Kent State University
Western Carolina
Flashes and Catamounts to Renew Rivalry
3/15/2018 2:34:00 PM | Baseball
Non-conference weekends end with KSU visiting WCU
Kent State will make its fourth and final trek south for non-conference action this weekend when it travels to Cullowhee, N.C. for a three game series with the Western Carolina Catamounts. It is the third straight regular season meeting between the two MAC and SoCon rivals. The two programs traded victories in the 1992 and 1993 NCAA regionals.
KSU will make an adjustment to its weekend pitching rotation this week as Connor Wollersheim gets the nod on Friday. Joey Murray will pitch Saturday and the Golden Flashes have not yet settled on a Sunday starter. KSU is coming off a weekend series at #7 Arkansas in which it lost two of three games in Fayetteville.
The game times are 5:00 on Friday, 3:00 on Saturday and 1:00 on Sunday.
DIAMOND DIALOGUE
- Kent State is on the road below the Mason-Dixon Line for the fourth straight weekend to start the season.
- KSU is facing Western Carolina for the third straight year. The teams have played 10 games and Kent State is 6-4. The two squads traded wins in the 1992 and 1993 NCAA tournaments.
- Kent State is now 49-20 on the road over the last three seasons.
- KSU has scored 20 runs in the ninth inning so far in 2018. They have outscored the opposition 38-17 from the seventh inning on.
- Kent State has also scored 21 total runs in the first two innings combined this season.
- Last weekend KSU blasted #7 Arkansas 10-4 to pick up its first win over a top-10 team since 2012. Kent State has moved up to #22 in this week's NCAA RPI list.
- The Golden Flashes have won either the Mid-American Conference regular season or tournament championship in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
- KSU has been tabbed the pre-season league favorite in both the regular and post-season.
- The Golden Flashes will take aim at their 20th consecutive season with at least 30 victories. KSU has had one sub-.500 season since 1981.
BUILT ROAD TOUGH
Kent State has been one of the nation's best road teams over the past two seasons. Between 2016 and 2017, the Golden Flashes have posted a sparkling 42-15 record away from Portage County. That mark includes an impressive eight sweeps on the road. KSU is 7-5 this year on the road to bring the three-year total to 49-20.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
The 2018 non-conference weekend schedule comes to an end this weekend in the Nantahala National Forest. The Catamounts of Western Carolina have struggled to find their footing through a rugged interleague schedule so far in 2017 which featured three games with #10 Louisville. Offensively WCU is led by Justice Bigbie. He is hitting .380 for the season with a dozen RBIs in 15 games. The Catamounts as a team hit .256. On the mound, Zach Franklin leads the squad with a fine ERA of 2.35 in over 15 innings of work. The WCU team earned run average is over eight. Defensively, WCU has committed 35 errors leading to 30 unearned runs. On Wednesday, the Catamounts dropped a 5-0 contest in Knoxville to the Tennessee Volunteers.
