Baseball

Fly The Flag! Kent State Downs No. 13 Tennessee in Knoxville

Saturday’s Baseball Results
Kent State 2, No. 13 Tennessee 1
Bowling Green 6, Western Carolina 5
Akron 5, Western Illinois 0
Central Michigan 6, Belmont 4
Northern Illinois 3, Presbyterian 1
UMass 7, Mount St. Mary’s 5
UMass 10, Mount St. Mary’s 6
Miami 14, UMass Lowell 12
Jacksonville State 2, Toledo 1
George Mason 6, Ball State 1
Tennessee Tech 6, Ohio 4
Austin Peay 8, Eastern Michigan 7
Tennessee Tech 6, Ohio 1
 
Stories Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Kent State 2, No. 13 Tennessee 1
Box Score
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Kent State baseball team pulled off a historic 2-1 victory over #13 Tennessee on Friday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, earning its first win against a ranked opponent since 2022 and its first-ever victory over the Volunteers.


The Flashes (4-2) trailed early after Tennessee's Henry Ford homered down the right field line with no outs in the first inning to give the Volunteers a 1-0 lead.


Kent State starter Easton Tumis settled in after the rough start, allowing just one run on four hits over 4.1 innings while striking out three batters. Tennessee threatened again in the first when a pitch hit Tyler Myatt, and both runners advanced on wild pitches, but Tumis escaped the jam by getting Stone Lawless to strike out swinging and Manny Marin to fly out to center field.


The Flashes broke through in the fifth inning with two runs, both unearned due to Tennessee defensive miscues. Max Humphrey led off with a single to shortstop and stole second base. Sawyer Solitaria followed with a single to third base, advancing Humphrey to third. Brody Williams reached on a fielding error by third baseman Ford that allowed Humphrey to score.

Ripken Reese then reached on a fielder's choice to third base, but a throwing error by second baseman Ariel Antigua allowed Reese to advance to second while Solitaria scored the second run, giving Kent State a 2-1 lead.


Nick Guidas entered in relief of Tumis in the fifth inning and was outstanding, pitching three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three. Peyton Williams earned the save by retiring all five batters he faced over the final 1.2 innings.


Solitaria led the Flashes offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Luke Matthews added two hits and a stolen base, while Humphrey went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases.


Tennessee starter Luke Mack took the loss despite striking out 11 batters over 6.2 innings. The Volunteers (5-1) managed just five hits and committed three errors that proved costly.


The victory marks Kent State's first win over a top-25 opponent since defeating #25 UConn 5-4 in 2022 and the program's first-ever win against Tennessee.


The Flashes will look to win the series when they face the Volunteers again Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Bowling Green 6, Western Carolina 5
Box Score
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Bowling Green State University baseball team wrapped up the weekend series against Western Carolina with a three-game series on Saturday (Feb. 21). The Falcons rallied for five unanswered runs to take a late lead, holding on for a 6-5 victory and the first win of the 2026 season. In the second contest, the Catamounts battled back for a 5-0 final score, splitting the doubleheader. BGSU will now turn to their first midweek game of the season, currently set for a Tuesday tilt (Feb. 24) at Cincinnati.

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1
  • Carrson Sova started strong, striking out the first two batters he faced, but Western Carolina tallied the first runs of the game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first.
  • In the top of the third the Falcons answered. Andrew DiLodovico drew a walk to start the frame. WCU battled back with a pair of strikeouts, but Anthony Mitta was hit by a pitch to put two on. With two strikes in his at-bat, Zack Horky drove a single through the left side of the infield, bringing DiLodovico around from second for the first BGSU tally of the day.
  • In the fourth, Western Carolina tallied a run on a fly out. A sprinting Chase Chopin made the catch, crashing into the wall before working to double the runner at first who had rounded second for a double play and a 4-1 score.
  • The Falcons responded in the fifth. Sam Seidel legged out an infield single before stealing second, his sixth stolen base of the season. Mitta followed with a double down the left field line, reaching the wall and scoring Seidel for a 4-2 tally at the midway point.
  • In the eighth, Horky led off with a triple high off the left field wall. Pauly Mancino kept the hot start to the frame going by legging out an infield single to short with Horky scoring for a 4-3 score.
  • The Falcons kept it going in the inning with a TJ Takats liner into right for a single, moving Mancino up to third for runners at the corners. After a pitching change, Chopin laid down a bunt that brought Mancino home, evading a tag to tie it up, 4-4.
  • Western Carolina tallied the second out, but Vinny Salvione added another tally with an RBI double into left field, scoring Takats from second to push BGSU in front, 5-4.
  • After a one-two-three inning for Nate Kress on the mound, Horky added another run to the BGSU tally with a home run to right center, pushing the advantage to 6-4.
  • Western Carolina worked for one run in the ninth, but Kade Arn managed to close the door for the 6-5 BGSU win and his first save of the season
Akron 5, Western Illinois 0
Box Score
MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Four pitchers combined to toss a shutout on Saturday as the Akron Zips blanked the Western Illinois Leathernecks 5-0 on Saturday.

