Cruikshank, Johnson lead Flashes to Series Opening Win

Friday, April 28

Kent, Ohio

2:30 PM

Kent State University

29-12, 0

Ohio

16-21, 0

Ohio University

Kent State Baseball

Cruikshank, Johnson lead Flashes to Series Opening Win

4/28/2023 5:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

KENT- Ben Cruikshank tossed seven shutout innings and the Flashes took the opener of a pivotal conference series, 6-1 over the Ohio Bobcats at a soggy Schoonover Stadium.

Cruikshank set the tone for the afternoon with seven innings of four-hit baseball. The lefty walked three and fanned nine Bobcats, earning his sixth win of the season in the process.

It was a pitcher's duel early on in this one as Ohio's Dillon Masters was solid in his first start of the season. The Flashes got to him in the first, getting a run-scoring ground out from Michael McNamara to plate Justin Miknis in an inning highlighted by an Aidan Longwell double.

Both pitchers worked out of trouble in the third. Cruikshank's throwing error on a pick off put a runner at third with one out but he stayed put. The lefty got a shallow flyout and a fielder's choice against the heart of the Ohio lineup to get out of the jam. The Flashes had runners on the corners with one out in the bottom half of the inning, but a double play ended the threat.

The Bobcats never got a runner past second base against Cruikshank the rest of the way, retiring the side in order in the fifth and the seventh, striking out two of the final three batters he faced.

Josh Johnson provided insurance in the fourth with a solo homer to left, his third of the season and one of four times he was on base on Friday. Kent State got to the Bobcats' bullpen in the seventh and the eighth, plating a pair of runs in each frame. Miknis struck the big blow in the seventh with a double and Longwell drove in MAC leading run number 58 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Jordan Kolenda and Mitchell Scott made the lead stand up. Scott got the final out of the eighth before working the ninth for his 11^th save of the season. The win moves Kent State to 29-12 overall and 14-5 in MAC play. Ohio drops to 16-21 overall and is a game back in the MAC at 13-6. The two teams will meet again on Saturday for the middle game of the three-game set, first pitch is set for 3 p.m.