Kent State Golden Flashes
Overall Rank: #36
Conference Rank: #1 Mid-American
Kent State Team Page
Eighth-year Head Coach Scott Stricklin has helped develop the Kent State baseball program into one of the most dangerous teams in the country and one that you don’t want to play in an opening weekend NCAA Regional. Texas got a good taste of that in the 2011 Austin Regional as the Golden Flashes knocked them off 7-5, chasing ace Taylor Jungmann. The win forced the Longhorns to have to come back twice and beat Kent State to win the Austin Regional. However, in defeat the Golden Flashes put their baseball program on the map nationally and won’t sneak up on anyone in 2012.
2011: 45-17, 21-5
2011 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Scott Stricklin
Field Players:
David Lyon is going to be looked to as the primary power source in the Kent State lineup. Lyon, the catcher, had nice pop with nine homeruns and 53 RBI’s in 2011. Complementing the power of Lyon, will be the speed of Derek Toadvine, who led the team with 16 stolen bases and could become more of a weapon if he can draw more walks to get on base more often. Evan Campbell brings excellent defense to the table with a .992 fielding percentage, as he only committed one error and is a clutch hitter with 39 runs batted in during the 2011 season
Pitchers:
David Starn will be counted on as the anchor of the weekend rotation. In 2011, Starn was the Sunday starter and should settle into the ace role in 2012 when the season opens against Georgia Tech. Starn shared the single season strikeout record at 117 with Andy Sonnanstine, who is now with the Tampa Bay Rays. Ryan Mace looks to lock down one of the two open spots on the weekend rotation as he had 10 starts in 2011 and performed nicely with a 2.67 earned run average. He is good solid control pitcher as well with a 3 to1 strikeout to walk ratio. Dan Slavik had three starts in 2011 and should be a strong contender for the third weekend slot. Pitching has been a staple of Kent State’s success under the tutelage of former MLB pitcher Mike Birkbeck.
Who to Watch:
Senior Jimmy Rider brings stability and leadership to the Golden Flashes lineup and in the field. Rider has solid speed and a knack to drive in runs with 46 in 2011. Another question to be answered is who will pick up the slack for Kyle McMillen in the closer’s role. McMillen was lights out in 2011 with 18 saves and held opposing batters to a paltry .175 batting average. The leading candidate is Casey Wilson, a junior right hander who had three saves in 2011. Wilson will need to balance out the walks and strikeouts more in the closer role, as in 2011, he walked 14 and struck out 21. So cutting down walks is going to be critical to his success.
Final Projection:
Kent State lost a lot on the mound with the loss of Kyle Hallock and Andrew Chafin from the starting rotation on the weekends. If Ryan Mace can step up and fill the innings void left by Hallock and Chafin, the Golden Flashes will have enough depth to battle in non-conference against Georgia Tech, Fresno State, and Pepperdine. There is a tremendous culture of winning in the program and the talent level offensively should be enough to carry Kent State to a fourth consecutive MAC Baseball Championship and another number 2 or 3 seed in someone’s regional. Ken State will be a very difficult opponent come June.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At Bats: Evan Campbell, INF/OF, 245
Hits: David Lyon, C, 75
Home Runs: David Lyon, C, 9
RBIs: David Lyon, C, 53
Runs: Evan Campbell, INF/OF, 44; Derek Toadvine, INF, 44
Stolen Bases: Derek Toadvine, INF, 16
Wins: David Starn, P, 9
Innings Pitched: David Starn, P, 107.1
Strikeouts: David Starn, P, 117
Saves: Casey Wilson, P, 3