Elijah Griffith (1-0) started and picked up the win for Akron (3-3), going six shutout innings while giving up two hits, walking two, and striking out two. Floyd McKenna dealt 1.2 innings with two strikeouts, while Josiah Ross and Taylor Bednar closed out the final 1.1 innings.

At the plate, the Zips were paced by Henry Hayman, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Kelton Phillips put together a noteworthy performance as well, going 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI. Brennan Morgan also contributed for Akron, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding two walks and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Zips took the lead for good in the fifth, scoring for the first time in the inning. Hayman put Akron on the board with a leadoff home run.

The Zips then tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with their biggest output coming in the eighth when they scored three times. Two of those three runs scored on a two-RBI double from Phillips.

Central Michigan 6, Belmont 4
Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Joey Milto hit a two-run homer and four Central Michigan pitchers combined to strike out 12 on Saturday as the Chippewas topped Belmont, 6-4, in a nonconference baseball game at the Bruins' E.S. Rose Park.

The Chippewas (5-2) and Bruins (2-5) close their four-game series on Sunday (2 p.m.). If CMU wins, it takes the series, its second straight to open the season after it won three of four last weekend at West Georgia.

"These guys are in a really good spot," said CMU coach Jake Sabol, whose team bounced back from a 5-2 loss in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. "I think (Friday) was tough because we felt like we had a good opportunity to take game two. Unfortunately, It didn't go our way.

"There was no moping or pouting or feeling bad for themselves. It was just on to the next game. Today was just a total team win. We did a lot of really good things. It wasn't super clean, but from our energy in the dugout to our pitching … and we again manufactured some runs."

Milto's fourth-inning two-run homer tied the game, 3-3, and the Chippewas went ahead on a Brady Krzciok fifth-inning RBI single, his second of the game.

The Chippewas collected 11 hits, 10 of them singles. Three of those hits came from a combination of the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Spencer Verburg and Bryson Webb.

Eight of the nine CMU starters had at least one hit.

"We did have a big one from (Milto) there, but the guys just continue to put pressure on and find ways to get on base and allow us to do some things from a baserunning standpoint," Sabol said. "Guys are taking advantage of some opportunities. Verburg had some really big at-bats today, and same with (Webb)."

Chippewa starter Luke Neiswonger (2-0) allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings for the win.

Max Hammond, Tyson Potts and Liam Stumpf pitched in relief. The bullpen trio combined to hold the Bruins to one run on two hits while striking out eight.

All four Chippewa pitchers worked out of jams, most importantly Stumpf in the ninth when he got the final out on strikes, stranding the tying run at second base for his first save.

"They were outstanding," Sabol said. "That's what we've been lacking the last couple of years, guys with experience out of the pen. Competitive with good stuff.

"Just really impressive, their composure with runners on late in the game to hold it where it was. If we do that, we're going to be in a lot of games."

Neiswonger, a freshman and the reigning Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week, picked up his second win as many starts. He struck out four and walked two.

"Neiswonger wasn't as good as he was last week, but he made some big pitches, kind of settled in," Sabol said. "He's only going to get better at just building the pitch count a little bit.

"Wins are tough to come by, but you win on the road after not really (practicing) in that environment is impressive. I think it's just that we've got a really good mix of newcomers who have a lot of experience and have been through it already, and the guys who've been here are seasoned now. Guys who have been through those scenarios and have been able to execute in some big-time moments.

"I think we kind of have a pretty good grasp on how we want to play right now, which through seven games is a big deal. I'm pretty happy with the guys' effort and their commitment. It's been fun to watch them go play and do it on the field."

Northern Illinois 3, Presbyterian 1
Box Score
CLINTON, S.C. - The Northern Illinois University baseball team struck out 13 Presbyterian Blue Hose batters Saturday in a 3-1 win at Elton Pollock Field at the PC Baseball Complex in the second game of the One Spartanburg Inc. Baseball Classic.

