The last time the Kent State baseball team played at Schoonover Stadium it was the Pittsburgh Panthers that came away victorious with a 9-4 win.

On Tuesday, however, the Flashes walked away with a 9-1 victory over Lake Erie College.

Kent State solidified its 17th victory of the season, putting seven runs on the board, thanks in part to the team loading the bases twice in the eighth inning. 

Redshirt senior Alex Miklos started off the game with a bases loaded double to left, scoring two and making the game 4-1. This left very little room for the Storm to mount a come-back in the last half-inning.

Senior Zarley Zalewski cleared the bases later in the eighth inning and hit a three-run double to center field, roping a shot over the Storm’s center-fielder Lucas Raley’s head.

Zalewski’s three runs batted in adds onto his already standing 22, which puts Zalewski at second on the team in that category, behind third-baseman sophomore Dylan Rosa’s 26.

Kent State’s freshman Connor Wollersheim tossed five scoreless innings, ringing up five batters and allowing eight base-runners, with two of those coming from walks.

Wollersheim notched his second-straight win as a Kent State starter, working closer to solidifying himself as the mid-week starter.

Lake Erie came into the game holding a team average of .312 that could not hold up against Wollersheim’s 4.30 ERA.

“I just kind of kept them off balance” he said. “A lot of it was hitting spots and just trusting your defense to make plays.”

On the other side was the Storm’s freshman lefty Ryan Lally, who threw five great innings as well allowing one run on six hits and matching his counterpart with five strike-outs to himself.

The Flashes came out with the bats, swatting 13 hits, compared to Lake Erie’s nine.

The 9-1 victory puts the Flashes at 17-6 on the season, keeping them in first place in the Mid-American Conference overall standings.

Kent State will have a chance to avenge its home-opening loss today when they travel to Pittsburgh to play against the Panthers at 3 p.m.

Zach Harley is a sports reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].