Jon Miller pitches against Oakland University during Wednesday’s game. Kent State hosts Youngstown State this weekend with a doubleheader Saturday.

Credit: Andrew popik

The spring semester is coming to an end, but the Kent State baseball season still has a long way to go. At least the team hopes so.

The Flashes (27-15), which advanced to the super regionals last season, will be looking to have some of the same success to end this year.

But the team seems to be peaking at the right time.

Kent State has won eight of its last nine games and has outscored its opponents 90-40 during that time frame. The Flashes recently had their eight-game winning streak snapped by Oakland, 7-6 in 10 innings, Wednesday afternoon.

The Flashes, 7-6 in the Mid-American Conference East Division, still have an outside shot of first place in the East Division. They have six conference games remaining, including the final three regular season games against East Division leading Miami. They begin a three-game series during the weekend of June 20.

Junior Drew Saylor leads the offense with a .385 batting average and is second on the team with 38 runs batted in. Junior Kurt Eichorn leads the team with 43 RBI and is tied for the team lead with seven home runs.

But the offense continues to be sparked by Emmanuel Burris and Joe Tucker. The first and second batters in the order lead the team with 38 stolen bases and have scored 74 runs combined.

The pitching staff has also seemed to step up their play. They have a team earned-run average of 4.66, which is good enough for fifth in the Mid-American Conference.

Junior Chad Wagler leads the team with five wins and his ERA of 2.79 is one of the tops on the team. Sophomore Andrew Davis leads the team with five saves.

The Flashes return to action Saturday against Youngstown State University at Schoonover Stadium. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. They then travel to Youngstown State to play a doubleheader Sunday.

Contact baseball reporter Joshua Hudson at [email protected].