The Kent State baseball team traveled to Oxford, Ohio to take on the RedHawks of Miami University. The Flashes entered the series looking to extend their winning streak against arguably the toughest team they’ve faced during the streak. Miami entered the series in third place with a 12-3 record in Mid-American Conference play.

The series saw both the Flashes’ winning streak end and a streak of series wins end, as the RedHawks took two out of three from the Flashes.

Friday

Redshirt sophomore Gavin Jones would draw the start on Friday. 

Jones went six innings. However, the game was a tale of two outings, as he was shelled for five runs on three hits in the first inning. In the remaining five innings he toed the slab, he only allowed two hits and no runs.

The first inning was all the offense Miami needed and also marked the return of a trend where one big inning hurts Jones dearly.

Redshirt junior Evan Appelwick would start the scoring with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. Sophomore Ryan Novak would also add a sac fly to make it 2-0. The wheels then fell off the bus as the RedHawks made it a crooked number, as junior Dominic Krupinski doubled to right-center to make it 4-0. They would add one more run to make it 5-0.

While that was all the scoring they needed to eek out a win, the Flashes would not go down without a fight.

After junior catcher Brody Williams drew a walk, senior first baseman Hunter Klotz drove one out to right to cut the deficit to three runs.

Williams would score his second run of the contest on an error to make it 5-3 in the 4th inning.

In the top of the sixth, senior outfielder Jake Casey would triple on the eighth pitch of the at-bat as a part of a three hit day for him. Freshman utility player Sawyer Solitaria would drive him in on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.

In the seventh, the Flashes had a chance to tie the game, however, Novak made an incredible diving catch to preserve the lead that would wind up being the final score.

The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Flashes.

Jones would take the loss, his first of the season with the win going to redshirt sophomore Cooper Katskee, which was his seventh of the season. Junior Carson Byers would pick up the save.

Saturday

Sophomore Jake Bean toed the rubber, looking to even up the series.

He did his part to accomplish the task, pitching six innings, allowing only three runs on four hits and one walk.

The Flashes would jump ahead first in the third when junior shortstop Luke Matthews doubled down the line to drive in redshirt sophomore infielder Ripken Reese. Graduate student utility player Hayden Jatczak would then single back up the middle to make it 2-0.

The RedHawks would tie the game up in the following bottom half as redshirt senior Dillion Baker and senior Anthony Zarlingo both drove in runners to tie at 2-0.

The Flashes would then give Miami a taste of the crooked number medicine the Flashes received in the previous game with a four-spot spearheaded by a single from sophomore outfielder Alejandro Covas that scored Williams, a pitch that hit freshman center fielder Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe and brought in Klotz and a Jatczak single that drove in both Covas and Kiracofe to make it 6-2.

Kiracofe would add another RBI in the sixth when he grounded out and moved Covas over to score. Miami would get this run back in the bottom half.

In the seventh, another set of blows hit the RedHawks, as three singles brought in three more runners to make it 10-3. Covas and Kiracofe both added their second and third RBIs of the game, respectively.

After the RedHawks plated a fourth run, the Flashes would again plant a second three-spot, with Casey delivering one last blow to make it a final of 13-4.

Bean picked up his fifth win of the season while redshirt senior Patrick Mastrian IV was saddled with his fourth loss of the season.

The win would set up a rubber match in Sunday’s contest.

Sunday

Senior Eric Chalus would start the contest looking to earn the series win.

Chalus had a rough outing, getting tagged for five runs, four of them earned on six hits in three innings.

Senior Ty Batusich would drive in two runners to put the RedHawks ahead in the first.

Baker then blasted a middle-middle pitch to center to double the lead. 

Jatczak would get the Flashes back into things with a double that drove in Matthews and got them on the board.

Baker then doubled in his third RBI of the game to put the lead back at four.

The Flashes would then get within two runs when Kiracofe hit his fourth triple of the season to center and was driven in by Matthews on a sacrifice fly.

The RedHawks would get both runs back and add two more in the bottom half. Redshirt junior Rocco Bernadina, who normally has success when piggybacking off of Chalus, gave up four runs on a single from Krupinski and a two-run double from junior Jake Vrlak who would later come around to plate the fourth run. 

The Flashes still were not done fighting, as Jatczak hit a three-run shot to left and Casey hit his 10th homer of the season the other way to make it 9-7, which would be the final score.

The loss marked the first series loss for the Flashes in conference play as the RedHawks took two out of the three games played.

Chalus took the loss, while senior Clayton Burke picked up the win. Byers picked up his second save of the weekend.

The notables

Jatczak shined over the weekend, driving in eight runners with back-to-back four-RBI games to close out the weekend. He also added five hits on the weekend. The weekend effort resulted in him being awarded the MAC Player of the Week award, which marks the second consecutive week a Flash has taken home the honor.

Bean also continued to shine on the mound with a fourth consecutive start of at least six strikeouts. Bringing his total to 42 on the season.

Up next

Kent State slid to third in the conference with an 11-4 record after the weekend. Overall, it sits at 21-13.

The Flashes will begin a nine-game homestand on Thursday as they welcome in the Ohio Bobcats to continue conference play. Ohio is 4-11 in MAC play and ninth in the conference. The Bobcats also have the fewest overall wins of any MAC team with nine.

First pitch of Thursday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m., with Friday’s game scheduled for 3 p.m. and Saturday’s finale at 1 p.m.

Jones and Bean should toe the slab for the first two games of the series.

Stone O’Bryant is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].