Baseball Opens Seven-Game Homestand by Hosting Wright State and Cleveland State
4/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The First Pitch
The Kent State University baseball team (17-12, 3-4 MAC) opens a seven-game homestand at Schoonover Stadium by hosting a pair of midweek nonconference games against in-state opponents from the Horizon League. The Flashes host Wright State University (14-14) at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 12, and Cleveland State University (5-14) also at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 13.
Pitching Probables
Tuesday 4/12: #23 Jon Miller (Jr.-R, RHP, 6-1, 185; Louisville, Ky.) vs. Ross Vagedes
Wednesday 4/13: #22 J.J. Pacella (So.-R, RHP, 6-6, 205; Powell, Ohio) vs. Gary Ball or Brandon Hewitt
Quick Flashes
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. Wright States Rob Cooper (Miami[Fla.] 94) is also in his first season as a collegiate head coach while Cleveland States Jay Murphy (Oswego State 91) is in his seventh year with the Vikings.
Series History
The Flashes are 20-9 all-time against Wright State, having won three straight over the Raiders, including a pair of 12-1 decisions last year. KSU took two-of-three meetings last year from Cleveland State to improve to 58-19-1 all-time against the Vikings.
A Look @ The Opponents
Wright State has won three straight to even its record at 14-14 this season. Junior OF/1B Amin Abusaleh leads the team with a .363 average and 23 RBI. Eight other Raiders are hitting over .300. On the mound, junior RHP Robert Barrett is 3-3 (5.28 ERA, 35 SO) while five others have already earned two wins each.
Cleveland State stands at 5-14 overall, but had won two straight heading into Tuesdays game at the University of Toledo. Dominic Erney is the offensive leader with a .338 average, two home runs and 15 RBI. Gian Testa and Matt Kaltenbach are both 2-2 on the mound.
Whats Up Next for KSU
The Flashes continue their homestand with a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend against long-time crosstown rival the University of Akron. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 15.
Last Time Out
Kent State dropped the first two games of its series at Marshall, 8-5 and 8-6, before blasting five homers in Sundays 20-6 victory to salvage the final game of the set.
Junior 3B Andrew Daviss seventh-inning home run gave the Flashes a 5-4 lead in Fridays opener, but Marshall came back and scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-5 win. The Thundering Herd followed that up with a four-run first on Saturday and held off a late KSU rally for an 8-6 victory. Kent State put it all together on Sunday in the 20-6 rout. Drew Saylor went deep three times, including twice in the eighth inning, freshman Greg Rohan hit a three-run homer and Will Vazquez added a pinch-hit grand slam as the Flashes jumped out to a 20-0 lead behind six shutout innings from sophomore starter Evan Smith.
Saylor Has Career Day at Marshall
Junior 2B Drew Saylor, a transfer from Cincinnati, had a career day in the 20-6 win at Marshall Apr. 9, homering three-times- twice in the eighth inning- and driving in seven runs. Saylor had never had a multiple-homer game or driven in more than five runs in a game prior to Sundays contest. He also scored a career-high four runs while posting his team-leading 15th multi-hit game of the year.
Newest Addition Leading the Offense
Saylor leads the team and tops the MAC with a .392 batting average and 47 hits. In addition, his 30 runs scored are the second most in the league as are his 75 total bases. He also shares the team lead with six home runs and is second with 29 RBI while also leading the squad in slugging (.625), doubles (8) and on-base percentage (.448).
More on Saylor
Saylor became the first Kent State player to go deep three times in a game since Adam Crowder did it against Miami on 5/11/03. He also became the first Flash to homer twice in the same inning since Jess Bechard did it against Northern Illinois on 3/29/98. His seven RBI were the most since Crowders seven against Miami.
Tucker With a Perfect-10
Junior OF Joe Tucker has hit safely in each of the last 10 games, batting .395 (15-for-38) during that stretch with nine runs scored, eight RBI and five stolen bases.
Homer Happy
Kent State hit eight home runs in the three-game series at Marshall over the weekend, including five in Sundays finale. The Flashes entered the weekend with just 12 dingers on the year.
The Drews Brothers
Over the last six games, sophomore 3B Andrew Davis and junior 2B Drew Saylor are each hitting .357 (10-for-28). Davis, who has hit safely in all six contests, has homered once, scored eight times and drive in six runs while Saylor has 13 RBI and seven runs scored while hitting four home runs. The duo each went 3-for-5 with four runs scored in the 20-6 win at Marshall on Apr. 9.
Killer Bs Producing at the Bottom of Order
Juniors Todd Balduff and Manny Burriss have been solid producers at the bottom of the batting order for the Flashes lately. Balduff has a four-game hitting streak (7-for-16, .438) including three straight games with two hits. Hes scored four and driven in three during that stretch, including his first career home run on Apr. 9 at Marshall. Burriss is hitting .400 (10-for-25) in his last seven games, scoring six runs and going 7-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
Tucker Approaching Painful Mark
Junior OF Joe Tucker, who was hit by a pitch a school-record 14 times last season, is just two shy of that total as he has been struck 12 times this year, raising his career total to 39. He was hit three times March 25-27 at the University of Toledo.
Crushing Opponents in Crunch Time
From the seventh inning on, the Golden Flashes are outscoring their opponents 64-34 this season and are 12-1 this year when taking a lead into the eighth inning and 12-0 when leading going into the ninth.
Flashes Firsts
Three Kent State players homered for the first time in their careers last weekend at Marshall. Junior C Todd Balduff hit a solo shot on Apr. 8 while freshman 3B/OF Greg Rohan had a three-run blast on Apr. 9. Also in that Apr. 9 game, sophomore C/U Will Vazquez had a pinch-hit grand slam during a three-homer, eight-run eighth inning.
Taking One for the Team- The Whole Team
Kent State batters have been hit by a pitch an incredible 39 times this season. Nine times this season the Flashes have had more than one player hit in the same game, including a season-high five HBPs in a 10-3 win at Toledo Mar. 26.
Everybody Gets a Hit
In the 20-6 win at Marshall Apr. 9, every KSU starter had at least one hit. It was the first time since 5/23/04 vs. Miami that every member of the starting nine had a hit. Kent State won that game 14-10.
