Getting through four years as a college athlete with no injuries can be a big challenge. Whether the injury is minor or something more major, it is something that is normally inevitable.

Coming off of a 31-22 season, the Kent State baseball team knows how important it is to stay healthy and recover properly in the off-season.

Three KSU baseball players are in Kent this summer utilizing the rehab available to them through the M.A.C. Center.

Andrew Ravel, a junior right-handed pitcher for the Flashes, came back early from playing summer ball to deal with his lower back pains.

“I want to get it cleared up before the school season starts,” Ravel said. Ravel said he wants to be healthy for the big year.

Ravel expects to be out for a month and a half to two months, while he completes rehab with the M.A.C. Center staff four days a week.

Ravel pitched a total of 74.2 innings during the 2015 season for the Flashes giving up only 71 hits, 30 runs and posting 55 strikeouts.

Ravel had a winning record with six wins and two losses, finishing the season with a 3.13 ERA.

Zach Beckner, a junior middle infielder for the team, has been out all summer after completely tearing his labrum in his left shoulder.

The injury occurred in early March when the Flashes were playing Liberty University.

“I slid to my left to field a ground ball when my glove got caught on the turf and my shoulder popped out of socket,” said Beckner, who just received surgery on June 9 to repair the shoulder.

The surgery requires Beckner to be out for a minimum of six months, which keeps him from participating in any fall baseball.

He will focus on strengthening his shoulder and the muscle around it that was weakened after the tear during his rehab.

Beckner started in 37 games this past season playing second base for the Flashes.  

In the field Beckner had 66 putouts, 91 assists and a fielding percentage of .969 while contributing a .227 batting average with 18 runs scored, 14 RBI, and 34 hits.

Eli Kraus, a sophomore left-handed pitcher, is going through four weeks of rehab to take care of tendentious in his elbow from overuse.

Kraus will work on shoulder, bicep and tricep training to alleviate pressure in the elbow. He will add forearm strengthening to his rehab to work out the tendentious.

Kraus comes off the 2015 season with 15 innings pitched, giving up 13 runs and racking up 15 strikeouts. His S-ERA for the season was 4.80.

The players said they are all taking rehab very seriously, looking to be healthy for the 2016 season.

Contact Shayla Pierce at [email protected].