Kent State Faces Nationally Ranked Pittsburgh on Tuesday
5/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Kent State (30-21) heads to Pittsburgh (40-11) Tuesday night for a 6:00pm game. The Panthers are ranked in the top 25 of all five major polls, with their highest ranking coming in at No. 16.
KENT STATE - PITTSBURGH HISTORY
• Kent State is 34-24 all-time against Pittsburgh.
• The teams split their two meetings last year, with each taking a 6-5 home win.
• The Golden Flashes have won nine of the last ten games versus the Panthers. Kent State outscored Pittsburgh 101-48 in the last ten games.
• Kent State swept both games in 2011, 2010, 2008 and 2006. They also took the only meeting in 2007. The teams did not meet in 2009.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
• The Mid-American Conference regular season title is looking to come down to the wire this weekend.
• Kent State sits just a half game behind Buffalo for the top spot in the standings.
• The Golden Flashes face a ninth place Akron team in the final conference series, beginning with the annual Diamond Classic for Kids Thursday night at Canal Park.
• The Bulls have a tougher test, facing a No. 5 Bowling Green team on the road.
• The weekend series will wrap up the final conference games of the season, leading up to the MAC Tournament beginning next Wednesday at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon. Buffalo, Kent State and Northern Illinois have all clinched spots.
WEEKEND RECAP: vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
• Kent State swept Western Michigan in the three-game conference series last weekend.
• In the opening game on Friday, Taylor Williams pitched a complete game, shutout victory to open the series with a 3-0 win. All three of the Golden Flashes' runs came on four Bronco errors in the seventh inning.
• Kent State's offense woke up on Saturday, propelling the team to a 13-4 victory on 13 hits. Both George Roberts and Tommy Monnot went 3-for-4 in the game with four RBI. Two of Roberts' hits were a double and a homerun. Tyler Skulina went six innings in the start, only allowing one run and four hits.
• The sweep was complete in a 4-1 Sunday victory. Pitching led the way as starter Casey Wilson went 6.2 innings only allowing one run. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Eric Dorsch and Brian Clark followed, dominating out of the bullpen. Clark earned his eighth save this season. The first three Kent State runs came on sacrifice flies.
