Flashes to Finish Homestand Against Pitt Wednesday
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SERIES HISTORY:
Kent State and Pittsburgh will meet for the 51st time Wednesday in a series that dates back to 1951. The Golden Flashes hold a 26-24 all-time series lead and have won the last three meetings. KSU won both games of the 2006 series including a 17-14 slugfest in Kent (May 2), when the teams combined for 35 hits. Will Vazquez went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in the home win. The Flashes also won in Pittsburgh (Mar. 29, 2006) 14-4.
STARTING PITCHERS:
Sophomore left-hander Alan Morrison will take the hill in his second straight Wednesday start at Schoonover Stadium. Morrison (1-0) earned a victory in his last start (March 21) vs. Youngstown State. He allowed two earned runs in five innings and struck out one, improving his career record to 7-0. Morrison also faced the Panthers last season in Kent. As a freshman, he fanned seven and allowed just one run in six innings to earn the win.
Right-handed sophomore Ryan Dunford (1-0) looks to continue his strong start on the mound for Pittsburgh. Dunford has allowed just two runs in 12.1 innings pitched. He will be making his fifth appearance and second start of the year Wednesday.
QUICK FLASHES
• The Golden Flashes are riding their first three-game winning streak of the season. After a 5-12 start, Kent State has won four of its last five games.
• In Kent State's nine wins, Andrew Davis is hitting .486 (18-of-37) with four home runs, five doubles and 14 RBI.
• Jon Pokorny has not allowed an earned run in his last seven appearances.
• Reid Lamport has allowed just seven hits in 21 innings of relief.
• In his last two games played, Chris Tremblay is 4-for-8 with a triple, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
LAST TIME OUT: An explosive eight-run third inning propelled Kent State to a 12-7 win over Cleveland State yesterday. Brad Winter belted two triples and a home run in the first four innings and Andrew Daivs hit his team-leading fourth homer of the year. Steven Davis hurled five innngs for the win, while Brad Stillings went the final four frames to earn his first save.
LAST WEEK'S LEADERS: Andrew Davis
hit .444 (8-for-18) last week with two home runs, two doubles, seven runs batted in and five runs scored. He was also walked and hit by a pitch and carried an on-base percentage of .500 for the week to go along with an .889 slugging percentage. In a victory over Western Michigan on Saturday, Davis launched a two-out, three-run homer in the third inning, helping the Flashes to a 7-5 victory.
Domnique Rodgers tossed 7.1 scoreless innings of relief last week, including five full innings in a win over Western Michigan on Sunday. In two appearances, Rodgers struck out five and allowed just four hits, all singles. He took the mound to start the fifth inning against the Broncos with the score tied at 1-1 and went the rest of the way as KSU defeated WMU 5-1. Rodgers has not allowed a run in his last 11 innings pitched.
