Kent State University
University of Dayton
Flashes Face Flyers in Home and Home Weekend
3/25/2021 10:43:00 AM | Baseball
KENT, OHIO- The Golden Flashes wrap up non-conference play this weekend with a home-and-home four-game series with the Dayton Flyers.
Kent State will head to Dayton for single games on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. The two teams will return to Schoonover Stadium on Sunday for two seven-inning games starting at 1 p.m. Sunday's game will have limited attendance in accordance with the University's Spring Attendance Policy.
ABOUT THE FLASHES
Week two of the MAC season is Kent State's "bye" week and are coming off a four-game series with the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Golden Flashes were able to take the finale of the four-game series, 8-4 and will look to carry that momentum into the series with the Flyers.
Collin Mathews enters the weekend riding a five-game hitting streak and went 6-11 last weekend against Husky pitching. His .378 average leads the team and is fourth in the Mid-American Conference. Michael Turner was a single short of the cycle on Sunday against Northern Illinois. Turner leads the team and is tied for the MAC lead with four homers, his .682 slugging percentage is second in the league.
On the mound, Luke Albright took a tough-luck loss on Saturday against NIU. The righty threw a complete game, allowing two hits and two unearned runs. Albright sits in the top-five of several categories within the conference. His team-leading 1.52 earned run average leads the team and is fourth in the MAC among starters. His 35 strikeouts are fourth in the conference and Albright is averaging nearly 11 strike outs per nine innings. Colin Romel and Max Rippl each had solid starts last weekend as well. Both went five innings allowing one earned run. Romel struck out seven in his performance while Ripple fanned five, including the first four batters he faced.
ABOUT THE FLYERS
The Flashes' pitching staff will face a Dayton team that is coming off a 20-run outburst in a victory over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. The victory over the Colonels moved EKU to 5-15 on the season, they dropped three of four to Central Michigan last weekend.
Offensively, the team comes into the weekend hitting .224 as a ballclub. Benjamin Blackwell leads the team with a .333 average and his 22 hits are third in the Atlantic 10. Alex Brickman is one of the better power hitters in the A-10 and his five homers are second in the conference. He's homered in three of his last four games.
Hunter Wolfe has led the starting pitching staff and the lefty is one of the premier strike out pitchers in the A-10. His 37 strikes outs double anyone else on the Flyers and is tied for tops in the A-10. Out of the bullpen, Andrew Zapka has been lights out. The righty has allowed just one run in six appearances across 9.2 innings.
FOLLOW ALONG
Friday's game at Dayton will only have live stats, while Saturday's game will also have a radio call via Gem City Sports. Sunday's double header will be streamed via Box Cast and all of the links are available on the baseball schedule page.
LOOKING AHEAD
Kent State returns to MAC play next weekend for a four-game series with Bowling Green. First pitch for game one on Friday is set for 1:05 p.m.
