Mother Nature can be cruel to outdoor sports in the northern states. The Kent State baseball team will have to put their home opener on hold after snow flurries Tuesday caused Wednesday’s game against Pittsburgh to be canceled.

Kent State (6-11) will now turn their focus to Mid-American Conference play and begin defending their crown with a three-game series starting Friday at Northern Illinois (4-15) in Chicago, Ill.

Northern Illinois has gotten off to a rough start early this season recording only four wins; however they are coming off an 8-2 victory over Belmont Monday. Kent State head coach Scott Stricklin said the Huskies’ struggles have been due to their tough schedule. He knows his team cannot take them lightly if the Flashes want to start off conference play on the right track.

“We’re just going to have to play well [and] continue to progress like we have been if we’re going to win that series,” Stricklin said.

Stricklin also stated the Huskies are a veteran team led by infielder Jeff Zimmerman. The junior is only one of three players who have played in all 19 of the team’s games. He is batting .288, with a team leading eight RBI and 21 hits.

The Huskies as a team are only hitting .230 on offense while their pitching staff owns a 5.72 ERA. The Flashes will try to take advantage of those numbers. Kent State will counter the Huskies with a team batting average of .260 and a pitching ERA of 6.17.

“Every Division I team has got talent,” outfielder Alex Miklos said. “We’re just going into [this series] staying focused and working hard.”

Friday’s series at Northern Illinois marks the start of an eight-game, five-day road trip for the Flashes.

The trip features three conference games at Northern Illinois, two games at Notre Dame and finishes at home against conference foe, Ball State.

“During that stretch, we’re going to find out how tough we are,” outfielder T.J. Sutton said. “It’s going to take all 26 guys to handle that trip and those [eight] games.”

One of those 26 guys will be All-American George Roberts. Roberts played all three games in Memphis last series after missing 13 straight games with an injured wrist. His teammates stated how happy they were to have the senior back.

“It was great to have George back in the line-up,” pitcher Tyler Skulina said. “We missed him a lot after he got injured. He’s just a great guy to have on the team. He’s a good teammate.”

“When George is on the field, in the box, even in the dugout just changes the mood. You’re a little more confident with a guy like him playing,” Sutton said.

Starting conference play against a NIU team with four wins will be a change of pace for Kent State. On Wednesday, the Flashes’ schedule was ranked 12th in RPI and first in strength of schedule, according to boydsworld.com.

“It’s a big challenge,” Roberts said of the tough schedule. “It only helps us toward the end of the year. The teams we play now are regional and super regional teams.”

Contact Kevin Battaglia at [email protected].