Kent State University
16-7, 4-0
University at Buffalo
7-15, 0-1
Kraus Cruises as Flashes Top Bulls 9-1
4/1/2017 6:16:00 PM | Baseball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State (16-7, 4-0) put together a strong showing on Saturday to open up its series against Buffalo (7-15, 0-1) with a 9-1 victory.
It all started on the mound as Eli Kraus did not allow an earned run in seven solid innings and was followed by great bullpen pitching from Patrick Dayton and Austin Havekost.
The offense was also sparked from the top as Luke Burch put in a 4-for-5 day to lead the way as the Flashes put up 14 hits and had some help with four Bulls errors.
The only bad inning for Kent State came in the first as Buffalo grabbed a 1-0 lead on a walk, double and error.
It wouldn't take long for the Golden Flashes to get in front as they went on to score nine unanswered runs. They took the lead with a two-run 2nd as Dom Iero singled and Pete Schuler sent a towering shot over the wall in right center. Two more runs were added in the 3rd when Mason Mamarella and Dylan Rosa earned back-to-back base hits before both coming home on a double by Tim DalPorto.
Another run was tagged on in the 6th on a John Matthews single, Burch single, Mamarella fielder's choice and another error by Buffalo that allowed Matthews to come home. That made it 5-1. The game broke open with a four-run 8th. In the frame, Matthews again started things off as he reached on an error. Burch and Mamarella both singled. Rosa then came up with a double off the wall in dead center to make it an 8-1 contest. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Rosa scored on a groundout later on in the inning.
Kraus had a final line of five hits, three walks and five strikeouts in 7.0 innings. Dayton allowed one hit and struck out two in the 8th while Havekost threw the final frame with one strikeout.
Mamarella, Rosa, and Hurt all picked up two hits on the day while DalPorto led the team with three RBI.
Kent State and Buffalo will continue the series on Sunday in a doubleheader. The first of two nine-inning games is set to begin at 11 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kraus, Eli (5-2)
L: TUOHY, Alec (4-3)
Batting:
2B: MALLARO, Vinny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DUDEK, Brian 1
Batting:
2B: Rosa, Dylan 1 ; DalPorto, Tim 1
HR: Schuler, Pete 1
RBI: Mamarella, Mason 1 ; Rosa, Dylan 2 ; DalPorto, Tim 3 ; Schuler, Pete 2
SH: Hurt, Sam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burch, Luke 1 ; Mamarella, Mason 2 ; Rosa, Dylan 2 ; Iero, Dom 1 ; Schuler, Pete 1 ; Matthews, John 2
CS: Burch, Luke 1
