The Kent State baseball team wrapped up its nine-game homestand with a matchup against Division II opponent Pitt-Johnstown.

Before the game, Mountain Cats manager George Roberts was honored.

“It’s great to have him back here,” coach Jeff Duncan said. “He also was on my first staff in the first fall. You have to respect what he’s done here as a player, and it’s great to see him coaching and impacting other lives.”

If you’re familiar with the name, it’s because he’s a legend at Kent State. He led the 2012 Kent State team to the College World Series, hitting .364 and leading in multiple offensive and defensive categories en route to being named an All-American.

In the postseason run, he led Kent to an upset against top-seeded Florida in the College World Series and had five hits in a 21-inning classic against Kentucky during regional play.

After a lengthy rain delay, junior Ciaran Caughey made his fourth start of the season and first since the start against Ohio State, and he dominated the Mountain Cats with a six-strikeout outing in three scoreless innings where he showcased impressive fastball command and a sharp, effective breaking ball.

“I thought Caughey pitched really well,” Duncan said. “He’s been working really hard with coach (Mike) Birkbeck and coach (Kade) McClure, and it was good to see that it paid off.”

Offensively, freshman utility player Sawyer Solitaria would get things started in the second with a leadoff home run to left field that carried itself out.

Redshirt freshman infielder Landon Tiesing, who’s taken full advantage of more playing time recently, continued his tear by doubling to center field to drive in freshman center fielder Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe.

Tiesing then stole home to make it 3-0 before senior outfielder Jake Casey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-0.

In the very next inning, Tiesing once again doubled, this time driving in junior infielder Brody Williams, who played at first today rather than catcher.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Max Humphrey then singled up the middle to drive Tiesing in to make it 6-0.

Pitt-Johnstown would get two runs in the sixth inning, but Kent State would immediately respond with six runs on a pair of three-run homers from Williams and Tiesing to bookend an impressive day from him.

Kent would then close out the ballgame in the seventh to win by a score of 12-2.

Caughey picked up the win with the loss going to Zyler Freedman.

The notables

The Flashes set the tone for the week with a critical series coming up by mashing three home runs en route to wrapping up an 8-1 home stand with their seventh run rule victory.

“I think it’ll be nice for a little revenge tour for us.” Duncan said. “I feel like we didn’t play well against Miami, and I like to hope that we would play much better against Ball State on the road.”

Tiesing tore the cover off the ball, having three extra base hits on the day and reaping the benefits of what Duncan had previously said was very hard work that he put in day in and day out.

While we’re on the topic of extra base hits, Kent State, as a team, is tied for 10th in the nation with 104 doubles, while graduate student utility player Hayden Jatczak leads the entire nation with 24 doubles.

Up next

Kent State sits at 29-14 overall, which is two wins better than last season’s team that finished .500. The team is also 16-5 in the Mid-American Conference, which is tied for first.

The Flashes will travel to take on Ball State in a three-game series that could decide the conference with both teams tied for first. 

First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s games slated for 1 p.m. first pitch.

Redshirt sophomore Gavin Jones and sophomore Jake Bean should be in line to get the ball for the first two games.