2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Kent State Edges Central Michigan 3-1 To Snag 4th Straight Title

The Kent State Golden Flashes are headed to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season, after a tight 3-1 victory over an exhausted Central Michigan squad in Saturday's finale.

Kent State starter Ryan Mace went four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts to open the game, and left before the fifth with a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard. Three locked-in Golden Flashes relievers then combined to toss five innings of two-hit baseball to protect the lead, as Central Michigan hitters could not figure out the combination of David Starn, Josh Pierce and Brian Clark down the stretch as their season hung in the balance.

Making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Championships, Kent State will play in the Regionals next weekend against an undetermined opponent. The 64-team field will be announced on Monday at noon and can be seen live on ESPNU for a half-hour telecast. Kent State will hold a watch party at the Water Street Tavern in downtown Kent starting at 11:30 am, and strongly encourage all fans to attend.

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MAC Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: Kent State Waits For Miami Or Central Michigan In Championship Game

The Kent State Golden Flashes continued rolling through the Mid-American Conference baseball tournament on Friday, locking up a spot in the Championship game with an 8-3 win over Buffalo on Friday. The top seed will have to wait to see which team they will play for the title, though as the Central Michigan Chippewas slipped past the Miami Redhawks, 11-10 to force a loser out rematch on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m..

The Chippewas came back from three runs down to beat Miami and extend their season for another day. Kent State has dominated the tournament so far, living up to their No. 1 seed. Miami's loss on Friday night further helps the Golden Flashes hopes to close out their championship run since their opponent will have to play an extra game on a hot Saturday afternoon at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The championship game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. EDT pending the completion of the Miami vs. Central Michigan game.

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Buffalo Vs. Western Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Bulls Hold Off Late Surge, Advance To Semifinals

On Friday morning, the No. 8 seeded Buffalo Bulls advanced to the Semifinal round of the 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament when they defeated the No. 5 seeded Western Michigan Broncos by a final score of 10-8. Despite a spirited effort by the Broncos in the bottom of the ninth inning which saw the team score six runs, the Bulls lead proved to be too great and the team managed to hold onto the win.

The Bulls win came on the back of two outstanding performances; one of which came from starting pitcher Mike Burke and the other coming from first baseman, Alex Baldock. Burke allowed two earned runs on ten hits in eight innings pitched and struck out four while only walking one. Baldock finished the game with three hits in four at-bats as well as a game-high five RBI, which was the source of half the Broncos total offense on the day.

Buffalo will have to play later on Friday afternoon when the team will challenge No. 1 seeded Kent State at 4 pm. Kent State has outscored their opponents 21-3 in the two games they have played thus far in the tournament.

MAC Baseball Tournament Final Score: Buffalo 10, Western Michigan 8. Bulls will face Kent State at 4 pm in MAC Semifinals #MACBaseball

— MACBaseball(@2012MACBaseball) May 25, 2012

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Miami Vs. Eastern Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Redhawks Remain Unbeaten On Arm Of Mac Thoreson

Eastern Michigan were able to put a run in on Miami's Mac Thoreson in the first inning, but the Redhawks pitcher shut the Michigan roster down completely after that. Steve Weber of the Eagles had a heck of a performance himself, going a full 10 innings on the mound, but the Redhawks were able to keep sneaking hits off of him all night long and eventually took the win, 2-1 in the 10th inning.

First baseman Kevin Bower ended up knocking in the winning run with a double in the top of the 10th inning. Miami had spent the rest of the game stranding its own men on base before Bower was able to knock it in, including a jam where they loaded the bases in the sixth inning but only were able to earn one run out of it.

Matt Rosinski took over the pitching duties from Thoreson for the Redhawks in the extra frame and earned the save with a strong, two strikeout performance.

