The first of four games this weekend was not in the Kent State baseball team’s favor, as nationally ranked St. John’s beat the Flashes 9-4 in Winthrop, S.C.

The weekend will test where Kent State is as a team at the beginning of the season, playing both St. John’s and North Carolina, which are both nationally ranked.

“St. John’s is a very good ball club, and they played very well,” coach Scott Stricklin said. “They out-pitched us and they out-played us. They deserved to win the game.”

The Flashes fell behind early, with starting pitching again posing a problem. Junior Alan Morrison lasted only four innings.

“Alan didn’t have his best stuff,” Stricklin said. “He was behind on a lot of hitters. He wasn’t his sharpest.”

Kent State was behind 7-1 in the fifth, knowing that a comeback against a team like the Red Storm would be a tough task.

The Flashes outscored their opponent 3-2 from that point, but have yet to jump ahead early and protect a lead in the four games this season.

“We fell behind early,” Stricklin said. “(We’re) still playing a little bit sloppy, not playing quite aggressive enough. Hopefully that’s a product of it still being early.

“As soon as our guys start to get more games under their belts I think we’ll start playing with a little more confidence,” he added.

The Flashes will have three more games, against North Carolina today, Winthrop Saturday and a final placement game on Sunday, to round out the weekend.

“It’s a great test for our guys,” Stricklin said. “To play a team like St. John’s, to play North Carolina (Friday) and Winthrop on Saturday, it’s good early experience.”

The Flashes are 1-3 so far on the season, and could climb back to .500 by winning the rest of the weekend. Game time for North Carolina is set for today at 12:30 p.m.

Contact sports reporter Chris Gates at [email protected].