"That's the name of the game in all levels of baseball now, but especially professionally and in college," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "If you can't get swing and miss, it's just going to be really tough to go win a bunch of games. Coach [Calvin] Peacock and the pitching staff train for this. We feel good about our defense, and they've been excellent so far, but anytime you can eliminate opportunities for things to go wrong it's a good thing."

Starting Pitcher Danny Cihocki (Princeton, Ill./Lake Land College) threw a career-high seven innings of one-run ball for the win, his first of the season. He struck out a career-high 10 batters and only allowed one Blue Hose batter to get in scoring position after the second inning. Josh Loren (North Liberty, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) had a strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief and Matt Tarr (North Aurora, Ill./Purdue) got the final two outs of the game on strikeouts for his first save.

NIU (3-3) scored first for the fourth time in six games to start the year. Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) hit a triple in the top of the first. Gavin Baldwin (Nashville, Ill./SEMO) drove Smith in on a ground out to put the Huskies up 1-0. Cihocki struck out the side in the first while allowing a hit to Amman Dewberry.

Presbyterian (2-5) tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. Cihocki hit Bo Moody with a pitch, then allowed a single to Brody Linker that allowed Moody to get to third. After a strikeout, a wild pitch allowed Moody to score. The Huskies took back the lead in the top of the  fourth. Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) hit a double to left field with one out. Caden Robertson (Magnolia, Texas/Central Oklahoma) drove in Romero with a single to left center to give NIU a 2-1 lead.

Cihocki retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth and the fifth. The Blue Hose had a chance to tie the game in the sixth as Dewberry reached on a single to left and stole second base with one out. Cihocki struck out Emory Guilford but walked Matthew Rollison. He got Moody to fly out to end the threat. Cihocki got two more punchouts in the seventh to give him 10 on the day.

"Danny was excellent tonight," Copeland said. "We really needed him to step up after getting a pretty short start yesterday. He had all his pitches working, landed some breaking balls in some hitters counts and gave us a really good effort."

The Huskies tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. With runners at first and third and one away, Owen Ross (Yorkville, Ill./USC Upstate) reached on an infield single that scored Dahlberg and made the score 3-1. Loren made that lead hold up with a perfect eighth inning. Presbyterian got the tying runs on base in the ninth when Loren hit two batters. Tarr then entered the game and struck out Linker for the second out. He walked Caden Mason to load the bases but got Cam Mallo to strike out to end the game.

Smith and Robertson both went 2-for-4 at the plate on Saturday. Smith has nine hits in the first six games of the season.

Dewberry had two of the four hits for Presbyterian. Christian Charalambous allowed two runs on five hits in 4.1 innings on the mound.

UMass 7, Mount St. Mary’s 5 // UMass 10, Mount St. Mary’s 6
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
COLUMBIA, Md. - University of Massachusetts baseball earned the doubleheader sweep over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon at Blandair Park. The Minutemen defeated the Mountaineers, 10-6, in game one of the doubleheader, before winning 7-5 in game two of the day.

Three Minutemen in Braden Sullivan, Ty Fox and Will Briggs each contributed home runs on the day. Sullivan recorded his first of the year and the 10th of his career, while Fox and Briggs registered the first of their careers. Fox added a home run in game two of the afternoon for the second of his career.  

Massachusetts improved to 3-0 overall on the season, while Mount St. Mary's moved to a 2-5 record on the season.

Massachusetts prepares to take on Siena for a neutral site three-game series in Aberdeen, Maryland, at Ripken Stadium on Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1. First pitch on Friday is slated for 2 p.m., before a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday. The series concludes on Sunday with a 12 p.m. start.    

Game 1
Anthony Tirado and Vance Bonior led the team with three hits, which included a double from Bonior. Ryan Kolben, Braden Sullivan and Ty Fox followed behind with two hits apiece. Sullivan recorded his first home run of the season and the 10th of his career, while Fox registered his first collegiate homer. Fox added a career-best three RBI and career-high three runs to lead the Minutemen. Sullivan and Jack Beverly had two runs each, and Bonior and Gavin O'Brien tallied two RBI each.

Mount St. Mary's scored first in the opening frame on a fielding error to take the early 1-0 lead. The Mountaineers added another run on a single in the second inning to make it a 2-0 game.

In the top of the fourth, UMass cut the deficit in half, making it a 2-1 contest. Fox reached first on an error and advanced to second. Bonior hit a single to drive in Fox. Mount St. Mary's added a two-run double in the bottom half of the inning to pull ahead, 4-1.

