Masters of the Mound
5/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Masters of the Mound
Pitching-rich '93 Flashes Hold 20th Reunion Saturday
By Ty Linder
Kent State Athletic Communications
Note: Several members of the 1993 Kent State baseball team will be recognized Saturday at Schoonover Stadium prior to the 6 p.m. game with Central Michigan. Fans are asked to arrive early to take in the pre-game ceremony.
A year ago, the 1992 MAC Champion Kent State Golden Flashes were hailed as "The Team That Started it All." If that's the case, the 1993 MAC Champions and NCAA Regional semi-finalists is the team that ensured KSU Baseball had arrived as a permanent threat to the pennant.
Coming off a sensational 1992 campaign that saw them raise their first banner in three decades, the 1993 Flashes still had high expectations as the curtain drew on the season. And bucking the normal and accepted trend of northern teams starting slow, head coach Danny Hall's group blasted out of the starting gates to a 7-1 record in late March.
OMEN IN THE OPENER
The 5-0 blanking of UNC-Wilmington by starter Dustin Hermanson in the season opener was impressive. The sophomore right-hander was magnificent, holding the Seahawks scoreless on three hits in the effort. It was an opening day performance that certainly set the tone and served as a harbinger of things to come.
Five days later, in the friendly confines of Gene Michael Field, the Flashes and Wright State Raiders took to the field for game one of a scheduled doubleheader. Hall gave the ball to sophomore Travis Miller who calmly retired the first seven Raiders he faced. Miller then plunked Rod Miller but managed to induce a double play ball by the next batter. A sixth-inning walk of Andy Banks was the only other blemish on Miller's magnificent outing as the Flashes celebrated their first no-hitter since 1987. It was a 1-0 win and the second shutout of KSU's opening week.
The Golden Flashes split their first conference series – a four game tilt in Lucas County against the Toledo Rockets. But even in defeat, the KSU pitchers weren't giving in much. They lost one game 1-0 and another 4-2. A doubleheader sweep of neighboring Youngstown State followed in early April – featuring two more shutout victories; one by Mike Nartker and the other by rookie Jim Farrell.
After another four-game series split – this time against Western Michigan – KSU began a remarkable six-game stretch where the pitching staff didn't allow more than one run in any of the six contests. Nartker moved to 5-0 with a 7-1 win over Miami and junior Brian Tutkovics joined the party as well; edging the Redskins 2-1 to improve to 3-0.
From there, the Golden Flashes simply cruised to the regular season crown. By the time of the MAC Tournament in Kent, the Flashes' pitching staff had compiled 12 shutouts in their 32 victories. In 13 other games, the opposition was limited to just a single run. This was also in part thanks to a defense that was the league's best.
TOURNAMENT TIME
Kent rocked into tournament play where its roll came to a stop at the hands of the Ball State Cardinal ace Curt Conley. Conley cuffed the Flashes for nine innings, holding the tournament top seed to just four hits as Hermanson suffered the tough luck loss, 1-0.
With their backs against the wall, Kent rallied behind a masterful complete game shutout by Miller the next day as the Flashes bounced Central Michigan, 6-0. Sophomore Ryan Beeney's fifth-inning grand slam was all the offense Miller needed. Later that day, the Flashes found themselves locked in a 4-4, ninth-inning tie with Western Michigan in an elimination game. To lead off the bottom half, Kevin Zellers doubled and eventually scored the season-saving fifth run as Kent pulled out a 5-4 win.
Now in the title series, Hall knew he'd have to beat the Cardinals twice to reach the NCAA Regionals for a second straight year. So he gave the ball to Tutkovics. The right-hander was simply brilliant; striking out five in eight innings of work. The Flashes had forced a winner-take-all de facto "Game 7" with a resounding 8-1 win.
