Baseball Opens MAC Play This Weekend at Toledo
3/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The First Pitch
The Kent State University baseball team (11-7, 0-0 MAC) begins its quest for a Mid-American Conference championship this weekend as it opens league play with a three-game series at the University of Toledo (5-11, 0-0 MAC), Friday-Sunday, Mar. 25-27.
Fridays game will start at 3 p.m. at the Baseball Complex at Scott Park. Saturday and Sunday both have 1 p.m. start times.
Pitching Probables
Friday 3/25
#22 John J.J. Pacella (So.-R, RHP, 6-6, 205; Powell, Ohio)
2005:2-0, 4.24 ERA, 4 GP, 2 GS, 17 IP, 17/7 K/BB
Saturday 3/26
#27 Jason Brunke (Sr.-R, RHP, 6-4, 245; Carrol Stream, Ill.)
2005: 1-1, 8.66 ERA, 4 GP, 4 GS, 17.2 IP, 10/18 K/BB
Sunday 3/27
#37 Chris Carpenter (Fr., RHP, 6-4, 210; Bryan, Ohio)
2005: 2-1, 8.22 ERA, 5 GP, 5 GS, 23 IP, 13/11 K/BB
Quick Flashes
Kent State enters MAC play having won three straight and eight of its last 10 overall. The three-game winning streak is currently the longest of any team in the MAC.
The Golden Flashes posted a 5-1 record over spring break at the IMG Baseball Academy Spring Invitational in Bradenton, Fla., last week, Mar. 18-22.
Junior 2B Drew Saylor leads the MAC in hitting with a .422 average and brings a 10-game hitting streak to Toledo.
In its 7-2 win on Tuesday night at USF, Kent State posted a season-high 18 hits, including seven straight during the decisive four-run seventh inning.
The Golden Flashes are coming off their fifth MAC Tournament championship and seventh NCAA Regional Tournament appearance in 2004.
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. Toledos Cory Mee (Notre Dame 92) in in his second season.
Series History
Kent State owns a 72-56-1 record in the all-time series against Toledo. However, the Rockets won the final two games of last seasons series in Kent to snap a nine-game KSU winning streak. See Page 2 for more on last years games.
A Look @ The Rockets
Toledo dropped to 5-11 on the year with its 10-4 loss on Wednesday at the University of Cincinnati. The Rockets were 20-34 a year ago, finishing in sixth place in the MAC West.
To date, freshman OF Drew Hoisington leads the club with a .354 average and five stolen bases while junior IF Travis Pilewski is close behind at .352 and has driven in 10 runs.
On the mound, senior Nick Szczur is 2-1 in four starts with a 5.32 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Sophomore Greg Gompf is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in six appearances out of the bullpen.
Whats Up Next
The Flashes travel to the Steel City on Wednesday, Mar. 30, for a nonconference game at the University of Pittsburgh. Kent State then hosts Ohio University next weekend, Apr. 1-3, for the first home series at Schoonover Stadium.
Last Time Out
Kent State went 5-1 on its spring break trip to the IMG Baseball Academy Spring Invitational in Bradenton, Fla., winning the final three games before inclimate weather wiped out the finale on Wednesday against UW-Milwaukee.
The Flashes began the trip by sweeping a doubleheader from Long Island University on Friday (3/18), 5-3 and 7-1. Drew Saylor and Kurt Eichorn each drove in a pair in the opener to back starter J.J. Pacella. In the nightcap, Saylor again led the attack with three hits and three RBI and freshman Greg Rowan also had three hits and drove in two in helping freshman Reid Lamport to his first career win.
Former KSU mentor Bob Morgan had the Flashes number on Saturday afternoon, as his Indiana University squad jumped out to a 9-0 lead en route to an 11-6 win despite three RBI from sophomore SS Manny Burriss.
KSU rebounded on Sunday with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the University of Illinois. Sophomore 3B Andrew Davis delivered the heroics with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Another Big Ten opponent came calling on Monday when the Flashes posted a 5-1 victory over Northwestern University thanks to a four-run seventh inning, two hits each from Davis, Saylor and Burriss and six strong innings from Chris Carpenter.
