting .381 with 14 doubles, eight homers and 46 RBI.
Leading the RedHawks on the mound is freshman Keith Weiser who is 8-2 with a 4.54 ERA and 59 Ks. Jeff Day is 7-1 on the year with a 4.78 ERA and 45 strikeouts while Graham Taylor is 6-6 with a 3.90 ERA and a team-best 64 Ks. The RedHawks are coached by Tracy Smith who is in his eighth year at the helm.
No. 3 Ball State
The Cardinals finished in a three-way tie for second place in the West Division this season and take the No. 3 seed courtesy of the common opponent tie-breaker. Ball State will face No. 4 Eastern Michigan at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Brad Miller leads the Cardinals at the plate with a .361 average to go along with a team-best 14 home runs and 54 RBI. Mike Sullivan (.344) and Marc Franz (.340, 11 HR, 63 RBI) round out the .300 hitters.
Joe Ness leads the Cardinal pitching corps with a 6-4 record. Ness spouts a 4.28 ERA in 16 appearances and has a team-best 69 strikeouts. The Cardinals are coached by Greg Beals who is in his first season.
No. 4 Eastern Michigan
The Eagles also finished the MAC portion of the schedule with a 14-10 record and will face No. 3 Ball State at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
EMU has eight hitters over the .300 plateau and are led by Brian Bixler who spouts an impressive .443 batting average (tops in the MAC) and has six home runs and 40 RBI to his credit.
Pitcher Ryan Ford is 9-4 in 14 starts. He owns a 3.10 ERA and has 77 strikeouts in 101.2 innings pitched. Eastern Michigan is coached by Roger Coryell who is in his 15th season.
No. 5 Northern Illinois
The Huskies, the fourth team at 14-10 in the league, draw No. 2 Miami at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Northern Illinois is led by Simon Scott and Rob Marconi who are hitting .373 and .352, respectively. Marconi leads the team with 13 home runs while Scott leads the team and is second in the MAC in RBI with 69.
Pitcher Joe Piekarz leads the MAC with 92 Ks. Piekarz is 8-5 on the year with a 2.60 ERA in 107.1 innings pitched. The Huskies are coached by Ed Mathey.
KSU Pitching Staff Tops In The MAC
The Kent State pitching staff leads the Mid-American Conference in overall team pitching with a 4.03 ERA. The Flashes opponents are hitting .274, second-lowest in the MAC, and have given up only 216 earned runs, fewest in the league. Their 410 total strikeouts also are third best behind Central Michigan (477) and Marshall (416).
Flashes In the MAC
Several Golden Flashes are among the league leaders in numerous MAC statistical categories. Chad Kinyon is fourth in walks (38), third in homers (14), fourth in total bases (140), seventh in on base percentage (.471) and slugging percentage (.654) and ninth in RBI (58). Emmannuel Burriss is fourth with 20 stolen bases and Joe Tucker is third with 20 doubles. Kinyon, Chuck Moore and Andrew Davis are tied for fifth with 18 doubles.
Sophomore pitcher Andy Sonnanstine is tied for the league lead in starts (15), is second in wins (8) and third strikeouts (89) and is second in innings pitched (100.0) as of May 24. He is 8-4 on the year with a 2.88 ERA, best among the KSU starters.
Miami Series Recap
The Flashes took two of three at Miami last weekend to secure themselves a spot in the MAC tournament.
In game one, Miami used a seven-run, seventh inning to overcome the Flashes in an 11-9 come-from-behind win. Chuck Moore finished 3-for-5 with a home run. Andy Sonnanstine went 6.0 innings for the Flashes in the no decision, scattering seven hits and giving up four runs (three earned) and fanning four.
In the second game, the Flashes clinched a MAC tournament berth, holding off a Miami charge in the 8-7 win. Chad Kinyon was 3-for-5 with an RBI and Matt Sega was 2-for-5 with three RBI.
