Kent State University
Central Michigan
Golden Flashes Return to Michigan to Resume MAC Play
4/5/2018 9:49:00 AM | Baseball
Flashes, Chippewas, Mother Nature set to square off in MTP
Kent State will put its three-game winning streak on the line Friday when the Flashes open a series against Central Michigan – a battle of league leaders.
With highs in Mount Pleasant projected to remain in the upper 30s, it will be another trying weekend for two teams who battled elements last weekend and lost home games to deteriorating weather conditions earlier this week. The Golden Flashes swept WMU in frigid Kalamazoo while the Chips took two of three in windy Muncie.
At the moment, the games are scheduled for 3:05 Friday and 1:05 both Saturday and Sunday at Theunissen Stadium – a facility with natural grass and no lights. The two teams share the league lead with 22 percent of the schedule completed. KSU, CMU and Miami are all 4-2. When the two squads met last year in Kent, they were 1-2 in the standings.
KSU is trying to keep its recent stretch of solid starting pitching going. The starting rotation had an ERA under three during Kent's recent five-game road trip. Senior lefty Jared Skolnicki – who locked down Notre Dame last Tuesday – was named the Mid-American Conference Scholar Athlete of the Week.
DIAMOND DIALOGUE
- Kent State returns to league play after both scheduled midweek games were postponed due to weather.
- KSU is on its second three-game winning streak of the season and the Golden Flashes are the only MAC team to sweep a series this year.
- Kent State's starting pitchers went a combined 4-0 with an ERA of 2.99 and 37 strikeouts during KSU's recent five game road trip.
- KSU is jumping on teams early and late in 2018. The Flashes have outscored the opposition 20-5 in the first inning and 27-5 in the ninth inning so far in the 2018 season.
- Brad Hamilton leads the Golden Flashes in home runs with eight. He had his second multi-homer game of the season on Sunday at Western Michigan.
- Mason Mamarella is KSU's leading hitter with a .378 average. He also has 14 steals.
- 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.
SCOUTING THE CHIPS
The 2018 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Chippewas. CMU dropped 13 straight games from Feb. 22-March 17 but has responded to win seven of 10 since that skid. Central Michigan – a yearly threat for a top seed in the conference tournament – last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1995. This year's Chips have been led by a corps of solid weekend starters, anchored by Tanner Leatherman, who leads the staff in ERA and strikeouts. Offensively, Central has come to life recently, scoring 30 runs in the final two games of a recent series with Ball State. Griffin Lockwood-Powell leads the charge for CMU with a .329 batting average and a pair of home runs. Evan Kratt has walked a team-high 22 times.
NO ANNOUNCER JINX
Senior slugger Brad Hamilton – who worked for ESPN3 this season calling KSU volleyball and basketball – has caught fire in the first two months of the season. He already boasts two multi-homer games and leads Kent State in long balls with eight. His father, Tom, is the long-time radio voice of the Cleveland Indians.
FLASHES PARTY EARLY AND LATE
In a trend that started on opening night, Kent State is book-ending teams to death in 2018. KSU has outscored the opposition 20-5 in the first inning this year and is also outscoring the opponent 27-5 in the ninth. This season, 42 percent of the Flashes' runs have come in the seventh inning or later.
