Three of a Kind

Friday, May 18

Oxford, OH

4:00

Kent State University

36-15, 19-7

Miami

32-18, 16-10

Kent State

Miami

5/18/2018 7:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Flashes’ mound aces trump RedHawks for MAC title

By: Ty Linder

Three of a Kind

Flashes' mound aces trump RedHawks for MAC title

OXFORD, OHIO – It was worth the wait.

After falling in Thursday's series opener, the Kent State Golden Flashes got back to business on Friday in Oxford, opening a tight game and cruising to a 7-1 win to clinch the squad's third straight conference regular season crown.

It was a much closer affair than the score might indicate, as KSU held a 2-1 lead in the seventh with the tying run on third. But John Matthews escaped damage by fanning the final hitter of the frame. It was just another in a long line of clutch pitching on the afternoon by Kent's arms. Jared Skolnicki started and weaved his way in and out of trouble and fellow lefty Connor Wollersheim was brilliant again in immediate relief, earning his fifth win.

Offensively the Golden Flashes were very adept at doing the little things. The first two KSU runs scored on ground-outs and Kent State added on late by combining clutch hitting with opportunistic base-running. The action forced MU into four errors in the game.

Victorious Kent State – which has now won a league regular season or tournament crown in 11 of the last 12 seasons – received RBIs from five different players. Reilly Hawkins, Mason Mamarella, Nick Kanavas, Pete Schuler and Michael Turner all drove in runs for KSU. Schuler continued to sizzle, turning in a three-hit game.

With the victory, Kent State is now the top seed in next week's MAC Tournament. The Flashes earn a first-round bye and will play the post-season opener on Thursday. KSU is guaranteed to be the home team as long as it remains alive in the tournament.

The series with MU wraps up Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The RedHawks must win to earn the two seed and the final opening-round bye.