Kent State Baseball Set To Battle Ontario Blue Jays In Fall Exhibition Matchup
9/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Kent State baseball team gets its first opportunity to play ball in 2011-12, taking on the Ontario Blue Jays Thursday (Sept. 22) at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The exhibition game is open to the public, and admission is free.
"It's an event we look forward to every year," said eighth-year head coach Scott Stricklin. "Getting to play against someone other than your own team is a nice way to break up the monotony of fall practice. Turning the scoreboard on, playing the music, getting the fans in the stands gets the adrenaline pumping and gets everyone excited about the season ahead of us."
Kent State finished the 2011 season ranked No. 26 in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, winning the Mid-American Conference 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 final 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.
Senior left-hander David Starn (Hudson, Ohio) gets the starting nod on the mound for the Golden Flashes. The 2011 MAC Tournament MVP and a First Team All-MAC pick, tied Andy Sonnanstine (2004) for the most strikeouts in a single season in school history with 117, which was tied for the 16th-most in the nation in 2011. He went 2-0 in two starts in the 2011 MAC Tournament, striking out 15 and allowing just two earned runs on 10 hits in 14.1 innings en route to garnering MVP accolades. He also ranked 48th in the nation with a 2.18 ERA and will enter his senior campaign with the Flashes tied with current Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Matt Guerrier (1997-99) for third in school history in career strikeouts with 220.
Thursday's exhibition contest is expected to go 12 innings, with each Kent State pitcher expected to toss one or two innings.
