Kent State University
Ohio State
Flashes Head to Columbus to Clash with Buckeyes
4/3/2023 4:34:00 PM | Baseball
KENT- The Golden Flashes (18-9) embark on a four-game in-state road trip this week, starting in Columbus to face the Ohio State Buckeyes (13-13) on Tuesday night at 6pm.
The Flashes are coming off a key Sunday sweep of a double header against Toledo to move to 18-9 overall and more importantly, 6-3 in MAC play. Kolten Schaller was a key member of the offense over the weekend, recording six hits in the three game series with four runs batted in and two more runs scored. Schaller is hitting .478 on the season in 15 games and became the 11th Golden Flash with 12 or more RBI this season.
Kent State will face a Buckeye staff that owns a 5.37 team earned run average. Ohio State is averaging over a striking out per inning as a staff, but have walked 130 batters in 228 innings so far this season.
Kent State got timely hitting all weekend long and continues to lead the MAC with a .301 team batting average. Joe Whitman struck out 11 in his start on Sunday, part of a staff that fanned 17 Rockets in the game one win. Eric Chalus tossed six innings of solid relief in game two. The Kent State relievers threw 10 innings of relief in Sunday's double header, allowing only two runs on seven hits while striking out 14.
The Kent State staff has a MAC best 4.20 earned run average and faces an Ohio State offense that hits .274 as a team and averages over 6.5 runs per game. They also have a balanced lineup with nine guys with 11 or more RBI and nobody with more than 20. Five starters are hitting over .300 with Cole Andrews leading the way with a .343 mark so far this season.
Ohio State bested the Flashes 8-6 last year at Schoonover Stadium in the lone meeting between the teams. This is the first of two scheduled games this year with the Buckeyes returning to Schoonover on Tuesday, April 25th. All time, Ohio State owns a 36-15 edge in the series.
Tuesday's game will stream on BTN+, which fans with a subscription can view. Fans without a BTN+ subscription can listen through the GoFlashes app and KentStateSports.com as Dan Griffin and Tyler Henry will have the call from Nick Swisher Field starting at 5:55 p.m. Live stats will also be available, all links can be found on the baseball schedule page. Kent State stays on the road this weekend, heading to Bowling Green for three afternoon games with the Falcons. First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m.