Kent State wrapped up the trip in style on Tuesday night in Tampa, banging out a season-high 18 hits in a 7-2 win at USF. Six different Flashes had at least two hits, with Eichorn, Will Vazquez and Joe Tucker each getting three knocks.
The Last Time They Met: KSU vs. UT
The Golden Flashes won the 2004 MAC opener at Gene Michael Field in Kent, 5-1, on the strength of seven strong innings from Andy Sonnanstine. Chad Kinyon and Todd Balduf led the offense with three hits each and Chad Wagler pitched the final two innings for the save. Dan and Mutt Ruth each had two hits for Toledo.
The Rockets came back and swept a doubleheader the next day, posting 7-4 and 1-0 (10) victories. Shawn Hursts three-run homer won the opener while the second game went into extra innings before Sean Dobsons 10th-inning single gave the Rockets the lead.
Saylor Streaking
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 and in 17-of-18 games overall. Currently, he has a hit in each of the last 10 games, batting .488 (20-for-41) over that stretch with five doubles, 11 runs scored and 10 RBI. In addition, his .425 average and 31 hits lead the league.
Freshmen Firsts
A pair of first-year players picked up notable career firsts during the trip. In the 7-1 victory on Friday against Long Island, freshman 3B Greg Rowan went 3-for-4 with two RBI. His RBI-single in the third was his first career hit.
Also in that game, freshman Reid Lamport earned his first win with four innings of work in his first career start. He allowed just one run on four hits while walking two and striking out three.
Bullpen Big in Bradenton
The KSU bullpen was solid during the spring break trip, as the relief corps posted a 3.18 earned run average in 22.2 innings in Florida. The group allowed only eight earned runs and struck out 18 in that span. In the five wins, the bullpen was even better, allowing just four earned runs in 15 innings for a 2.40 ERA with 15 strikeouts.
Spring Swings
There was no shortage of offense over spring break, as the Flashes averaged nearly six runs and 10 hits per game during their stay in the Sunshine State. Seven different players hit .300 or better during the week, led by Drew Saylors .478 average, and KSU hit .308 as a team.
Wagler is Wonderful in Relief
After appearing in 24 games last year in relief, junior Chad Wagler has once again established himself as the top man out of the pen for the Flashes. In his last four appearances, Wagler is 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA and has struck out 15 in 17.2 innings of work.
Taking One for the Team
Junior OF Joe Tucker, who was hit by a pitch a school-record 14 times last season, is already half way to that toal as he has been struck seven times this year, raising his career total to 34.
Deja Vu All Over Again
The Flashes 5-4 victory over Illinois on Mar. 20 was almost a repeat performance of their 6-5 victory over the Illini on Feb. 25 in Rock Hill, S.C. In both games, Kent State jumped out to 3-0 leads in the first inning, only to see Illinois come back to either tie the game or take the lead. The Flashes won the earlier meeting on a two-run homer in the sixth by Kurt Eichorn and used the long ball to defeat the Illini again on Andrew Daviss walk-off blast last week.
Eichorn Comes Through in Clutch
Junior DH/OF Kurt Eichorn has put up some impressive numbers already this season, leading the team with four home runs and 28 RBI. One reason for his strong start has been his clutch hitting. Eichorn is batting .404 (19-of-47) with runners on base, including a .438 clip with runners in scoring position.
Davis Doing Double Duty
Sophomore IF/P Andrew Davis has emerged as one of the top two-way players in the MAC. The teams fourth-leading hitter this season with a .319 average and 16 RBI and a solid fielder at third base, Davis has emerged as the teams closer on the mound, saving four games in seven appearances.
The Last Time... Walk-Off Homer
When sophomore Andrew Davis hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Mar. 20 to lift the Flashes to a 5-4 victory over Illinois, it was the first time in almost a year that Kent State won a game with a walk-off homer. Chad Kinyon beat the University of Pittsburgh with a ninth-inning blast on Apr. 28, 2004 in Kent.
