Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Easton Tumis made his Kent State debut a memorable one, as he delivered a gem and the Flashes’ baseball team delivered a 11-2 blowout victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
Tumis pitched five-and-a-third innings of two-run ball, shutting down the Lions for a second-straight game, while KSU’s offense exploded once again.
Senior infielder Grady Mee got the ball rolling when he cleared the bases with a three-run triple.
Southeastern got one of the three runs back when junior outfielder Peyton Woods singled in redshirt senior infielder Alex Perry.
All momentum gained swung back to the Flashes when sophomore centerfielder Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe doubled in fellow sophomore Sawyer Solitaria. After an RBI groundout, redshirt freshman Nolan Belcher added another run when he doubled in Kiracofe, making it 6-1.
For the second-consecutive game, a highly touted SLU starter struggled against the KSU offense. This time, senior Laikin Polk didn’t make it past the third inning.
Tumis allowed his second run of the game in the fifth, but SLU failed to get anything going the rest of the way. Redshirt senior pitcher Nick Guidas delivered scoreless baseball the rest of the way to earn the save. He struck out three batters and allowed just one hit in three-and-two-third innings.
Late in the ballgame, senior catcher Brody Williams tacked onto the lead with a two-out solo shot to left-center in the seventh. The ninth broke open the floodgates for KSU, as Solitaria continued his torrid start to the season with his fourth hit before Williams launched his second home run of the game.
A home run from redshirt junior Ripken Reese and an RBI from graduate student Hunter Klotz created the final tallies of the day.
Up Next
Junior pitcher Ben Rabatin will look to sweep the series for the Flashes in the finale at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Lions will counter with senior Blake Lobell, as he seeks to avoid what would be a stunningly uncompetitive series for a Southeastern team that made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Stone O’Bryant is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
