Kent State University
Liberty University
ESPN3 to Broadcast Baseball's Games at Liberty
3/17/2016 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
Kent State (10-4) will face off in four games at Liberty (12-6) this weekend will all games aired live on ESPN3. The series will start with a 5 p.m. matchup on Friday and will continue with two games on Saturday at noon and 3:30 p.m.. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
COVERAGE
• A live broadcast will be streamed on ESPN3
• Live stats will be available at libertyflames.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, March 18
Kent State: #10 LHP Eric Lauer (2-1, 1.82 ERA, 22 SO, 11 BB, 4 GS, 24.2 IP)
Liberty: #17 RHP Evan Mitchell (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 12 SO, 11 BB, 3 GS, 20.2 IP)
Saturday, March 19 • Game One
Kent State: #35 RHP Andy Ravel (3-0, 4.01 ERA, 13 SO, 4 BB, 4 GS, 24.2 IP)
Liberty: #21 LHP Victor Cole (0-1, 2.25 ERA, 14 SO, 9 BB, 3 GS, 16.0 IP)
Saturday, March 19 • Game Two
Kent State: #31 LHP Eli Kraus (2-1, 3.27 ERA, 15 SO, 11 BB, 4 GS, 22.0 IP)
Liberty: TBD
Sunday, March 20
Kent State: TBD
Liberty: TBD
THE MATCHUP
• Kent State is 2-5 all-time against Liberty
• Last season the teams met for three games after the opener was cancelled due to weather
• The Golden Flashes took the first game of the double header 7-4 on Saturday then dropped the second 4-3 in 12 innings
• The Flames took the series by winning Sunday's finale 8-3
• The teams met for the first time in 2014, with Liberty taking all three games, winning 6-2, 4-2 and 9-1
• As a team, the Flames are batting .293 and have an ERA of 4.79
• They are coming off a big 22-7 midweek win over Virginia Tech
• Last weekend they won their own invitational by beating Central Connecticut State twice and Evansville twice
TERRIFIC TEN
• A 10-3 start to the season is the best for the Golden Flashes since they also started 10-3 in 1992
• The best opening record for the program was in 1983 when the team went 27-3 in its first 30 games
• Kent State outscored its opponents 75-38 in the ten game stretch
• The team batted .301 in those ten games, led by a .474 average by Zarley Zalewski
• Seven players hit .300 or better
• On the mound, the Flashes' arms combined for an ERA of 2.66 during the ten game win streak
• Four relievers had 0.00 ERAs and Eric Lauer has posted a 0.92 ERA with 17 strikeouts through his last three starts
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE LEADERS
• Kent State is the only team in the MAC with a record over .500
• Through last weekend's games, the team has the best ERA and second-best batting average
• Individually, Zarley Zalewski is 3rd in batting average, 4th in runs scored, 8th in total bases, 5th in on-base percentage, 8th in slugging percentage
• Eric Lauer is 5th in the MAC in ERA, is tied for the lead in innings pitched, 4th in strikeouts and 4th in opposing batting average
• Eli Kraus ranks 9th in ERA, 7th in innings pitched and has the MAC's only complete game
• Dylan Rosa is 6th in RBI
• Luke Burch is tied for 2nd in stolen bases
• Andy Ravel leads the conference with three wins, is tied for the most innings pitched and is 10th in opposing batting average
• Tim Faix is tied for second in appearances
• Zach Willeman is tied for the lead in saves
• MAC play begins next weekend when Kent State travels to Central Michigan. Both teams were selected as the preseason favorites of their division
