OP was an idiot and forgot we opened with NMSU, not Kent State, enjoy the material below as info for KS vs UL.
Kent State vs UL (39-16, 19-8), making their first postseason appearance since 2014, where they went 0-2 in the Louisville Regional, in Head Coach Jeff Duncan's first year as the manager. Kent State was projected by D1Baseball to receive an at-large bid.
Duncan is only 39 years old, and has a short college coaching career, thus far. He spent a year as the volunteer assistant at Auburn in the '08-'09 season, and then left to be a full time assistant at Purdue, which he held until the end of the 2013 season, after which, he was hired on as the head coach for Kent State.
As for the matchup on Friday afternoon, here is what I think you should know about the Kent State Golden Flashes:
Hitting
- Kent State has four players that are hitting above .300 (that are eligible) on the year: Nick Kanavas (RF) .358, Mason Mamarella (CF) .323, Tim DalPorto (C) .319, Reilly Hawkins (LF) .304
- Nick Kanavas - Kanavas has been hitting anywhere from 1-4 throughout the KS season, and leads the team in hits. He only has 1 HR on the year and 34 RBI, but has 51 R on the year, good enough for second on the team. Kanavas is 20-26 in stolen bases on the year, and leads the team with 92 total bases.
- Mason Mamarella - hits in the 2-hole, and has started every game for KS this year. Mamarella has 65 H and 42 RBI this season, with an OBP of .442. Mamarella is the speed of this team, as he is 33-40 on stolen bases, which is 35% of all KS SBA attempts. Only two other players for KS have double digit steal attempts (Kanavas and Hawkins). He is second on the team in BB w/ 37.
- Tim DalPorto - DalPorto hits pretty dang well for a catcher at .319, and typically in the 3-hole. He has started in 45 games and collected 58 H, while leading tied for the team lead in HR at 7. DalPorto is second on the team with 46 RBI, and only has 21 Ks on the year.
- Reilly Hawkins - Gives this KS team a stable bat towards the bottom of the lineup. Has typically hit in the 7-hole as of late. Hawkins is third on the team with 58 H, but only has 24 RBI, while also leading the team with 14 doubles. He is 8-13 on SBA, while having 29 K and 24 BB.
- Pavin Parks - Parks is the big hitter in this KS lineup, while hitting just outside of the .300 mark at .292, he is tied for the team lead in HR at 7, but leads the team with 51 RBI, .542 SLG%, 52 BB, and a .464 OB%. He is, however, second on the team with the highest number of Ks at 44.
Pitching
- Assuming Kent State goes all in on game one, I fully expect to see Joey Murray on the bump to start the game. Murray has been named WAC pitcher of the week twice this year.
- On the season, Murray is 9-1 in 15 starts, with 1.71 ERA, throwing 1 CG over 94.2 IP. He has 139 K, given up 19 R, 47 H and has an O/BA of .146. He is a strikeout pitcher, and we can be a strikeout team, at times. We better come with our A game bats, and make this kid work.
- Looking over their last few games with Murray as their starter, he will go around 6 IP, striking out anywhere between 6-8, and giving up just a few runs.
- Collin Romel and Jack Zimmerman are a couple of guys I'd expect to see out of the pen, both sport < 2.00 ERA, and < .200 OBA. The next guy you should be aware of is Zach Spangler. He has 17 appearances, all in relief, a 2.76 ERA, but opponents are hitting .232 (not too shabby) against him.
- Also of note, Eli Kraus just threw a complete game in the WAC tournament finals to lead KS to the win.
Kent State vs UL (39-16, 19-8), making their first postseason appearance since 2014, where they went 0-2 in the Louisville Regional, in Head Coach Jeff Duncan's first year as the manager. Kent State was projected by D1Baseball to receive an at-large bid.
Duncan is only 39 years old, and has a short college coaching career, thus far. He spent a year as the volunteer assistant at Auburn in the '08-'09 season, and then left to be a full time assistant at Purdue, which he held until the end of the 2013 season, after which, he was hired on as the head coach for Kent State.
As for the matchup on Friday afternoon, here is what I think you should know about the Kent State Golden Flashes:
Hitting
- Kent State has four players that are hitting above .300 (that are eligible) on the year: Nick Kanavas (RF) .358, Mason Mamarella (CF) .323, Tim DalPorto (C) .319, Reilly Hawkins (LF) .304
- Nick Kanavas - Kanavas has been hitting anywhere from 1-4 throughout the KS season, and leads the team in hits. He only has 1 HR on the year and 34 RBI, but has 51 R on the year, good enough for second on the team. Kanavas is 20-26 in stolen bases on the year, and leads the team with 92 total bases.
- Mason Mamarella - hits in the 2-hole, and has started every game for KS this year. Mamarella has 65 H and 42 RBI this season, with an OBP of .442. Mamarella is the speed of this team, as he is 33-40 on stolen bases, which is 35% of all KS SBA attempts. Only two other players for KS have double digit steal attempts (Kanavas and Hawkins). He is second on the team in BB w/ 37.
- Tim DalPorto - DalPorto hits pretty dang well for a catcher at .319, and typically in the 3-hole. He has started in 45 games and collected 58 H, while leading tied for the team lead in HR at 7. DalPorto is second on the team with 46 RBI, and only has 21 Ks on the year.
- Reilly Hawkins - Gives this KS team a stable bat towards the bottom of the lineup. Has typically hit in the 7-hole as of late. Hawkins is third on the team with 58 H, but only has 24 RBI, while also leading the team with 14 doubles. He is 8-13 on SBA, while having 29 K and 24 BB.
- Pavin Parks - Parks is the big hitter in this KS lineup, while hitting just outside of the .300 mark at .292, he is tied for the team lead in HR at 7, but leads the team with 51 RBI, .542 SLG%, 52 BB, and a .464 OB%. He is, however, second on the team with the highest number of Ks at 44.
Pitching
- Assuming Kent State goes all in on game one, I fully expect to see Joey Murray on the bump to start the game. Murray has been named WAC pitcher of the week twice this year.
- On the season, Murray is 9-1 in 15 starts, with 1.71 ERA, throwing 1 CG over 94.2 IP. He has 139 K, given up 19 R, 47 H and has an O/BA of .146. He is a strikeout pitcher, and we can be a strikeout team, at times. We better come with our A game bats, and make this kid work.
- Looking over their last few games with Murray as their starter, he will go around 6 IP, striking out anywhere between 6-8, and giving up just a few runs.
- Collin Romel and Jack Zimmerman are a couple of guys I'd expect to see out of the pen, both sport < 2.00 ERA, and < .200 OBA. The next guy you should be aware of is Zach Spangler. He has 17 appearances, all in relief, a 2.76 ERA, but opponents are hitting .232 (not too shabby) against him.
- Also of note, Eli Kraus just threw a complete game in the WAC tournament finals to lead KS to the win.
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