Flashes defeat Oregon, advance to College World Series

Kent+State+celebrates+its+first+trip+to+the+College+World+Series%2C+with+a+3-2+win+over+Oregon+in+the+NCAA+Super+Regional.+Photo+by+Eric+Evans.

Kent State celebrates its first trip to the College World Series, with a 3-2 win over Oregon in the NCAA Super Regional. Photo by Eric Evans.

Tim Dorst

Updated on June 12, 2012.

On Monday night in Eugene, Ore., senior shortstop Jimmy Rider stepped up to the plate in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Oregon Ducks with the potential game-winning run standing on second base.

Rider swung and hit a high pop fly to left field, a seemingly catchable ball for the Oregon outfielders. However, the left fielder lost the ball in the sun, and it dropped to the ground just inside fair territory.

The winning run scored, and the celebration began.

The Flashes defeated the Ducks 3-2 to win the Eugene Super Regional and advance to the College World Series for the first time in program history.

Head coach Scott Stricklin was at a loss for words when trying to describe the feeling of his team accomplishing something no Mid-American Conference team has done since 1976.

“I am just overcome,” Stricklin said. “We’re a very talented group of kids. We play the game the right way. We play hard, and I felt we deserved to win it.”

Kent State will play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first round of the College World Series on Saturday, June 16, at 5 p.m. EDT in Omaha, Neb.

The Flashes’ magical weekend began Saturday night when they pulled out a dramatic 7-6 win over the Ducks in the opener of the Super Regional.

Kent State started the game off strong, scoring the first run of the game in the third inning off an RBI single by Rider. Rider scored later in the inning to give the Flashes an early 2-0 lead.

The Flashes added a run in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth to go up 5-1 over the Ducks.

Despite leading the entire game, the Kent State pitching staff struggled with command, recording a season-high 11 walks. Starting pitcher David Starn accounted for seven of those walks, a career high for him, but he struck out five Oregon batters in 6 1-3 innings and left the game with the lead.

Ohio governor tweets his support

Governor John Kasich jumped on the KSU baseball bandwagon, tweeting “Congrats to the Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team for making their 1st trip to the College World Series!” and “very exciting! My son plays ball for Wright St, for now I’m a KSU fan. Go Flashes take it to the Razorbacks!!”

With the Flashes leading 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Oregon started a late rally, loading the bases on two occasions and scoring twice to cut the lead to one.

The Ducks had runners on second and third base when Oregon shortstop J.J. Altobelli belted a fly ball to deep center field. Junior center fielder Evan Campbell sprinted straight back and made a spectacular falling catch near the outfield fence, robbing Altobelli of a double and securing a win for the Flashes in the opener.

Stricklin said getting a win like that shows the overall toughness of the team and its players.

“It was certainly a hard-fought win,” Stricklin said. “If you’d have told me before the game that we were going to walk them 11 times and win, I wouldn’t have believed you. We made plays when we needed to, and Evan made an amazing play to give us a huge win. I’m really proud with the way our guys fought out there.”

The Super Regional series continued Sunday night, and the Oregon Ducks evened up the series with a 3-2 victory, ending the Flashes’ 21-game winning streak.

For the second night in a row, the Ducks rallied from an early deficit. Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, Oregon left fielder Brett Thomas lined a base hit into left field that Flashes outfielder Alex Miklos misplayed, and a run scored on the play.

Ducks third baseman Ryan Hambright singled to right field to drive in the game-tying run, and catch Brett Hambright gave Oregon the lead with a sacrifice bunt, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Ducks.

The Flashes had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, as sophomore right fielder T.J. Sutton led off the inning with a double down the right-field line. However, the next three Kent State batters struck out, bringing the game to a close.

Baseball camps affected

Kent State’s summer baseball camps have been affected by the team’s post-season play, according to the KSU baseball camp’s website. The hitting, pitching and catching camps originally scheduled for June 5 and 6 have been canceled, while a summer prospect camp originally set for June 13 has been rescheduled for June 27.

“We had some opportunities to score, and we didn’t take advantage of them,” Stricklin said. “You don’t want to give up a big inning to a team like Oregon, but that’s what we did.”

It came down to a deciding third game Monday night, and Stricklin motivated his players by reminding them of the possibility of going to Omaha and competing in the College World Series.

The final game of the series began to look strikingly similar to Sunday night’s game, as Oregon once again rallied from a deficit late in the game. With Kent State leading 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning, the Ducks got their two leadoff hitters on base with a single and a walk.

Oregon first baseman Ryon Healy then smashed a two-run single to right field to tie the game at two.

Kent State pitcher Brian Clark, who gave up the game-tying hit, shut down the Ducks in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Flashes the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore second baseman Derek Toadvine led off the inning with a walk, and Evan Campbell bunted him to second base.

Jimmy Rider, the MAC’s all-time hits leader, then came through with the biggest hit not only in his career, but in the history of Kent State baseball. With one swing of his bat, the Flashes stunned the Oregon crowd and punched their ticket to Omaha.

After the game was over, the team ran onto the field, jumping into a dogpile behind home plate. It was a moment in which even Stricklin couldn’t resist taking part.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in a dogpile since 1993,” Stricklin said. “I’m just so proud of what our kids have accomplished, and we’re ready for the next step.”

For the second night in a row, the Ducks rallied from an early deficit. Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, Oregon left fielder Brett Thomas lined a base hit into left field that Flashes outfielder Alex Miklos misplayed, and a run scored on the play.

Ducks third baseman Ryan Hambright singled to right field to drive in the game-tying run, and catcher Brett Hambright gave Oregon the lead with a sacrifice bunt, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Ducks.

The Flashes had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, as sophomore right fielder T.J. Sutton led off the inning with a double down the right-field line. However, the next three Kent State batters struck out, bringing the game to a close.

“We had some opportunities to score, and we didn’t take advantage of them,” Stricklin said. “You don’t want to give up a big inning to a team like Oregon, but that’s what we did.”

It came down to a deciding third game Monday night, and Stricklin motivated his players by reminding them of the possibility of going to Omaha and competing in the College World Series.

The final game of the series began to look strikingly similar to Sunday night’s game, as Oregon once again rallied from a deficit late in the game. With Kent State leading 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning, the Ducks got their two leadoff hitters on base with a single and a walk.

Oregon first baseman Ryon Healy then smashed a two-run single to right field to tie the game at two.

Kent State pitcher Brian Clark, who gave up the game-tying hit, shut down the Ducks in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Flashes the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore second baseman Derek Toadvine led off the inning with a walk, and Evan Campbell bunted him to second base.

Jimmy Rider, the Mid-American Conference’s all-time hits leader, then came through with the biggest hit not only in his career, but in the history of Kent State baseball. With one swing of his bat, the Flashes stunned the Oregon crowd and punched their ticket to Omaha.

After the game was over, the team ran onto the field, jumping into a dogpile behind home plate. It was a moment in which even Stricklin couldn’t resist taking part.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in a dogpile since 1993,” Stricklin said. “I’m just so proud of what our kids have accomplished, and we’re ready for the next step.”

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].