Pitching, hitting sync up as baseball wins sixth straight

The Kent State baseball team extended its winning streak to six games this afternoon with a 13-2 win over Marshall at Schoonover Stadium.

The Flashes (22-6) kept the bases clean throughout the game, leaving eight men on base while batting and limiting the Thundering Herd to only five hits.

Senior second baseman Ryan Mitchell hit a two-run double in the fifth to finish off a five-run rally that put Kent State ahead, 6-2. The Flashes tacked another run on in the next inning when junior catcher Cory Hindel scored on freshman shortstop Jimmy Rider’s sacrifice fly.

Off of singles and doubles, Kent State piled on runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. The Flashes’ batters scored six runs on five hits as Marshall needed to reach deep into their bullpen to retire the side.

Freshman starting pitcher Ryan Mace was effective on the mound for the Flashes, scattering three hits in five innings. After blanking Marshall in the first three frames, Mace surrendered a solo home run in both the fourth and fifth innings.

Relievers Robert Sabo, Jon Pokorny and Kyle McMillen closed out the game by silencing Marshall’s bats. The Herd managed only two hits after the fifth inning.

Kent State will return to action Friday for the beginning of a three-game series at Toledo. The Rockets (12-15, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) trail Ball State by a game in the MAC West, while Kent State leads the East by half a game. Friday’s game will begin at 3 p.m.

Contact principal sports reporter Josh Johnston at [email protected].