Kent State Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader at Eastern Michigan

Saturday, May 6

Ypsilanti, MI

1:00 PM

Kent State University

29-13, 0

Eastern Michigan University

18-28, 0

Kent State

Eastern Michigan

Photo by: Nate Manley

Kent State Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader at Eastern Michigan

5/6/2017 9:33:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

LIVE STATS

YPSILANTI, Mich. – For the 19^th-straight season and 26^th time in the last 28 years, Kent State (30-13, 14-3) has a 30-win season as it took two at Eastern Michigan (18-29, 9-8) on Saturday.

The Golden Flashed excelled in all facets of the game to beat the Eagles 4-2 in game one and 9-4 in game two.

Game One – Kent State 4, Eastern Michigan 2

Kent State scored single digits in the 2^nd, 3^rd,4^th and 6^th innings in the first game while starter Eli Kraus did not give up a hit until the 4^th frame en route to the victory.

The 2^nd started with a single by Tim DalPorto, followed by an error and ground ball to score the first run of the game. In the 3^rd, Luke Burch was hit by a pitch, stole second and came home on a Mason Mamarella single. DalPorto also led off the 4^th and made some noise with an opposite field solo homerun. The final Flashes' tally came in the 6^th as Dom Iero doubled and scored on a base hit by Zach Schultz.

Kraus went 7.0 innings in the win with four hits, one run, two walks and seven strikeouts. Jared Skolnicki followed with one run on two hits. Robert Zeigler struck out one in the final inning to earn the save as he faced the minimum three batters.

Burch and DalPorto both picked up two hits in the first game.

Game Two - Kent State 9, Eastern Michigan 4

A relentless game at the plate resulted in a series win and double header sweep as Kent State belted out 12 hits in game two.

It started on the second pitch of the game when Burch doubled to right. A walk to Mamarella and single by DalPorto moved him to third, allowing Burch to score easily on a sacrifice fly by Reilly Hawkins.

Eastern Michigan would make game two interesting in the middle innings as they tied it at two with single tallies in the 3^rd and 4^th. However, a two-run 5^th would solidify the win. Burch and Mamarella started the inning with walks. A Iero sacrifice bunt put them both in scoring position before a walk to DalPorto loaded the bases. The first run of the inning came in easy on a balk before Hawkins picked up another RBI on a line out to left field.

The biggest damage came in a four-run 6^th inning. Five singles, a double and a fielder's choice accounted for the damage. Kent State would add two to its lead and make it 9-2 in the 8^th when Mamarella singled, stole second and came home on a hit by Iero. Iero scored later on a base hit from Schultz.

Zach Willeman got the win on the mound as he went 5.0 innings in the start with four hits, one earned run, three walks and five strikeouts. Connor Wollersheim went the rest of the distance with a 4.0 inning save, giving up two hits, two runs and a walk but striking out five.

Burch and DalPorto had two more hits in the second game while Mamarella joined them by going 2-for-3 with two walks. Schultz and John Matthews also had two-hits. Hawkins led the team with three RBI.

The two teams will play Sunday at 1 p.m. in the series finale.