Kent State University
Eastern Michigan University
Nationally Ranked Golden Flashes Ready for MAC Tournament Action
5/24/2016 3:23:00 PM | Baseball
Ranked No. 23 in the nation, No. 1 seed Kent State (41-12) has its sights set on a Mid-American Conference Tournament title as the team opens up play Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. against No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan. The tournament is hosted at All-Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.
COVERAGE
• All games will be aired live on ESPN3
• The games will also be aired on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio
• Live stats will be available at sidearmstats.com/mac/baseball
MATCHUPS
Eastern Michigan
• Kent State is 65-42 all-time against Eastern Michigan
• The Flashes swept the Eagles this season in Ypsilanti by scores of 13-3, 4-2 and 7-3
• As a team, the Eagles are batting .249 and have an ERA of 5.01
Northern Illinois
• Kent State is 35-18 all-time against Northern Illinois
• The two teams did not meet this season, but the Flashes swept the Huskies last season in Dakalb 16-4, 7-4 and 10-3
• As a team, the Huskies are batting .262 and have an ERA of 5.64
Toledo
• Kent State is 91-66-1 all-time against Toledo
• The Flashes won the season series at home, taking game one 3-0 then splitting a Sunday double header by losing 4-1 and winning 2-1
• As a team, the Rockets are batting .244 and have an ERA of 4.96
Ball State
• Kent State is 63-53 all-time against Ball State
• The two teams did not meet in conference play this season, but the Flashes beat the Cardinals 8-3 at the RussMatt Invitational in a non-conference game in February
• As a team, the Cardinals are batting .292 and have an ERA of 4.32, ranking second in the conference in both categories behind the Flashes
Miami
• Kent State is 107-79 all-time against Miami
• The Flashes won the series at home against the RedHawks, taking game one 10-3, losing 5-2, then winning the finale 4-3
• As a team, the RedHawks are batting .263 and have an ERA of 4.79
Western Michigan
• Kent State is 71-80 all-time against Western Michigan
• The Flashes won the series at home against the Broncos, dropping the first game 5-4 before winning 9-7 and 13-2
• As a team, the Broncos are batting .274 and have an ERA of 5.99
Central Michigan
• Kent State is 50-56 all-time against Central Michigan
• The Flashes took the series on the road this season, winning 17-5 in the first game against the Chippewas, followed by a 13-10 loss and 5-2 win
• As a team, the Chippewas are batting .256 and have an ERA of 4.80
MAGIC NUMBERS
• Kent State has excelled with two outs this season with runners on base. The team has scored 162 runs with two outs, nearly half of the teams' total of 357 (45%)
• Scoring six or more runs in a game is an important goal for the Golden Flashes, as the team is 29-3 when scoring six or more
• It is also a good sign when Kent State scores in the first inning. They are 17-1 this season when that happens.
• Scoring first is also a positive sign, as the Golden Flashes are 32-6 when doing so
• The team is successful at holding on to their lead. They are 32-2 when leading after six innings, 34-0 when up after seven and 35-0 when leading after eight
• When tied in the final three frames, the team is 6-1 when tied through six, 3-0 tied through seven and 2-0 tied after eight
• The Golden Flashes remain a perfect 15-0 when making no errors in a game
40 WIN MILESTONE
• Kent State reached 40 wins in the regular season for just the fourth time in program history
• The 1983, 1986 and 1993 teams also earned 40 wins before postseason play
• This season marks the 10th in Kent State history that the team earned 40 or more wins
• That win total was also reached in 1983, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2011 and 2012
• 41 wins in the regular season is the 3rd most all-time
SERIES SWEEPERS
• Since the season-opening series that included two top 25 programs, the Golden Flashes have not lost a weekend series this season
• They swept three straight early on at the RussMatt Invitational, at UNC Charlotte and at Radford
• After taking three out of four at Liberty, the team took their first MAC series at Central Michigan then at home against Western Michigan and Toledo
• The brooms then came back out at Eastern Michigan and at Ohio
• A series win over Miami followed before the team went on to sweep Buffalo at home, Bowling Green on the road and then took both games against Western Carolina to finish the regular season
HONORS ROLLING IN
• A Kent State player has earned MAC East Division Player or Pitcher of the Week honors on 15 different occastions this year
• Eric Lauer led the way with six pitcher of the week honors
• Andy Ravel and Conner Simonetti recieved honors twice
• Also earning the accolade was Zarley Zalewski, Dylan Rosa, Pete Schuler, Luke Burch and Joey Murray
• Lauer was also named a Collegaiate Baseball National Player of the Week twice this season
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
• Both the team and individuals are on pace to rewrite the Kent State record book this season
• The team ERA of 2.82 currently stands as 4th-best for a single season
• In career stats, Zarley Zalewski is 12 at-bats away from breaking into the top ten. He is also 8th in hits and one double away from the top ten in those
• Alex Miklos is tied for the Kent State career lead in triples
• On the mound, Eric Lauer is 5th in innings pitched, tied for 6th in wins and is 2nd in strikeouts in his three-year career
• In individual season records, Luke Burch is nine hits away from joining the top ten and one stolen base away from breaking into that list
• Dylan Rosa is two RBI from breaking the top ten
• Conner Simonetti needs one more homerun to join the top ten in that single season category
SUPER STREAKS
• The weekend rotation of Eric Lauer, Andy Ravel and Eli Kraus are putting together some great numbers
• Lauer has not allowed an earned run in 27.2 innings and has not allowed a free base since he walked one batter against Buffalo on May 6
• Likewise, Ravel has not allowed an earned run in his last 23 innings
• Kraus put together a perfect 6-0 conference season and at 9-1 overall, he has suffered a loss since his season-opener against Old Dominion on February 20
• Offensively, Zarley Zalewski and Reilly Hawkins are both on seven-game hit streaks
• Conner Simonetti has reached base safely in his last 15 games and Hawkins the last 13
NATIONAL RANKINGS
• Zarley Zalewski is currently third in the nation in hits for active career leaders
• The team is currently ranked 8th in the nation in ERA, 45th in scoring average, 11th in hits allowed per innings, 50th in runs, 37th in sacrifice bunts, 46th in scoring, 17th in shutouts, 51st in slugging percentage, 46th in strikeout to walk ratio, 41st in strikeouts per nine innings, 26th in WHIP and 5th in win-loss percentage
• Eric Lauer is the nation's leader in ERA while he ranks 2nd in hits allowed per nine innings, 6th in strikeouts and 2nd in WHIP
• Luke Burch is 38th in hits
• Conner Simonetti is 35th in homeruns
• Dylan Rosa ranks 30th in RBI
• Mason Mamarella is 3rd in sacrifice bunts
• Zach Willeman is 15th in the nation with 12 saves
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
• While taking care of business on the field this season, the team also excelled in the classroom
• The team posted its best in-season GPA in program history
• Lauer was named a Academic All-District honoree and is up for Academic All-America
• Two former Major Leaguers, Andy Sonnanstine and John Van Benschoten, finished their undergraduate degrees this spring
• Fellow former Flash and Major Leaguer Dirk Hayhurst earned his MBA
• The seven undergraduate degree earners from the program combined to achieve a term GPA of 3.6
