Pitcher's Duel Ends in 2-1 Win for Kent State
4/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
OXFORD, Ohio – It didn't come easy, but Kent State (15-16, 7-3) was able to get the 2-1 win over Miami (14-16, 7-3) in a pitcher's duel behind the performances of Taylor Williams and Brian Clark.
"Friday night you have two aces going against each other, and both guys really competed well on the mound," said head coach Scott Stricklin. "Taylor was very good, as good as he's been all year. [Miami starter Brooks] Fiala was outstanding as well. I thought the starting pitchers were what we expected and we were fortunate to grind out a win."
Kent State now shares the lead in the Mid-American Conference East division with Miami and Buffalo.
It took the Golden Flashes until the eighth inning to get any runs off of Miami's ace, Fiala. Alex Miklos led off the inning with a single and got to second on a passed ball. In his first at-bat of the game, Tommy Monnot raked a RBI double to the left field wall to tie the game.
"It was a huge at-bat," Stricklin said. "He did a good job working the count, getting a fastball count, and he put a great swing on the ball. It was probably the hardest hit ball all game-long. It was a clutch hit."
Derek Toadvine followed with a base hit and Sawyer Polen walked to load the bases with one out for Kent State. With a full-count on him, Evan Campbell battled, fouling off three pitches, to eventually draw the walk that scored the winning run.
Williams (6-1) dominated once again in the start. He went seven innings with one run, six hits and a career-high 11 strikeouts. Brian Clark picked up his third save in one of the best outings of his career. Clark struck out four of the seven batters he faced in two innings of work, throwing a total of 30 pitches, 26 for strikes.
"That's the best I've seen Brian throw," said Stricklin of his 2012 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. "It's really encouraging, it's a confidence builder for him. He's been a little up and down, but that's as good as I've seen him throw in the last two years."
Toadvine went 2-for-4 on the night to lead the Golden Flashes offensively. Monnot was the only one to hit for extra bases.
The two teams face each other again Saturday at 3:00 pm. Kent State will look to build on Friday's momentum to take the top spot in the MAC East.
"Winning Friday does a lot for your psyche and your confidence," said Stricklin. "It just really changes the way you come to the ballpark the next day."
