Rohan?s Round-Tripper Vaults Kent State to 10-9 Win
3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. The Golden Flashes and the Cardinals went back and fourth all game, but a three-run home run by fifth-year senior Greg Rohan in the top of the eighth gave KSU the 10-9 win. Kent State improves to 16-5 and 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play while Ball State falls to 11-11 and 2-2 in the conference.
"It was a great ballgame. They took the lead and gave it up and then we took the lead and gave it up. It was back and fourth the entire game," said Kent State head coach Scott Stricklin. "Obviously, Greg Rohan had that big two-out home run. The other thing that goes unnoticed is that Jimmy Rider had a big two out RBI in the ninth to extend that lead to 10-8. That ended up being the game winner."
Rohan led the Golden Flashes with a 2-for-5 afternoon at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Jason Patton contributed a double in two at-bats with two runs scored and an RBI.
Junior Jon Pokorny improved to 1-2 on the season and gave up one run in 2.1 innings of work. Freshman Andrew Chafin recorded his third save of the year by giving up one hit and striking out two batters in the ninth.
"I thought a big sequence was when Jon Pokorny was in the game with the bases loaded and nobody out and only gave up one run," said Stricklin about the Ball State seventh. "They were in the lead, but I thought that was a big momentum builder for us to get out of that jam with only one run. "
After Kent State entered the eighth inning down 8-6, freshman Jimmy Rider and senior Chris Tremblay singled to put the tying runs on the bases. Rohan stepped to the plate and got behind 1-2 before he crushed the fourth pitch of the at-bat to left field to give Kent State a 9-8 lead.
Ball State went in order in the bottom of the eighth and KSU added an insurance run in the ninth. With two down and nobody on, redshirt junior Jared Humphreys singled to center and advanced to second on a stolen base. Rider singled to left field to make the score 10-8.
In the bottom of the ninth, Ball State scored to cut the deficit to one, but a strikeout by Pokorny and a pair of punchouts by Chafin ended the game 10-9 in favor of Kent State.
"Jon Pokorny got the win, but Andrew Chafin was as good as I have ever seen him. He only had to throw nine pitches but threw eight strikes and struck out two guys. He was just outstanding under pressure," added Stricklin.
The Golden Flashes played from behind virtually the entire game. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the first on doubles by Jeremy Hazelbaker and Kolbrin Vitek. The Golden Flashes cut the deficit in half on an RBI single by senior Brad Winter in the second, but a solo home run by Hazelbaker made the score 3-1 Cardinals after two.
Kent State tied the score in the third. With one out, sophomore Ben Klafczynski walked and advanced to second on a single by Rohan. Both runners moved up on a balk and scored on a sacrifice fly by Patton and an RBI single by junior Anthony Gallas. However, the Cardinals struck back with a run in the third to lead 4-3.
The Golden Flashes tied the score in the fourth on an RBI single by Klafczynski, but junior starting pitcher Brad Stillings had to work out of a jam in the bottom of the inning. Ball State loaded the bases with one out and took the lead 5-4 on an RBI walk. However, Stillings recorded a pop up and strikeout to end the Cardinals threat.
Kent State took advantage of a costly failed pickoff play in the fifth to take their first lead of the game. Patton doubled to lead off the inning and Gallas put men on the corners with a single. Brad Piatt threw errantly on a pickoff play that sent Gallas to third and scored Patton. An RBI groundout by Humphreys gave KSU a 6-5 lead.
Ball State added two in the bottom of the fifth and one in the seventh to take an 8-6 lead before Kent State made their furious comeback.
The Golden Flashes are back in action tomorrow when they take on Ball State at 1 p.m. Listen to Ty Linder on the Kent State ISP Sports Network beginning at 12:45 p.m.