Just 45 minutes later, Hall gave the ball to rookie Tom Bouch for the most important game of the year. All the lefty did was stymie the birds' bats for nearly seven innings, striking out four. Scoreless into the fifth, the first two Kent batters went silently. With two outs and the bases empty, the Flashes loaded the bases thanks to a walk, single and an error. Then, junior Sean Freeman banged a two-run single to center giving the Flashes a 2-0 lead. It became 3-0 when Steve Smetana chased home Beeney and the deep Kent pitching staff knew that would be enough.
After a brief shutout appearance by Bryan Farson, Hermanson tossed the final inning and two-thirds of the 3-1 title game triumph. And as the dominant righty collected out number 27, the Flashes were once again able to celebrate on their own field for the second straight year.
BATTLE IN THE BAYOU
Eager to erase the disappointment from their trip to the 1992 NCAA Regionals in Tallahassee, the 1993 MAC Champions again headed South – this time to legendary Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. And despite a loss in game one to Baylor, the third-seeded Flashes were ready for their battle with top-seeded LSU. The Bayou Bengals entered play with a 46-15 mark while Kent came in at 39-14.
LSU struck first with a four-run first off Miller. Undaunted, the Kent State bats roared to life in the second. After three hits loaded the bases, freshman Travis Middleton launched a majestic grand slam into the afternoon humidity to tie the game at 4-4. After a ground out, another rookie struck – this time Tim Fails – who succeeded in clearing the outfield fence for a go-ahead home run.
Then, the two teams put on a slugfest that would have made Ali and Frazier proud. By the time the jabs and uppercuts were counted, the Tigers had an 11-6 lead and the Flashes were smelling canvas. But with Hall in their corner, they were able to regroup, and ready themselves for another round.
In the eighth, Kent got singles and RBIs from nearly every corner of the lineup. As the wheels fell off for the Tigers on errors and bases loaded walks, catcher Scott Stricklin delivered a two-run bullet to center field to cap the comeback and tie the game at 11-11. After a successful sacrifice, Kevin Zellers – who had started the historic rally with a leadoff walk – delivered a two-run single to center and the local nine had amazingly taken a 13-11 lead. They added two more on singles from Fails and Beeney to finish off the 9-run eighth and suck the life out of the 4,672 in attendance.
"It was a crazy game," catcher Stricklin said at the time. "In the eighth inning, everyone did their job."
"I have to give our guys credit for coming back and scoring a lot of runs. We have been winning with our pitching all year, but today we found a new way by scoring runs," Hall said.
"They really hit the ball well. Nineteen hits is exceptional and nine-run innings don't come very often," Tigers head coach Skip Bertman said.
The cardiac Flashes rallied again the next day against Western Carolina. After spotting the Catamounts two early runs, Hall's bunch outscored the six seed 8-3 over the next seven frames as Tutkovics gave the bullpen a break with a complete game victory.
"I just really wanted to keep the runners off base and hopefully the hitting would come around, and it did," he said.
"They have a solid team. When we were watching ESPN when the bids came out, I was happy to see both of us in the same region. They pounded us last year (14-1) and I was glad to get the chance to play them again," Freeman added.
THE NATION'S BEST
Though the Flashes' regional run would end the next day in heartbreaking fashion, it was still another dramatic step by Hall's program. After dropping a 7-6 sudden-death game to South Alabama in the regional semi-finals, Kent watched from afar as the LSU Tigers – who they'd beaten 15-12 – eventually won the regional and celebrated in Nebraska as college baseball's national champions.
For Hall, the 1993 NCAA Division I Diamond Sports/ABCA Coach of the Year award.
For the Flashes' pitching staff, the title of DI National ERA Champions. With a miniscule team ERA of 2.37, the Kent arms could proudly call themselves the best pitching staff in America.
Hermanson's appointment to the USA Baseball national team was the first such honor in school history, Nartker earned MAC Pitcher of the Year honors and Stricklin was drafted in June by the Minnesota Twins.
While much has changed at Schoonover Stadium since the 1993 team roamed the natural grass of what was then known as Gene Michael Field, one thing has stayed the same. Pitching and defense win championships. And Hall's 1993 Golden Flashes had plenty of both.
