Kent State University
Ball State
Flashes Wrap Up Regular Season at Ball State
5/17/2023 2:26:00 PM | Baseball
KENT- The Golden Flashes wrap up the regular season with a trip out to Ball State to take on the second-place Cardinals in a Thursday-Saturday three-game series.
The series pits the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference, Kent State owns a two-game lead heading into the three-game series. Both Kent State and Ball State are in the top three in the MAC in batting average and earned run average. The Flashes lead both at .301 and a staff ERA of 3.93, Ball State is not far behind at .287 and 5.59, respectfully.
The Flashes continue to be a balanced offensive attack. All nine of Kent State's regulars have driven in at least 11 runs in MAC play, led by Aidan Longwell's 29 and Collin Mathews' 26. Kent State has found a way to score in a myriad of ways, the Flashes lead the MAC with 70 doubles and are second in the MAC in stolen bases. Ball State has done a good job controlling the run game, leading the MAC in throwing out 35 percent of would-be base stealers.
The Cardinals' staff is led by Trennor O'Donnell who owns a 2.80 ERA in 10 MAC starts. He is coming off seven shutout innings against Miami where he allowed only two hits and struck out 11. Ty Johnson has been a valuable swingman as well for the Cardinals, with three saves and five starts in MAC play and holding batters to a .160 average.
Offensively, Ball State has hit .307 in MAC play, led by Ryan Peltier who has mashed 10 homers and driven in 35, leading a group of five Cardinals with at least 20 batted in during MAC play. Decker Scheffler leads the MAC in average, hitting .447 against conference pitching.
The Flashes' staff has been a balanced group, led by lefties Ben Cruikshank and Joe Whitman. Cruikshank is 5-1 on the conference season with a 2.79 ERA while Whitman is 6-0 with a 2.61 ERA. Both are in the MAC top-10 in strikeouts with 61 and 58, respectfully. The Flashes' pen has been strong as well, three regulars have an ERA under 1.20 with Mitchell Scott posting nine of his NCAA-leading 14 saves in MAC play.
The three-game series will stream on ESPN+, the subscription service of the world-wide leader. Ball State will also have live stats available all series long. Both teams have qualified for the Mid-American Conference tournament which gets started next Wednesday afternoon.
