Kent State sports recap for spring 2012 season

Tim Dorst

Baseball team wins MAC Championship

For the fourth straight year, the Kent State baseball team is king of the Mid-American Conference.

The Flashes defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas 3-1 at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio on May 26 to win the MAC Tournament championship, the 10th title in the program’s history.

The win capped off a 4-0 weekend for the Flashes, who finished the regular season with a 24-3 record against MAC opponents. They also extended their winning streak to 17 games.

Kent State started the weekend with a 9-0 first-round victory over Buffalo on May 23, followed by a 12-3 win over Western Michigan on May 24.

The Flashes advanced to the championship game by defeating Buffalo for the second time in three days, 8-3, on May 25.

Senior left-handed pitcher David Starn earned his second career MAC tournament Most Valuable Player award. Starn went 2-0 in the weekend tournament, pitching eight scoreless innings in the opener against Buffalo and three scoreless relief innings in the championship final.

He became the first two-time winner of the award in school history.

Golf team wins MAC championship, places fifth in NCAA tournament

The Kent State men’s golf team claimed its fourth straight MAC championship May 6 at the Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The Flashes ran away with the title, their 20th overall, by posting a team score of nine under par with a combined score of 855 for the tournament.

Sophomore Corey Connors earned individual honors, finishing first with a seven-under 209 score on the par-72 course. Connors became the 21st Kent State golfer to win an individual MAC title in the history of the program.

The Flashes then placed third at the NCAA Central Regional tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 19, earning them a spot in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship.

The team finished eight under par with a score of 844 in the three-day tournament, just three strokes off the lead.

Connors finished the tournament tied for 13th place with a two-under 211. Sophomore Taylor Pendrith and senior Mackenzie Hughes both finished tied for 19th with an even 213.

The No. 17-ranked Flashes advanced to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship and came away with a fifth-place finish on June 1, their highest in program history.

Kent State defeated Florida State in a sudden-death playoff, earning a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Alabama.

The Crimson Tide defeated the Flashes 3-1-1 in the match play quarterfinal, but fifth place was nothing less than historic for Kent State.

The Flashes’ previous best finish occurred in the 2008 championship, when the team finished sixth. The team also earned a ninth-place finish in 2000.

Connors finished the national tournament tied for fourth place with a one-under 212.

Anzevino, Kitchen signed by Baltimore Ravens

Kent State will once again have rookie representation in the NFL, as center Chris Anzevino and defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen both received contracts from the Baltimore Ravens.

Neither Anzevino nor Kitchen was a pick in the 2012 NFL Draft in April, but the two football standouts signed as undrafted free agents with the Ravens shortly after the draft.

Anzevino and Kitchen took part in a three-day rookie minicamp with the Ravens in May.

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].