Skulina Silences Gold Team As Blue Team Forces Deciding Fifth Game Of Kent State Baseball's World Series
10/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Golden Flashes receive 2011 Mid-American Conference Championship rings following contest
KENT, Ohio -- Sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Skulina (Strongsville, Ohio) twirled five scoreless frames and struck out seven as the Blue Team blanked the Gold Team, 6-0, Sunday (Oct. 16) in game four of Kent State baseball's World Series at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. The contest ended after the sixth inning on account of inclement weather.
The Blue victory evens the series at two games apiece and forces a fifth and deciding showdown Monday (Oct. 17). First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Blue took a 2-0 lead to open the scoring in the second inning. Redshirt junior infielder Nick Hamilton (Avon Lake, Ohio) got things started with a leadoff base hit and then stole second base. Freshman catcher Tommy Monnot (Canton, Ohio) plated Hamilton with a single. Monnot scored on a single by freshman outfielder Jacob Neuschaefer (Elyria, Ohio) to put the Blue up by two.
Sophomore outfielder T.J. Sutton (Uniontown, Ohio) extended Blue's lead to three runs in the third when he cracked a leadoff double and later scored on an RBI groundout by senior catcher David Lyon (Emporium, Pa.)
Blue delivered its final blow in the fifth with three more runs. Senior outfielder Joe Koch (Youngstown, Ohio) smacked a one-out triple, and Sutton and senior infielder Jimmy Rider (Venetia, Pa.) followed by getting hit by a pitch and drawing a walk, respectively, to fill the bases. Lyon took advantage of his veteran plate discipline by coaxing a walk to bump home Koch. Hamilton drove in Sutton with an RBI groundout, and Rider tallied the final run when scampered home on a wild pitch.
Skulina combined with freshman righty Eli Martin (Dresden, Ohio) to silence the Gold. Martin fanned out one in one scoreless inning of relief.
Sophomore starting righty Spencer Bryant (Sandusky, Ohio) was charged with the pitching defeat for the Gold.
Sunday's contest was followed by a Parents' Day Picnic and the 2011 Mid-American Conference Championship Ring Ceremony. Family and friends of the Golden Flashes enjoyed a catered lunch from Cajun Dave's, then watched proudly as the Flashes were presented with the fruits of their hard work and dedication last season from eighth-year head coach Scott Stricklin.
Kent State finished the 2011 season ranked No. 26 in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, winning the MAC regular season and tournament championships and earning a berth in the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional. After earning the program's first-ever national tournament regional No. 3 seed, Kent State tallied an 11-inning 4-2 win over Texas State and followed it with a 7-5 winner's bracket triumph over regional host and No. 5-ranked Texas to earn the school's second-ever berth in a regional final. The Flashes became the first squad to win three straight MAC Tournament crowns and first since 2005 to win the conference's regular season and tournament titles in the same season. Kent State's mark of 45-17 matched the 1992 squad for most victories in program history.