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MAC Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: Kent State, Miami Continue Push Toward Title

After a full day of baseball in Avon on Thursday, No. 1 seed Kent State and No. 7 seed Miami are the only two remaining Ohio schools in the 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament. They're also the only undefeated teams after two days, pushing through to the second session on Friday where they will await the winners of the two elimination games in the early session. A complete schedule of Friday's action below:

Friday, May 24, 2012- Session V

Game 9- 9:00 a.m. No. 8 Buffalo vs. No. 5 Western Michigan

Game 10- 12:30 p.m. No. 3 Central Michigan vs. No. 6 Eastern Michigan

Friday, May 24, 2012 - Session VI

Game 11- 4:00 p.m. No. 1 Kent State vs. No. Buffalo/WMU winner

Game 12- 7:30 p.m. No. 7 Miami vs. CMU/EMU winner

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Kent State Vs. Western Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Golden Flashes Down Broncos, 12-3

The top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes used an eight-run ninth inning on Thursday to defeat Western Michigan, 12-3. The two teams could meet again as Kent State plays the winner of Western Michigan and Buffalo on Friday.

Kent State found themselves down 3-1 in the seventh inning before its bats woke up. Nick Hamilton hit an RBI single, which was followed by a two-RBI double by right fielder T.J. Sutton that gave Kent State a 4-3 lead.

The Golden Flashes then poured it on in the ninth inning, adding eight more runs, sparked by a grand slam hit by first baseman George Roberts. When all was said and done, Kent State had won 12-3.

Despite a tight game for eight innings today, Kent State has faced little resistance thus far in the MAC tournament. It has outscored its two opponents 21-3. The finals of the MAC tournament will take place on Saturday.

Ohio Vs. Buffalo, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Bobcats Drop 2nd Straight, Knocked Out By Bulls

The Ohio Bobcats were promptly knocked out of the 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament in Avon on Thursday afternoon, losing 6-5 to the No. 8 seed Buffalo Bulls. Kent State shut out the Bulls late last night but, undeterred, they rallied back for an early afternoon game to survive with an extra-innings win. Alex Baldock came through with the clutch hit, driving a double to right center with two outs that brought home Matt Pollock for the winning run.

Both Baldock and Tom Murphy did the damage for Buffalo to start their scoring, as each went deep in a three-run fourth inning. The Bobcats re-took the lead over the next two innings, but failed to string together a rally and put things out of reach. Logan Cozart and Tyler Wells each went deep for the Bobcats, but it was not enough. Wells, the No. 9 hitter, took Cleveland native River McWilliams deep to tie it up when OU was down to their final out. But McWilliams bounced back and pitched a scoreless 10th, setting up the game-winning double and pushing the Bulls into action on Friday. They will face the loser of the Western Michigan and Kent State game tomorrow at 9:00 a.m ET.

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Toledo Vs. Central Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Rockets Eliminated In 4-3 Loss

Things just got a little bit easier for Kent State in the 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament. In the first of two games on Thursday, Toledo was eliminated from the tournament by Central Michigan after losing a tight 4-3 game. Toledo was ranked No. 2 in this tournament, with the aforementioned Kent State being favored, and Central Michigan held the No. 3 seed.

Patrick Kaminska had a decent outing for Central Michigan - he pitched five-plus innings of four-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts, but there were two runs allowed on his watch. Matt Kuna for Toledo went seven-plus innings and allowed seven hits and three earned runs while hitting double digits in strikeouts with 10.

Central Michigan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Kuna struggled, but as noted, he did go more than seven innings and locked down after that. It took until the sixth inning for Toledo to get on the board, with Hammer and Miglin picking up RBIs before Kaminska was pulled in favor of Renzi.

Toledo would go on to tie it in the seventh innings, with a White single to right field that scored Grogg. But Central Michigan game back in the top of the ninth, when MacKenie walked to start the inning. Hall singled on a bunt that advanced MacKenzie to second, and then both runners were advanced after Dean sacrificed with a bunt. Arnold then flew out to center field which scored MacKenzie.

A one-two-three inning from Weaver in the ninth, including the second and third batters striking out looking, sealed the deal and Central Michigan advanced in the tournament with a 4-3 win.

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MAC Baseball Tournament 2012 Schedule: Kent State Continues Road To Fourth Straight Title On Thursday

The 2012 MAC baseball tournament continues on Thursday with four games after a couple of exciting finishes and a couple of shutouts on Wednesday.

The favored Kent State Golden Flashes will play the third game of the day against the No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos, who upset Central Michigan on Wednesday. Kent State cruised in their opener, 9-0, behind the arm of Conference Pitcher of the Year David Starn. Starn only allowed two hits in eight scoreless frames in front of a handful of scouts.

