Flashes' Bats Come Alive In Victory Over Youngstown State
3/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Click here to get Kent State Gear!
Kent, Ohio
- Sophomore left-handed pitcher Alan Morrison picked up his first victory of the season in his second start and upped his career mark to 7-0 as Kent State University (6-12) downed Youngstown State University (4-11), 12-7 at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium on Wednesday.
“Alan's going to continue to get better. That's only his second time on the mound,” said Head Coach
While Morrison got it done on the mound by holding the Penguins to three hits and striking out one, his offense came up with the run support it had been lacking most of the season. The Golden Flashes pounded out 14 hits in their largest offensive output of the season to end a four-game losing streak. “We had a team meeting after yesterday's game, and we just talked about staying positive, trying to have fun and trying to get better,” Stricklin said. “We were good today, not great.” Shortstop
Kent State jumped ahead quickly in the bottom of the first inning, as Davis cracked a two-out double to right field and freshman Anthony Gallas knocked a base-hit up the middle to drive him home.
YSU fired right back with two runs in the second inning, but the Golden Flashes broke the game wide open with a four-run frame in the third. Ryan Tokarz placed a leadoff single into left-center and Jared Bartholomew drew a walk, setting the stage for Davis to come up big for his team once again. The senior from Chillicothe, Ohio smacked a bloop to left-center, bringing around Tokarz and Bartholomew. Not to be out done, Gallas showed off his power by launching a two-run home run over the left field wall.
“We needed something like Andrew's bloop to put some runs on the board and show that it can happen,” said Stricklin of his team breaking out of its offensive slump. Davis capped off his day in the ensuing inning, blasting a two-run shot to right field to put Kent State comfortably ahead, 7-2. The Penguins got a run back in fifth, but Kent State increased the gap to six runs in the home half.
Despite being down, Youngstown State refused to give in, plating a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh to pull to within three runs of Kent State. The Flashes finally put the game out of reach, however, in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on three hits. Left-handed reliever
“I was happy to see Jon finish the ninth the way he did. He finished strong.” For Youngstown State, John Koehnlein, Lou Gattozzi and Josh Page led the way in hitting with two apiece. The Golden Flashes open Mid-American Conference play at 3 p.m. on Friday, facing Western Michigan University in a cross-division showdown at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.
