Kent State University
Bowling Green
Baseball Travels to Bowling Green
5/9/2019 12:39:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1 (Friday, May 10): Kent State Radio | Video (Facebook Live) | Live Stats
Game 2 (Saturday, May 11): Kent State Radio | Video (Facebook Live) | Live Stats
Game 3 (Sunday, May 12): Kent State Radio | Video (Facebook Live) | Live Stats
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University baseball team (25-20, 12-7 MAC) will pack its bags for a three-game Mid-American Conference set against Bowling Green (14-30, 6-15 MAC) at Stellar Field in Bowling Green, Ohio. The games will be played Friday through Sunday, May 10-12, and are scheduled for 3:05, 1:05 and 1:05 p.m., respectively.
The Flashes are coming off their fifth consecutive MAC series victory and first three-game sweep of the season, defeating Toledo at Schoonover Stadium last weekend. Kent State remains in fourth place in the conference standings with a 12-7 record, coming in behind Central Michigan (16-5), Ball State (14-5) and Miami (13-7).
Junior John Matthews was named one of six National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on Monday, May 6, after an impressive outing against the Rockets Saturday afternoon. The Punxsutawney, Pa. native threw 6.0 innings of long relief, picking up his fifth win of the season and striking out ten. He shut down the Rockets, retiring the first 14 batters he faced in order and allowing just three batters to reach base in the remainder of the game. His 10 strikeouts on the day are the most by a Kent State pitcher this season.
Sophomore Michael Turner was named MAC Player of the Week by the conference and College Sports Madness on Monday. The Warren, Ohio native was an offensive spark, excelling with runners on base. He accounted for nearly half of Kent State's total runs for the week with nine RBIs and five runs scored in four games. On the week, he posted a .500 average and .643 slugging percentage, collecting seven hits with two doubles and three sacrifice flies.
Redshirt sophomore Ben Carew continues to stand out as a national and conference leader this season. He is currently on an 11-game hitting streak and 26-game streak reaching base. Carew leads the MAC and ranks 19th nationally with a .401 batting average, while also ranking 15th in Division I in hits per game (1.58) and 25th in hits (71). He leads the MAC in hits and ranks third in on-base percentage (.476), runs scored (50) and stolen bases (20), and ninth in slugging percentage (.542).
In conference play, Carew leads the MAC in runs scored (28) and ranks second in stolen bases (8), third in batting average (.405), fourth in both on-base percentage (.495) and hits (32), seventh in doubles (7) and eighth in slugging percentage (.633).
Bowling Green
Bowling Green has had a bumpy 2019 campaign, entering the weekend 14-30 overall and 6-15 in conference games. The Falcons earned a sweep over Toledo and took a win in each series against Ohio, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. Most recently, the Falcons have been swept in their last two MAC series against Ball State and Central Michigan. They are currently standing in eighth place in the MAC standings.
The Bowling Green offense has posted a .254 team batting average, averaging four runs per game on eight hits this season. The Falcons have been shut out three times this season, while only 76 of the team's 366 total hits this season have gone for extra-bases as the Falcons have only tallied eight home runs in 2019.
The Falcon pitching staff has combined for a 5.35 ERA while striking out 319 for a .294 opposing batting average. Bowling Green pitchers have walked 207, hitting 57 batters and totaling 45 wild pitches this season.
The two programs last met a year ago for a regular season conference set and will face off for the 190th time Friday afternoon with the Flashes leading the all-time series 122-67. The Flashes swept the Falcons in last season's series with scores of 11-0, 12-0 and 8-1, respectively.
The 2019 Kent State Baseball Season is brought to you by Hometown Bank. Hometown Bank and Kent State Baseball – A Winning Team. There's no place like home.
