Kent State University
0-1
North Carolina Wilmington
1-0
Flashes Fall Short in Season Opener
2/16/2024 6:33:00 PM | Baseball
WILMINGTON- Kent State dropped its season opener to defending the CAA Champion UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 7-2 on Friday afternoon at Brooks Field.
Josh Johnson and Ripken Reese each had doubles to pace the Kent State offense, the latter driving in a run and was his first base knock as a Golden Flash.
Jack Kartsonas got the start for the Golden Flashes and settled in after a two-run single in the first put the Seahawks on the board. The grad student struck out three, all in the second inning and tossed the first four innings.
Wilmington plated four in the fourth, stringing together four hits in the inning to make it a 6-0 contest. It stayed that way, thanks to Ciaran Caughey, who pitched brilliantly in relief. The sophomore went four innings, allowing one run, one hit and striking out four.
Kent State would load the bases in the sixth, scoring on a wild pitch but Mike McNamara was called out on strikes on a pitch-clock violation to end the threat. The Flashes plated another tally in the seventh, with Reese's double plating Brody Williams. Runners would reach in both the eighth and the ninth but get no further than second as the Seahawks closed out the season opener.
The Flashes and Seahawks are back in action tomorrow, with another 4pm start scheduled. Lefty Eric Chalus is expected to get the ball for Kent State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: R. Sales (1-0)
L: Kartsonas, Jack (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Josh 1 ; Reese, Ripken 1
RBI: Reese, Ripken 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Brody 1 ; Reese, Ripken 1
HBP: Reese, Ripken 1
Batting:
2B: J. Croom 2
HR: B. Arendt 1
RBI: T. Marsh 2 ; T. Thach 3 ; B. Arendt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Newton 1 ; J. Croom 2 ; T. Marsh 2 ; A. DeMartino 1 ; B. Arendt 1
SB: K. Jones 1
HBP: T. Marsh 1 ; B. Arendt 1
