Kent State Baseball Summer Recap
9/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Golden Flashes set to begin fall practice Wednesday (Sept. 5) at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.
KENT, Ohio -- The Kent State baseball program is set to begin fall practice Wednesday (Sept. 5) at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. Twenty four of the team's student-athletes continued their development during the summer by participating in wooden bat leagues across the country.
Eleven Golden Flashes competed in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, nine played in the Prospect League, two competed in the Cape Cod League, one played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and another is competed in the Coastal Plain League.
Kent State's 2012 campaign was a historic one, with the Golden Flashes setting a new school standard for wins in a single season with 47, posting a 21-game winning streak and reaching the NCAA College World Series for the first time.
Ranked No. 6 in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the Golden Flashes finished their 2012 campaign winning 39 of their last 49 games. The Flashes won a wire-to-wire regular season title and followed it up by going a perfect 4-0 in the MAC Tournament to clinch their fourth straight conference tournament crown.
Kent State, the NCAA Gary Regional's No. 3 seed, advanced to its second straight NCAA Regional winner's bracket final by outlasting Kentucky, 7-6, in 21 innings in the regional opener on June 1 – the second-longest game in the history of the NCAA Tournament – then knocked off the regional host and top seed, then-No. 16 Purdue, 7-3, the following day. Kent State clinched the NCAA Championship Gary Regional title with a 3-2 triumph over then-No. 13 Kentucky on June 3 at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind., marking Kent State's first regional championship.
The Golden Flashes then traveled 2,492 miles to the Pacific Northwest to battle then-No. 10 Oregon in the best-of-three NCAA Eugene Super Regional. Junior center fielder Evan Campbell made a leaping, turn-around catch in deep left-center field to bail Kent State out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth inning and secure a heart-stopping 7-6 win over Oregon in the opening game of the series on June 9. The Ducks rallied from a 2-0 deficit the following night by plating three runs in the seventh inning to overcome the Flashes and force a winner-take-all game three. History repeated itself on June 11 as Kent State's 2-0 lead evaporated in the eighth inning, but a bottom-of-the-ninth, one-out, walk-off bloop hit by senior shortstop Jimmy Rider (Venetia, Pa.) sent the Golden Flashes to Omaha for the first time in program history.
Kent State's first NCAA College World Series appearance was highlighted by a 5-4 win over No. 1 Florida in a Bracket 2 elimination game.
Cape Cod Baseball League
Made two starts, striking out six over nine frames of work.
Hit .234 with 30 hits and 14 runs scored. Helped lead the Firebirds to a Cape Cod League playoff berth.
New England Collegiate Baseball League
Hit .297 with 11 hits -- including five doubles -- in 11 games. Also made two relief appearances on the mound.
Coastal Plain League
Started 24 of the 27 games he played in, hitting .253 with 23 hits.
Prospect League
Appeared in nine games on the mound out of the bullpen, posting a 1-1 record and fanning 14 over 13.2 innings.
Hit .248 with 28 hits -- including eight doubles, two triples, four home runs -- to go along with 19 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Hit a team-best .410 with 50 hits -- including nine doubles, two triples and seven home runs -- to go along with 29 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Also made one relief appearance on the mound, tossing one scoreless inning with one strikeout. Named the Prospect League's fifth-best prospect, according to Baseball America.
Hit .299 with 29 hits -- including six doubles and a triple -- to go along with 13 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
Appeared in 14 games on the mound - including eight starts - and totaled 23 strikeouts over 45.2 innings.
Was Lorain County's top hitter, batting .348 with a team-high 69 hits -- including five home runs (second-most on the team) -- to go along with 29 RBIs (second-most on the team) and a team-high 35 runs scored.
Collected 16 hits - including four doubles - to go along with seven RBIs and 14 runs scored in 27 games.
Made 18 appearances on the mound out of the bullpen, posting 17 strikeouts over 20.2 innings.
Hit .214 with 12 hits - including four doubles and a home run - to go along with eight RBIs and nine runs scored in 19 games.
Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League
Appeared six games and made two starts, going 2-1 with 26 strikeouts over 26 innings.
Made nine appearances on the mound out of the bullpen, striking out 16 over 17.1 innings.
Hit .213 with 13 hits -- including five doubles and a home run -- to go along with eight RBIs in 17 games.
Hit .250 with 14 hits -- including two doubles and a home run -- to go along with four RBIs and 11 runs scored and 10 stolen bases (second-most on the team) in 16 games.
Made six starts on the mound, striking out 22 over 28.1 innings.
Made three appearances on the mound out of the bullpen, posting five strikeouts over 11.2 innings. Named the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League's third-best prospect, according to Baseball America.
Made nine appearances on the mound out of the bullpen with one save, striking out six over 14 innings. Helped lead Lima to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League playoffs.
Earned Second Team All-Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League honors after hitting .393 with 33 hits - including three doubles, two triples and a league-high nine home runs - to go along with 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 23 games. Helped lead Stark County to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League playoffs.Â
Made six appearances on the mound - including five starts - posting a 2-2 record with 24 strikeouts over 20.2 innings. Helped lead Stark County to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League playoffs.
Hit .451 with 32 hits -- including nine doubles, a triple and five home runs -- to go along with 24 RBIs (second-most on the team) and 18 runs scored in 18 games. Helped lead Stark County to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League playoffs.
Made five starts on the mound, posting a 4-1 record with 23 strikeouts over 30 innings. Â Helped lead Stark County to the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League playoffs. Â
