Tag Archives: Kent State
Kent State took an early lead over Florida Monday, but you knew (even as poorly as the Gators looked at the start) that the No. 1 overall seed would respond with some kind of surge.
After trailing 5-1, Florida has pulled with 5-4 as we head to the eighth inning of what should be a dramatic conclusion to the second elimination game of the College World Series. Heartbreak coming for someone, certainly.
The Gators should feel lucky to still have a shot in this one.
Kent State’s 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position over the last three innings, stranding five during that stretch.
The Golden Flashes were opportunistic early, though, what helped them build the lead. Florida, meanwhile, looked rather uninspired.
>> An error by …
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With a damp towel around his neck, Florida ace Hudson Randall headed toward the locker room, instead of back out on the playing field, as the second inning of the Gators’ elimination game began.
It was 95 degrees at first pitch (felt hotter, even with a light breeze), and the game will go down in the NCAA books as the warmest since July 11, 2001.
The Gator players did take batting practice in shorts before the game, but one would think Florida would be used to weather like this, right?
Well, apparently not Randall. The junior right-hander labored through the first inning (he threw 16 strenuous pitches). Coach Kevin O’Sullivan made a lengthy mound visit toward the end of the frame, at one point calling …
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As improbable as a successful run through the loser’s bracket would seem to be, Florida might be the only team in this College World Series built for such a feat.
First thing’s first, the No. 1 overall seed Gators face off against Kent State Monday. The elimination game starts at 4 p.m.
If Florida survives, it would have to beat the loser of Monday’s Arkansas-South Carolina match-up before sweeping two in a row from the winner of that game. Won’t be easy. The Gators are confident, though.
“We have a lot of pitching left,” freshman Josh Tobias said after Saturday’s loss to South Carolina. “A quality of a championship team is when you bounce back from failure. We’re a championship team.”
The Gators will get …
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Not that any local College World Series fans, with a soft spot for the underdog, need any more reasons beyond the Cinderella nature of Kent State’s postseason run to support the Golden Flashes.
But there are three significant human-interest stories — of perseverance, and of tragedy, and of dedication — involving players on this Kent State team that might just inspire you to, at the very least, strengthen your allegiance to the Golden Flashes bandwagon.
The Flashes will take on Florida in an elimination game at 4 p.m. Monday. But here’s a reminder that life for an athlete is about more than just the Ws and the Ls…
1. Backup catcher Jason Bagoly is in Omaha despite the fact that his mother, Cheryl McHenry, died …
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Arkansas, already up 3-1, was threatening again in the sixth inning. Kent State starter David Starn appeared to be out of gas.
But there were two outs. And even though runners were on first and second, Starn was about to face a guy (Arkansas’ Matt Vinson) that he’d struck out twice already.
Could have the righty-on-righty matchup, pitching coach Mike Birkbeck reminded head coach Scott Stricklin. Senior Ryan Mace was ready in the bullpen.
Tempting, but no. Stricklin stuck with his senior left-hander, who’d thrown 98 pitches.
Starn couldn’t deliver.
He surrendered a two-run double to Vinson, increasing the Razorbacks’ lead to 5-1. It was a back-breaking turn of events for the Golden Flashes, who had seemed to be flirting with a potential comeback until …
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If it weren’t for Stony Brook’s postseason run, Kent State would be the underdog team that every nonpartisan fan here in Omaha chose to root for. Both squads have great stories.
But the Golden Flashes could soon find themselves in a same situation that the Seawolves now face: Do-or-die.
Arkansas is up on Kent State 5-1, seizing the momentum with a two-run sixth inning. The game’s in the seventh now. Stony Brook lost 9-1 to UCLA Friday.
Going against a talented Razorbacks pitching staff Saturday, the Golden Flashes needed an extra-special effort from their starter, David Starn. The senior left-hander wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t lights-out, either. He lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs and six hits. He walked six batters.
If the …
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Kent State may have to beat three different SEC teams in the College World Series, just to get to the championship series. And coach Scott Stricklin can’t wait for the challenge to begin.
And in case Stricklin hadn’t stared long enough at his side of the CWS bracket — which includes three teams from the nation’s best baseball conference (Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas) — all he had to do at a press conference Thursday was look to his left. Seated next to him were the three head coaches from those powerhouse programs.
Yikes! … Right?
Well, not exactly. Stricklin’s not intimated. Neither is his team.
“We’re thrilled to do it,” he said. “We feel like we belong. These guys have all seen us play …
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Josh Cribbs wants to root on Kent State’s baseball team in its first-ever appearance in the College World Series. And he wants some Golden Flashes fans there with him.
Cribbs — the former Kent State football player and current Cleveland Browns wide receiver — bought 53 CWS tickets and rented a charter bus. Now he’s inviting fans to fill the open spots for a three-day trip.
Pay $150 and you get a seat on the bus, food and drink for the trip, a hotel room Friday night, a T-shirt and a ticket to Saturday’s game (Kent State plays Arkansas at 4 p.m). Not bad right?
Cleveland to Omaha — that’s more than 13 hours. But there will apparently be games, music and movies to entertain. …
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Arizona, Florida, Stony Brook, Florida State and UCLA have all earned a berth to the College World Series. Who else will join them in Omaha?
We should know by Monday night (assuming no more weather-related delays). Here’s a brief snapshot of what to look for as you follow it all unfold…
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3 p.m. ESPN2
Action of Game 2, halted by rain in a scoreless tie, has resumed in the sixth inning. Don’t count the OU out, even though it has to win twice in Columbia, S.C., to advance. The Sooners won four elimination games in their Regional. Yes, their opponent is the two-time defending champion Gamecocks, who’ve won a record 20 straight postseason games. But get this: The last team to beat USC …
Remember when they didn’t play baseball at Oregon? Yeah, that was only five years ago.
Oregon cut the sport from its athletic department in 1981. Turned its baseball field over to the softball team.
But the Ducks brought in a proven coach, George Horton, built a $19 million facility and started competing again in 2009.
With its 8-1 win over Austin Peay Sunday, Oregon moved past the NCAA’s Regionals for the first time since 1954, now sitting just two wins away from Omaha in its fourth season of re-existence. Incredible.
“It’s magical right now,” said Horton, who was a two-time national coach of the year at Cal State Fullerton. “Hopefully, we can keep that going deep into June.”
Won’t be easy. Oregon will face off …
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