Rivals Akron and Kent State Play Three-Game Set This Weekend.
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
KENT, Ohio - • • • ON DECK: Akron • • •
Akron, Ohio
Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium
Kent State (35-12 14-6 Mid-American)
Akron (16-30, 9-12 Mid-American Conference)
Series Record: Kent State leads 92-50-1
Probable Starters
Akron (Andrew Brown) @ Kent State (Brad Stillings), 3 p.m.
Akron (Alex Loftin) @ Kent State (Kyle Hallock), 1 p.m.
Akron (TBA) @ Kent State (TBA), 1 p.m.
The First Pitch
After an 11-game road trip, Kent State will play six-straight home games to end the regular season when they host Mid-American Conference foes Akron this weekend (May 8-10) and Miami next weekend (May 14-16).
Flash Facts
• With one more conference win, Kent State will qualify for its conference-leading 17th MAC Tournament. The Golden Flashes have qualified 15 of the last 16 years.
• Kent State is 15-2 at home and is scoring 9.6 runs per game while allowing 5.4.
• In the last 11 games, senior Jason Patton and redshirt junior Jared Humphreys have hit six home runs each while freshman Jimmy Rider has three round-trippers over the same time frame. Patton had four, Humphreys had two and Rider had no home runs in the season's first 36 games.
• Beginning the season 0-2 with no saves, junior Jon Pokorny is 5-0 with three saves over his last 14 appearances out of the KSU bullpen. During that span, he has allowed only two earned runs while striking out 31 in 23.2 innings (0.76 ERA during that span).
Follow the Action Live
Kent State begins the run to its 10th regular season conference championship Friday when they host rival Akron for a three-game series.
Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday's game with begin at 1 p.m.
Every game of the series will be broadcast via Kentstatesports.com with Ty Linder calling the action. Each broadcast is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before scheduled first pitch. You can also follow live stats, linked to the baseball schedule page at Kentstatesports.com
The Coaches
Scott Stricklin is currently in his fifth year as head coach of the Kent State Golden Flashes. He has a career record of 175-98 and has two MAC regular season titles and a conference tournament title.
Akron is coached by Pat Bangtson, who is in his fourth season as head coach of Akron. In three years with the Zips, Bangtson has an overall record of 79-114. Prior to his time at Akron, Bangtson was a pitching coach at Ohio State under former Kent State head coach Bob Todd.
Friday's game between the two teams will be the fifth game of the season against an opposing head coach with Kent State ties. The Golden Flashes split a pair of games with Ball State and Kent State graduate Greg Beals in late March (won 10-9, lost 4-2) before defeating Ohio State and former KSU head coach Bob Todd on April 15 (8-7). On Tuesday (May 5), Kent State lost to Bangtson's Akron squad 12-5.
Last Time They Met
Kent State and Akron squared off Tuesday (May 5) for the third annual “Diamond Classic for Kids.” For the third-straight year, the home team came out on top. Akron defeated Kent State 12-5 in front of 987 spectators.
Freshman Jimmy Rider led off the game with his third home run of the year (coincidentally, the previous leadoff home run for the Golden Flashes was Chris Tremblay at last year's charity game). Redshirt junior Jared Humphreys added his eighth home run of the year and his sixth in the last 11 games. Redshirt sophomore reliever Robert Sabo lost his first game of the year and is 3-1 overall.
With the game tied at four in the bottom of the fifth, Akron senior Brett Savage hit a grand slam to put the Zips up for good. Senior Matt Roberts, sophomore Brandon White and junior Nick Solitario also added round-trippers for the Zips. Junior Brian Kordal went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Redshirt freshman Danny Fawcett improved to 2-0 on the season.
Last Conference Series For KSU
Kent State dropped its first conference series since 2008 when it went 1-2 at Buffalo. However, thanks to a three-game sweep of Bowling Green over Ohio, Kent State currently leads the Mid-American Conference over Bowling Green by a single game.
In Saturday's series finale at Buffalo, a Kent State 16-8 win, redshirt junior Jared Humphreys went 4-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high eight RBI. Junior Jon Pokorny threw 4.1 scoreless innings to improve to 5-2.
Last Conference Series For Akron
Just like Kent State, the Zips lost the first two games before beating Miami 4-2 in game three this past weekend in Akron's final home game. Senior Frank Turocy came out of the bullpen to improve to 3-5 on the season.
Let's Meet your Starting Pitchers
In Friday's match-up, Kent State will send Brad Stillings to the mound to face Akron's freshman right-hander Andrew Brown. Stillings is 5-2 on the year with a 5.91 ERA and is second in the league with 62 strikeouts. Brown is 2-4 on the year with a 5.71 ERA.
Saturday will feature KSU southpaw Kyle Hallock against Akron's freshman right-hander Alex Loftin. Hallock is 2-2 with one save in nine starts (10 total appearances) this year and has a 4.23 ERA. Loftin is 1-2 and has an ERA of 6.00 in nine appearances (three starts) this year.
According to the NCAA
Kent State is ranked in the top-25 in six statistical categories through May 3. The Golden Flashes are fifth in winning percentage (.761), 11th in scoring (9.74 runs per game) and runs (431), 19th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.7), 20th in sacrifice flies (28) and 25th in triples (17). In addition to team rankings, redshirt junior Cory Hindel is 21st in sacrifice bunts (10) and sophomore Ben Klafczynski is 25th in doubles (19).
Dynamic Duo
A pair of Kent State senior players have shown success from the plate and in the field during their careers. Chris Tremblay is second with 13 career triples. He is also tied for fifth with 747 at-bats, and eighth in both runs (165) and hits (236). Fifth-year senior Greg Rohan is fourth with 45 career home runs and fifth in both total bases (400) and RBI (171). Defensively, Tremblay is second in career assists (543) and Rohan is seventh in putouts (863).
Also in the Record Books
Freshman Andrew Chafin is already sixth in season and career saves (8) while defensively, senior Brad Winter is ninth in career putouts with 847. Junior Anthony Gallas is tied for ninth with 30 career home runs and 10th with 95 career walks. Junior Jon Pokorny is seventh with 62 career appearances on the mound.
MAC Decade of Dominance
Since the 1999 season, Kent State has recorded the best conference record in the MAC...
Team MAC Record Percentage
Kent State 183-88-0 .675
Ball State 173-100-0 .634
Miami 172-112-0 .606
Central Michigan 167-112-0 .599
Ohio 150-125-1 .545
Bowling Green 149-126-0 .542
Eastern Michigan 149-138-0 .519
Western Michigan 135-143-0 .486
Toledo 118-143-0 .452
Northern Illinois 114-165-0 .409
Akron 105-166-0 .387
Buffalo* 53-163-1 .245
* Joined Mid-American Conference in 2001
Righty Success
In 2008, Kent State was a jaw-dropping 14-games over .500 (19-5) when the game starter was a southpaw compared to only one-game (17-16) against righties.
For 2009, 37 of 47 starting pitchers KSU has faced has been a right-hander. The Flashes are 28-9 this season when facing righties while KSU is 7-3 against lefties.
Next Up
Kent State will conclude the 2009 regular season next week when thy host the Miami RedHawks for a three-game series.
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