After talking all week about the dominance of Kent State’s pitching, coach Joe Carbone saw it first hand when he watched his team be shutout for 12 straight innings.
In three games against the Golden Flashes, the Bobcats scored four total runs, culminating in a 9-1 defeat Saturday.
Coach Joe Carbone said the trio of Kent State pitchers Ohio faced this weekend are the best the Bobcats have faced all year. Each fooled Ohio with a mixture of changeups and breaking balls.
“They throw them for strikes,” Carbone said. “Ahead in the count or behind in the count, it didn’t matter, they threw strikes.”
Despite the large margin of defeat, Kent State (30-12, 15-3 MAC) only knocked three more hits than Ohio (19-24, 5-13 MAC) in the final game of the series. The Bobcats finished with seven hits.
Ohio consistently put people on base, but Kent State’s pitchers countered by getting key outs as the Bobcats attempted to advance. They put people on base in eight innings, but only crossed the plate once.
“They pitched us tough when we got guys in scoring position,” Carbone said. “They got us chasing some balls out of the zone. We’ve got to do a better job recognizing those pitches and laying off.”
Ohio center fielder Ethan Newton’s abnormal stat line summed up the Bobcats struggles against the Golden Flash pitchers. Newton went 5-for-7 during the double header and managed to drop down three bunt singles to get on base.
“I didn’t have a very good day (Friday) hitting so today I just wanted to be a spark plug for the team and get something going,” Newton said. “They were making good pitches, but at the end of the day, we just have to execute.”
Brent Choban shined in the first game of the doubleheader Saturdays, throwing 8 1/3 innings. The Golden Flashes only managed one run off the starter, along with eight hits.
But the Bobcats lack of run production overshadowed Choban’s performance. Golden Flash pitchers Kyle Hallock and Kyle McMillen combined for an eight-hit shutout of the Bobcats.
Carbone said he would have liked to let Choban finish the game, but with his pitch count at 120, he had to take him out.
“He matched up with Hallock pitch for pitch,” Carbone said. “The way Choban threw today was as good as any of their guys threw this weekend.”
In both games, Kent State scored the majority of their runs once the Bobcats went to their bullpen.
“Most of our relievers came in and walked the first batter they faced. We can’t do that,” Carbone said. “Our starting pitching gave us a chance but our bullpen didn’t. They’ve got to be better coming in throwing strikes and giving us a chance to make plays.”
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