Baseball Heads To James Madison for Three-game Weekend Series
3/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
GOLDEN FLASHES (4-5) at JAMES MADISON (1-7)
March 11-13, 2005 Harrisonbrug, Va.
The First Pitch
The Kent State University baseball team (4-5, 0-0 MAC) travels to Harrisonburg, Va. this weekend for a three-game series at James Madison University. The series opener will be played Friday, Mar. 11, at 2:30 p.m. while Saturday and Sundays games will be played at 1 p.m. at Long Field at Mauck Stadium.
Pitching Probables
Friday 3/11: #22 John J.J. Pacella (So.-R, RHP, 6-6, 205)
2005: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 SO, 4 BB
- & -
#33 Evan Smith (So., RHP, 6-5, 205)
2005: 0-1, 5.65 ERA, 14.1 IP, 9 ER, 10 SO, 4 BB
vs. RHP Bobby Lasko (0-2, 5.25 ERA, 8 SO)
Saturday 3/12: #27: Jason Brunke (Sr.-R, RHP, 6-4, 245)
2005: 0-1, 21.94 ERA, 5.1 IP, 13 ER, 5 SO, 12 BB
vs. LHP Ryan Reid (0-0, 5.52 ERA, 14 SO)
Sunday 3/13: #37 Chris Carpenter (Fr., RHP, 6-4, 215)
2005: 1-0, 7.90 ERA, 13.2 IP, 12 ER, 6 SO, 5 BB
vs. LHP Dave Rich (0-0, 1.59 ERA, 3 SO)
Quick Flashes
Kent State went 1-2 last weekend at the Springmaid Beach Resort Rumble at Coastal Carolina University.
KSU defeated James Madison 11-6 on Sunday, Mar. 6, in the final game of the Springmaid Rumble.
The Golden Flashes are coming off their fifth MAC Tournament championship and seventh NCAA Regional Tournament appearance in 2004.
Kent State plays 27 of its first 30 games on the road while construction is completed on Schoonover Stadium.
The Coaches
Scott Stricklin (Kent State 95) is in his first season as a head coach. The former Flashes catcher was previously an assistant at Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. Spanky McFarland is in his eighth year at James Madison and 16th overall. He won his 400th career game on Feb. 27.
Series Histories
The Golden Flashes tied the series with JMU with their 11-6 victory on Sunday. Prior to that, they lost their only previous meeting with James Madison, 10-8 in 1987.
A Look @ The Dukes
James Madison has lost four straight and is just 1-7 overall on the season after a 13-2 loss at the University of Virginia on Wednesday, Mar. 9. The Dukes are led offensively by a pair of juniors. Infielder Michael Cowgill leads the team with a .414 average to go along with two home runs and seven runs batted in. Skyler Doom is hitting .343 with a homer and four RBI. A year ago James Madison posted a 28-26 record, its fifth straight winning season.
Whats Up Next
The Golden Flashes will travel to Bradenton, Fla. for seven games from Mar. 18-23.
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes dropped the first two games of the Springmaid Beach Resort Rumble before rallying in the finale to finish the three-day event (Mar. 4-6) with a 1-2 record.
KSU was stifled by Western Carolinas Caleb McConnell on Friday as he allowed just one run and struck out 10 in the Catamounts 4-1 win. On Saturday night, the Flashes and host Coastal Carolina staged a wild affair, playing through two rain and lightning delays before the No. 23 Chanticleers held on for a 15-11 win. After CCU took a 15-3 lead, the Flashes rallied with an eight-run eighth inning and then turned a triple play in the bottom of the eighth.
A sluggish start to Sundays finale found the Flashes in a 6-0 hole against James Madison before KSU scored 11 unanswered runs en route to an 11-6 victory. Sophomore 3B/P Andrew Davis (Chillicothe, Ohio/Zanes Trace) homered and drove in four runs while junior 2B Drew Saylor (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth/Cincinnati) homered for one of his four hits to back Chad Wagler (Hartville, Ohio/Lake), who had his second straight strong relief outing.
The Last Meeting
While the Flashes can pride themselves on coming back from a six-run deficit last Sunday, the Dukes experienced the exact opposite in letting a 6-0 lead slip away.
Skyler Doom led off the game with a home run and Michael Cowgill hit a tow-run shot during a four-run fourth inning that chased KSU starter Chris Carpenter (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) and seemingly put the Dukes in control.
Andrew Davis started the comeback with a two-run homer down the left field line in the fifth and also contributed an RBI in each of the next two frames. After tying the game with a four-run sixth, the Flashes took control with five in the seventh, the final two coming on Drew Saylors first home run of the season.
Chad Wagler (2-1) pitched 4.1 innings in relief to earn the win. Patrick Riley (0-2), the third of five JMU hurlers, took the loss. Chuck Moore had three hits for KSU and was one of four players with at least two hits, including four by Saylor.
Flashes Turn Triple Play
As if seeing 26 runs scored in a game isnt exciting enough, the Golden Flashes pulled off a baseball rarity during the eighth inning of their 15-11 loss at No. 23 Coastal Carolina on Mar. 6 when they turned a triple play.
With runners on first and second and no one out, junior relief pitcher Phil Bojc (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) made a diving catch off the mound to field a bunt by CCUs Adam Pernasilici. Because the runners had been going on the pitch and were left scurrying back towards the bases, Bojc fired to second baseman Drew Saylor covering first base for the second out. Saylor in turn threw down to second base where shortstop Emmauel Burriss stepped on the back to finish the teams first triple play since Apr. 4, 2001.
Taking One for the Team
Junior OF Joe Tucker, who was hit by a pitch a school-record 14 times last season, has already been plunked five times in nine games this season, raising his career total to 32.
Smooth Sayl-ing
Junior 2B Drew Saylor has made a huge impact early on in his first season as a member for the Golden Flashes. A transfer from the University of Cincinnati, Saylor hit safely in each of the Golden Flashes first seven games, scoring at least one run in each of the first six. One game after his hitting streak was stopped at Coastal Carolina, Saylor went 4-for-6 with his first home run of the season against James Madison.
