Kent State University
Ohio University
Baseball Faces First MAC East Foe at Ohio this Weekend
4/21/2016 8:32:00 PM | Baseball
Baseball (27-10, 9-3) will face its first Mid-American Conference East Division opponent of the season when the team travels to Ohio (17-19, 5-7) for three games. Friday's matchup is at 6 p.m. with Saturday's at 3 p.m. and the finale is Sunday at 1 p.m.
COVERAGE
• A live broadcast will air on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio
• Live stats will be available at ohiobobcats.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, April 22
Kent State: #10 LHP Eric Lauer (6-2, 0.90 ERA, 74 SO, 20 BB, 9 GS, 60.1 IP)
Ohio: #18 RHP Jake Miller (2-6, 5.15 ERA, 37 SO, 23 BB, 8 GS, 50.2 IP)
Saturday, April 23
Kent State: #35 RHP Andy Ravel (4-3, 4.88 ERA, 44 SO, 11 BB, 9 GS, 51.2 IP)
Ohio: #34 RHP Jake Rudnicki (4-1, 4.67 ERA, 58 SO, 27 BB, 9 GS, 54.0 IP)
Sunday, April 24
Kent State: #31 LHP Eli Kraus (6-1, 2.25 ERA, 35 SO, 20 BB, 9 GS, 56.0 IP)
Ohio: #31 RHP Connor Sitz (2-3, 4.03 ERA, 26 SO, 20 BB, 9 GS, 38.0 IP)
THE MATCHUP
• Kent State is 76-95-1 all-time against Ohio
• Last season, the Bobcats were able to win the series held in Kent. They took the first two games 7-5 and 11-4 before the Golden Flashes won the finale 9-2
• The last time Kent State was in Athens the team swept with scores of 11-1, 5-3 and 18-2
• Prior to last season, the Bobcats had not won a series versus the Flashes since 1998
• So far in MAC play, Ohio has lost a series with Northern Illinois, lost a series at Ball State, won a home series against Buffalo and lost its most recent matchup at Bowling Green
• The Bobcats are batting .290 and have a team ERA of 4.98
BIG WEEK FOR AWARDS
• Andy Ravel and Conner Simonetti were named the MAC East Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for their help in the Flashes going 4-0 during last week's four contests
• Simonetti was also named the MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week, an award that recognizes both academic and athletic excellence
• Eric Lauer was tabbed as a Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list member, putting him in the company of 59 other top players across the nation
CLOSING IN ON RECORDS
• Zarley Zalewski currently sits 9th all-time in career hits in the Kent State record book
• Alex Miklos is tied for the career lead in triples and is currently 7th all-time in stolen bases
• Eric Lauer is 3rd in career strikeouts and is two innings and one win away from entering the top then in both those career categories
• Zach Willeman's 16 career saves is good for 4th all-time
MAC RANKINGS
• Through last weekend's games, Kent State is the MAC leader in ERA, strikeouts, opposing batting average, wins, saves, runs allowed, earned runs allowed, doubles allowed and triples allowed
• The Golden Flashes rank in the top three in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, homeruns, total bases, at-bats, walks, sacrifices, stolen bases, hits allowed, walks allowed, chances, putouts and assists
• Individually, Zalewski is 4th in batting average, 3rd in hits, 3rd in runs scored, 2nd in doubles, 3rd in RBI, 7th in total bases, 4th in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging percentage
• Lauer leads in ERA, wins, strikeouts and opposing batting average
• Luke Burch ranks 10th in hits and 2nd in stolen bases
• Dylan Rosa is 7th in the MAC in runs scored, 3rd in homeruns, 4th in doubles, 2nd in RBI, 5th in total bases and 4th in slugging percentage
• Simonetti is 3rd in homeruns, 8th in total bases and 7th in slugging percentage
• Eli Kraus is tied for the lead in wins, is 4th in innings pitched and 5th in opposing batting average
• Ravel ranks 6th in strikeouts
• Willeman leads the MAC in saves