Thursday's full schedule is below:

Thursday, May 24, 2012- Session III

Game 5- 9:00 a.m. No. 3 Central Michigan vs. No. 2 Toledo

Game 6- 12:30 p.m. No. 4 Ohio vs. No. 8 Buffalo

Thursday, May 24, 2012 - Session IV

Game 7- 4:00 p.m. No. 5 Western Michigan vs. No. 1 Kent State

Game 8- 7:30 p.m. No. 6 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 7 Miami

The full schedule for the tournament can be found here.

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Kent State Vs. Buffalo, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: David Starn Strong As Flashes Cruise In Opener

The first full day of action at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon ended with the No. 1 seed Kent State walloping the No. 8 seed Buffalo. The Golden Flashes came in as the favorites, looking for their fourth straight MAC Tournament title. They're off to a good start after easily cruising to a 9-0 win in the first round against the overmatched Bulls.

David Starn took the mound for Kent State, fresh off being named the pitcher of the year in the conference. There were reportedly several scouts in attendance to take in Starn's appearance, and he lived up to the hype by allowing just two hits in eight scoreless innings.

On offense, the Flashes struck early by putting a three-spot on the board against Buffalo starter Cameron Copping. A five-run eighth inning removed all doubt for the top seed. Three players had two-RBI nights, including Sawyer Polen who went a perfect four-for-four at the dish.

The Bulls now have to turn around and play the first game of the day tomorrow against Ohio at 12:30 p.m. ET while Kent State will face Western Michigan at 4 p.m.

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Toledo Vs. Miami (Ohio), 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Red Hawks Advance With 5-0 Win

In the final game of the first round of the 2012 MAC Baseball tournament, the Miami (Ohio) Red Hawks will advance after beating the Toledo Rockets on Wednesday evening, 5-0.

Miami's Shawn Marquardt twirled a gem in the final game of the day, going the distance for a five-hit shutout while striking out two, walking none and facing only four over the minimum. Marquardt needed only 105 pitches to do his work, throwing 66 of those for strikes

Miami's offense banged out 11 hits to support Marquardt. Third baseman Dan Walsh had three and first baseman Kevin Bower added two. Only one starter was held hitless for the Red Hawks.

The Red Hawks will now play the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Eastern Michigan Vs. Central Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Eagles Upset Chippewas In 1st Round

The No. 6 seed Eastern Michigan Eagles picked up a win in the opening round of the 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament, defeating the in-state rival Chips from Central Michigan by one run on Wednesday afternoon in Avon. Neil Butara and Jordan Glover combined in a dandy pitching performance for EMU, holding the CMU to just three runs on four hits. Glover came on in relief during the seventh inning, and allowed two batters Butara had put on base to score and cut the lead to just one. But he pitched a scoreless 8th inning and gave way to Joe Battistelli who cleaned up for the save, striking out two of the three batters he face.

On offense, it was the top of the order for EMU, as No. 2 hitter Tucker Rubino and No. 3 hitter Brent Ohrman each knocked in a pair for all the offense they would need. Rubino's sac fly in the top of the 7th brought home Jamie Simpson for what proved to be the winning run. Ohrman opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd, singling home Simpson and John Rubino for the early 2-0 lead. Central Michigan pitcher Zach Cooper went the distance for his club, but was the tough-luck loser. Central drops into the losers' bracket and will face the loser of Miami and Toldeo this afternoon, while Eastern will get the winner on Thursday.

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Ohio Vs. Western Michigan, 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament: Broncos Advance On Arm Of Casey Webber

The 2012 MAC Baseball Tournament is underway in Avon, and the Western Michigan Broncos led off the tourney with a 4-2 win over the Ohio Bobcats. The Broncos got a dominating performance from their starting pitcher, Casey Webber, who gave up just five hits in 7.2 innings pitched at All Pro Freight Stadium. Bronco reliever Monty Porter came on to clean things up and kept the Bobcats off the board, securing the two-run victory.

Ohio Starter Brent Choban nearly went the distance, pitching 8.2 innings. His defense did not exactly pick him up, however, as OU committed five errors and consistently forced him to make extra pitches and get extra outs. The Bobcats now head to an elimination game where they will face the loser of Kent State and Buffalo. The Broncos move on to face the winner of that game, which rounds out the full slate of action in Avon tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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