Kent State University
University at Buffalo
Baseball to Host Buffalo Starting with Noon Game on Friday
3/30/2017 11:46:00 AM | Baseball
Kent State (15-7, 3-0) will host its first Mid-American Conference games of the season at Schoonover this weekend when Buffalo (7-14) comes to town. Friday's start time has been moved up to noon while Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
COVERAGE
• Ty Linder will have the call on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio
• Live stats will run at sidearmstats.com/kent/baseball
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, March 31
Kent State: #31 LHP Eli Kraus (4-2, 4.46 ERA, 28 SO, 9 BB, 6 GS, 36.1 IP)
Buffalo: #5 RHP Alec Tuohy (4-2, 9.60 ERA, 26 SO, 12 BB, 6 GS, 30.0 IP)
Saturday, April 1
Kent State: #23 RHP Zach Willeman (4-2, 6.23 ERA, 25 SO, 14 BB, 6 GS, 30.1 IP)
Buffalo: #26 RHP Charlie Sobieraski (0-5, 6.98 ERA, 15 SO, 25 BB, 6 GS, 29.2 IP)
Sunday, April 2
Kent State: #30 RHP Joey Murray (3-0, 2.03 ERA, 44 SO, 13 BB, 6 GS, 31.0 IP)
Buffalo: #16 RHP Shawn Dubin (2-1, 2.53 ERA, 27 SO, 22 BB, 6 GS, 32.0 IP)
THE MATCHUP
• Kent State is 44-10 all-time against Buffalo
• Last season, the Golden Flashes swept at home, winning 5-4, 5-0 and 12-2
• The Bulls used the same starting rotation in that series as the plan to use this weekend
• Buffalo last won in 2015 at home in a 10-2 game in the middle of the series
• The Bulls are coming off a 5-4 win at St. Bonaventure this past Tuesday
• This weekend will mark the first conference games for them
• Buffalo is batting .257 as a team and holds a combined ERA of 7.35
SUPER STATS
• The Golden Flashes currently lead every team in the nation with 13 road wins
• Their RPI currently stands at 26th through Tuesday's games
• Kent State's team batting average of .310 ranks 24th in the nation
• The team also ranks 30th in homeruns per game, 28th in slugging percentage, 39th in triples per game, 45th in strikeout to walk ratio and 47th in WHIP
• Individually, Connor Wollersheim is 27th in the nation in ERA and 23rd in hits allowed per nine innings
• Zach Spangler ranks 34th in saves
• Joey Murray is 51st in strikeouts and 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings
• Luke Burch ranks 39th in hits and 9th in hits per game
• Mason Mamarella is 29th in the country in triples per game
LOOKING AHEAD
• After the weekend series, Kent State will remain home to host Youngstown State for a 4 p.m. game on Tuesday, April 4
• They will then travel to Columbus on Wednesday to take on Ohio State at 6:35 p.m.
• The Golden Flashes will be road warriors for a bit before returning back to Schoonover Stadium for a MAC series with Toledo April 21-23
