Survive and Advance: Golden Flashes Eliminate Miami (OH) 3-1

Friday, May 22

Avon, Ohio

9 AM ET

Kent State University

41-14

Miami University (OH)

38-17

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kent State	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	3	7	0
Miami	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0

Kent State Golden Flashes pitcher Ciaran Caughey, wearing No. 10 in a navy 'Kent State' Under Armour jersey and white pants, pumps his fist and shouts in celebration on the mound, with a teammate positioned in the infield behind him and a partially filled stadium with teal seats visible in the background.

Survive and Advance: Golden Flashes Eliminate Miami (OH) 3-1

5/22/2026 12:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score

AVON, Ohio – Ciaran Caughey delivered one of the finest pitching performances in his career, and Brody Williams started the offense as Kent State defeated Miami 3-1 on Thursday morning to advance in the 2026 MAC Baseball Tournament.

Caughey was virtually untouchable through 7.0 innings, surrendering just two hits, walking four, and striking out six on a career-high 105 pitches, before giving way to closer Evan Holewinski, who slammed the door in the ninth with a perfect 1-2-3 frame that included a strikeout of Mason Breidenbach to seal the Golden Flashes' victory. With the win, Kent State advances to face 5-seed Western Michigan in the next round at 1:00 p.m.

The game's defining moment came in the top of the fifth inning, when Williams launched a solo home run to left field off Miami starter Clayton Burke to break open a scoreless duel. Caughey had not allowed a hit to that point, and his escape of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning, retiring Mason Breidenbach on a full-count strikeout, set the tone for what became a masterful outing.

Kent State's offense came alive late to provide critical insurance. Sawyer Solitaria was the offensive catalyst beyond Williams, collecting two hits and an RBI on the afternoon. In the eighth, after Luke Matthews singled and Brady Marshall was hit by a pitch with one out, Solitaria sliced a ground single through the left side to score Matthews and push the lead to 2-0. An additional insurance run came in the ninth, when a pitch hit Ripken Reese, stole second, and eventually scored on a Brady Marshall sacrifice fly off reliever Troy Benko following a Hunter Klotz walk and a Matthews single to center. The Golden Flashes totaled 7 hits on the day and demonstrated a patient, deep lineup approach that wore Miami's pitching staff down over nine innings.

Miami mounted its only real threat in the bottom of the eighth, when Dominic Krupinski tripled to right-center to lead off the inning and made it 2-1 on a Marcus Dierks RBI groundout. That cut the deficit to one and set up a tense final frame, but the Kent State bullpen held firm. Holewinski worked two shutout innings, retiring Tommy Harrison and then dispatching the heart of Miami's order in the ninth with surgical precision.

The Golden Flashes look to repeat history as the last team to win the MAC Tournament after falling in the first game of the tournament back in 2010.

Game Highlights

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Brody Williams with the first run of the game on a solo home run.

KSU - 1
MU - 0
?????? https://t.co/VGniRKDTSr #GoFlashes?? | #BiteDown | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/VNXGbHUHDf
— Kent State Baseball (@KentStBaseball) May 22, 2026

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Matthews scores from second to extend the lead to two.

KSU - 2
MU - 0
?????? https://t.co/VGniRKDTSr #GoFlashes?? | #BiteDown | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/zQmCa8tm75
— Kent State Baseball (@KentStBaseball) May 22, 2026

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The good old 361 ground double play to end the eighth inning.

KSU - 2
MU - 1
?????? https://t.co/VGniRKDTSr #GoFlashes?? | #BiteDown | #MACtion | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/SdxKr1UL5K
— Kent State Baseball (@KentStBaseball) May 22, 2026

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Brady Marshall brings home Ripken Reese on a sac fly to extend the lead to two.

KSU - 3
MU - 1
?????? https://t.co/VGniRKDTSr #GoFlashes?? | #BiteDown | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/TuKD16bmPR
— Kent State Baseball (@KentStBaseball) May 22, 2026

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