The third game saw 24 runs, 27 hits, seven errors and 11 different pitchers as Kent State held on to win the wild affair, 14-10. Every KSU starter recorded at least one hit, six of which had two or more. Adam Crowder was 3-for-5 while Holick finished with a double and four RBI. Chad Kinyon had one hit, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. KSU starter J.J. Pacella picked up the win to improve to 4-0 on the season while Andrew Davis came on in the ninth to pick up his first career save.
Flashes To Watch
As of May 24, senior Chad Kinyon is leading the Golden Flashes in almost every offensive category. In addition to his 15-game hitting streak, he leads the team in batting average (.374), home runs (14), hits (80), RBI (58) and slugging percentage (.654) among others. Kinyon is also one of two Golden Flashes to start all 55 games this season - senior Matt Sega being the other. Sega is second on the team with eight homers and 42 RBI to go with his .311 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 .333, much of that coming after a 5-for-6 performance at West Virginia May 11. Davis leads the team in at-bats (229) and is second in batting average (.336) and doubles (18) and third on the team with eight stolen bases. Davis connected on his first career homer in the 8-7 win over Pittsburgh April 28 and had the game-winning two-RBI base hit to best Marshall in the bottom of the 12th on Easter Sunday. Chuck Moore also has increased his average to .321 and has 18 doubles, three home runs and 33 RBI on the year.
Sophomore right-hander Andy Sonnanstine is leading the KSU pitching staff with a 8-4 record. He has made 15 starts and has recorded a team-leading 89 Ks to compliment a 2.88 ERA in 100.0 innings of work. He 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 6-6 with a 4.81 ERA. Brunke recorded a season-best 10 Ks against Richmond Feb. 29. Freshman Evan Smith (3-3) made his first MAC game start in the 11-4 win over Buffalo Sunday May 2. Smith went 7.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits. He also struck out six. Smith supports a 3.86 ERA and has one save and 38 Ks in 49.0 innings.
Kinyon Climbing The HR, RBI Charts
Senior first baseman Chad Kinyon moved into sole possession of fourth place on the Kent State all-time home run list with two homers at Ohio April 3. Kinyon has a team-leading 14 homers this season and 43 for his career. He needs six to tie and seven to break the all-time record of 49 held by Mike Bishop (1985-88) and John VanBenschoten (1999-01).
Kinyon also currently sits tied for third place on the KSU all-time RBI list with 170. He needs 11 to tie and 12 to break the all-time record of 181 set by Jess Bechard (1997-00).
KSU All-Time Home Run Leaders1. Mike Bishop (1985-88) 492. John VanBenschoten (99-01) 493. Pat OBrien (2000-03) 484. Chad Kinyon (2001-pres.) 435. Dave Bettendorf (1984-87) 35KSU All-Time RBI Leaders1. Jess Bechard (1997-00) 1812. Dave Bettendorf (1984-87) 1753. Pat OBrien (2000-03) 1703. Chad Kinyon (2001-pres.) 1705. Mike Bishop (1985-88) 1636. John VanBenschoten (99-01) 161
Davis Enjoys Career Day
Red-shirt freshman Andrew Davis recorded a career-best five hits (5-for-6) with an RBI in the win at West Virginia May 11 and has increased his average from .298 to .333 over his last eight games.
Davis also blasted his first career home run in the 8-7 win over Pittsburgh April 28, a solo shot over the center field wall to lead off the bottom of the third inning.
The Bullpen
The Golden Flashes will be relying heavily on its bullpen this week if they want to capture its fifth MAC tournament title. Reliever Chad Wagler is 3-1 in 20 appearances with team-best five saves in 40.1 innings pitched. With excellent command, Wagler has 38 strikeouts compared to just seven walks. Jon Miller is 1-0 with two saves in 16 appearances for the Flashes. Miller spouts a 2.31 ERA in 23.2 innings and has 20 strikeouts. Phil Bojc (5.81 ERA) also has two saves to his credit while Evan Smith, Ryan Davis, Andrew Davis and Marco DiMichele each have one.
Close Calls
Kent State has had several games go down to the wire this season as 31 games have been decided by three runs or less, 17 of which have been one-run games.
