Kent State University
UT Martin
Flashes Close Road Trip at UT-Martin
3/2/2023 3:43:00 PM | Baseball
MARTIN, TN- The Golden Flashes wrap up their eight-game road trip this weekend with a three-game set against the UT-Martin Skyhawks.
The Flashes are coming off a two-game sweep of their mid-week series with the Murray State Racers, winning 6-4 and 4-3 earlier in the week. Aidan Longwell had five hits across both games of the series with four driven in to lead the offense. Mitch Scott picked up his first two saves of his Kent State career and closed the door on both ballgames against the Racers.
Kent State's pitching leads the Mid-American Conference through the first two weeks of the season. The Flashes' staff has pitched to a 4.68 team ERA, nearly a full run better than any other conference foe. This weekend's starters: Ben Cruikshank, Joe Whitman and Eric Chalus have a combined ERA of 3.26 through a pair of weekend starts. They will take on a Skyhawks team that is 3-6 on the year and hitting .227 on the season.
Martin was picked seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference and is coming off being swept by Valpo last weekend. The Skyhawks are averaging a touch over three runs per game and is led in most offensive categories by utility man Andrew Fernandez. Junior outfielder Caleb Hobson is one to watch for on the base paths, he's eight-for-eight in steals this season. On the mound, the Skyhawks have pitched to a 6.94 era so far this season and have given up 10 or more runs four times this season. That said, the starting trio this weekend of Jordan Armstrong, Seth Petry and Tristan Walton have been solid, pitching to a 4.63 era as a starting staff and both Armstrong and Petry average nearly a strikeout per inning.
These will be the first meetings between the two schools. Friday's game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, Saturday's game at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday's game has a 1 p.m. ET first pitch. Friday and Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and all three games will have live stats. The links can be found on the baseball schedule page.
The Flashes will return home to open an eight-game homestand on Tuesday, March 7th when they welcome in Youngstown State. First pitch from Schoonover Stadium is set for 3 p.m.
