Kent State University
University of Tennessee
Kent State Baseball Heads South for Tough Test Against #13 Tennessee
2/19/2026 1:28:00 PM | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Kent State Golden Flashes (3-1) will face their second straight SEC team this weekend, traveling to Knoxville to take on No. 13 Tennessee (4-0) in a three-game series beginning Friday.Â
The Flashes Are Swinging Hot Bats
Kent State has been one of the top offensive teams in the early going, ranking 8th nationally in home runs (10) and posting a .285 team batting average. Leading the charge is outfielder Sawyer Solitaria, who has been nothing short of spectacular. The sophomore is slashing .526/.550/1.158 with four home runs, seven RBI, and eight runs scored in just four games. He leads the MAC in hits (10), runs (8), and total bases (22), and ranks among the top 100 nationally in batting average, slugging percentage, and hits per game. Simply put, he's been one of the best hitters in the country through the first week of the season.
He won't be alone. Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe is hitting .286 with six RBI and has scored seven runs, while Grady Mee(.308) has been one of the team's most disciplined hitters, drawing four walks and ranking nationally in sacrifice bunts. Ripken Reese and Brody Williams have each gone deep twice.
The Pitching Matchups
Friday — Caughey vs. Kuhns
Kent State opens with redshirt senior right-hander Ciaran Caughey taking the ball. Caughey was electric in his season debut, going five innings and allowing just three hits while striking out eight without surrendering a run. His 14.40 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second in the MAC and 90th nationally, and he currently sits atop the national ERA leaderboard (tied) at 0.00. He'll face Tennessee's Tegan Kuhns, who has been equally sharp with 6.2 innings pitched, two hits allowed, and a 0.45 WHIP that ranks 51st nationally.Â
Saturday — Tumis vs. Mack
Easton Tumis had a solid first outing, going 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs against a quality opponent. He leads the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 0.00, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is perfect through one start. He'll square off against Landon Mack (though Mack and Blanco may swap days), who has been strong for Tennessee with nine strikeouts across six innings and a 1.50 ERA.
Sunday — Rabatin vs. Blanco
Ben Rabatin will look to bounce back after a rough outing to open the year when he was tagged for four runs in 3.2 innings in his debut. He'll need to find a better command of the zone against Tennessee's offense. If Blanco gets the ball Sunday, the Flashes will face arguably the most dangerous arm in the Volunteer rotation — the left-hander has struck out 16.20 batters per nine innings this season, a mark that ranks 41st nationally.
The Challenge Ahead
The numbers make clear that Tennessee is as good as advertised. The Volunteers are hitting .355 as a team with a .742 slugging percentage, both of which rank among the best in the nation. Their pitching staff carries a 1.64 ERA, ranking 7th nationally. They've also been perfect in the field, committing zero errors in four games for a 1.000 fielding percentage, which leads the country. Blaine Brown (.474, 3 HR, 7 RBI) and Henry Ford (.412, 2 HR) anchor what is a deep and dangerous lineup.
First pitch of the series is scheduled for this Friday at 4:30 p.m. All three games will air on the SEC Network+.
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