Kent State University
University of Miami
Flashes to Battle #1 Hurricanes on Wednesday
2/18/2020 4:57:00 PM | Baseball
KENT, OHIO- The Kent State Golden Flashes will take on the newly-minted number-one team in the Nation on Wednesday night as they travel to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes at Alex Rodriguez Field.
The Hurricanes jumped two spots to number one in the latest NCAA poll after sweeping Rutgers at home in the opening weekend. For Kent State, it will be the first time playing the top team in the nation since defeating #1 Florida 5-4 in the 2012 College World Series.
ABOUT KENT STATE
The Flashes come into the game with the Hurricanes at 2-1 on the season after winning the final two games at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Flashes dropped the season opener, 3-1 to Iowa as Luke Albright was the tough-luck loser after allowing two earned and striking out five over five innings. Kent State rebounded with a 4-3 extra inning win over Indiana State and a 11-3 thumping of Saint Joseph's. Patrick Ferguson paced the offense with five runs driven in, including the game winning rbi single on Saturday against the Sycamores. Ferguson and Ben Carew each had a team-best five hits over the weekend.
Kent State's relievers were terrific over the first three games, allowing just one unearned run and six hits across 13 innings. Max Rippl picked up the win in relief against Indiana State while Tyler Drabick picked up where he left off in 2019, earning the save.
Probable Wednesday starter Zach Schultz threw three innings of scoreless relief against the Sycamores on Saturday. The senior allowed just one hit over the three frames, he is coming off a stellar 2019 season where he owned a team-best 2.68 ERA over 53 innings.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES
Miami is a perfect 3-0 after sweeping the Rutgers Scarlett Knights over the opening weekend. Sophomore catcher Adrian Del Castillo earned ACC Player of the Week honors after a torrid start to the season. The 2019 Freshman All-American hit .556 with two homers and six driven in to pace the offense. Right fielder Gabe Rivera was right behind Del Castillo, tagging Rutgers for four hits and five rbi in the opening weekend including a home run.
The Flashes can expect to see right-hander Alex McFarlane on Wednesday night. The righty was a 25th round pick of Saint Louis in the 2019 MLB Draft. He threw two scoreless innings of relief against Rutgers on Saturday, striking out two and throwing 39 pitches.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will meet for the first time in the regular season and third time overall. Miami owns a 2-0 lead all-time, defeating Kent State 4-1 as part of the 1994 Coral Gables Regional. The two teams met in the post-season again in 2007, with Miami defeating Kent State 8-7 as part of the Columbia (Mo.) regional.
FOLLOW ALONG
Wednesday night's game will air on ACC Digital Network Extra, part of the Watch ESPN package. WVUM will also carry the game on the radio and Miami will provide live stats. You can also get in-game updates on Twitter @KentStBaseball.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Golden Flashes stay in Florida through the weekend, taking on Florida Gulf Coast for a three game weekend series. First pitch on Friday in Fort Myers is set for 6:30 p.m.