Sullivan opened the fifth frame with a solo home run to left center field to bring Massachusetts within two at 4-2.

A six-run seventh inning allowed the Minutemen to claim an 8-4 lead. With one out, back-to-back doubles from Fox and Bonior helped Sullivan and Beverly cross the plate and tie the game at 4-4. A two-run double from O'Brien aided Fox and Bonior across the plate to take a 6-4 lead. A sacrifice bunt then advanced Tirado from third to home, followed by O'Brien scoring on a single from Kolben.
Mount St. Mary's came back within two with a two-run home run as UMass continued to lead, 8-6 in the bottom of the seventh. UMass pulled ahead by four as Fox registered a two-run long ball, marking the first of his career, to give the Minutemen a 10-6 lead.

Ben Thomas (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win after tossing two complete innings and giving up only two runs on one hit, walking three and striking out one.

Lorcan Lee earned his first career start on the mound for Massachusetts, pitching three innings and allowing two runs, three hits, two walks and dealing two strikeouts on the day.

Maximus McCrary of Mount St. Mary's took the loss after giving up six runs, five hits, two walks and striking out two in 1.2 innings of work.

Game 2
O'Brien and Fox totaled two hits each, as six Minutemen all registered one hit apiece. Will Briggs and Fox both had a home run, as it marked the first career homer for Briggs and the second of the day for Fox. Briggs and Fox also led the team in runs with two each, while Fox and O'Brien both had two RBI.   

Mount St. Mary's scored one run in the first, before adding two more in the second to take an early 3-0 lead. Fox recorded a solo shot to lead off the third to put UMass on the board, 3-1. It marked his second home run of the day.

 In the sixth, Massachusetts knotted the game up at 3-3. Briggs led off the frame with a solo home run, marking the first of his career to bring the Minutemen within one. Beverly followed with a single with Randen May entering as a pinch runner. May advanced to second on a wild pitch, before Fox hit an RBI single to score May at tie it up. Back-to-back RBI singles helped Fox and Bonior across the dish as UMass claimed a 5-3 lead.

The Minutemen added to its total in the top of the seventh, as Sullivan crossed the plate to make it a 6-3 contest. O'Brien then walked with the bases loaded with Briggs moving from third to home to make room to extend Massachusetts' lead to 7-3. The Mountaineers made it a 7-5 game with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.

UMass was up to bat in the eighth before the game came to a halt and ended with a final score of 7-5 in favor of the Minutemen.

Jack Levine (1-0) earned the win for Massachusetts allowing no runs, one hit, three walks and striking out three in three complete innings of work. Bobby McDonough received the save after giving up two runs on one hit, walking one and striking out one in one inning.

Mount St. Mary's Nate Berzonski gave up four runs on four hits with no walks or strikeouts on the day to take the loss. 

Miami 14, UMass Lowell 12
Box Socre
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.– The RedHawks defeated UMass Lowell 14-12 Saturday as a part of the Snowbird Baseball Classic Tournament. The win came after a 10-run inning for Miami and a three-run homer for Carson Raether. Miami improves to 5-1 with the win and UMass Lowell drops to 1-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The River Hawks scored five runs to open up the first inning, amassing three hits and capitalizing on two RedHawk errors.
  • A triple and a groundout for the River Hawks added one more to make it 6-0 in the second.
  • Raether put Miami on the board with an RBI walk in the bottom of the second. Marcus Dierks singled and Ignacio Gonzalez walked. Diego Cruz then singled to load the bases and Raether walked in the run.
  • UMass Lowell added two more in the third to extend their lead to 8-1.
  • Alex Gay saw three up, three down in the top of the fourth to hold UMass Lowell scoreless.
  • The River Hawks leapt to a 12-1 lead, scoring four runs on one hit in the top of the fifth.
  • The RedHawks had a monster fifth inning at bat, scoring ten runs on six hits.
  • Evan Appelwick led off the top of the fifth with a solo home run. A single by Ryan Novak and two walks loaded the bases and a wild pitch scored one run. Mason Breidenbach singled to left field, scoring two more runs. An error and a walk set up a sac fly by Dominic Krupinski to make it 12-6.
  • With two outs in the fifth, Appelwick walked and Novak took an HBP to force in a run. Another wild pitch then scored a run. Tommy Harrison, Dierks, and Gonzalez each singled back-to-back, scoring three more runs to make it a 12-11 game.
  • The RedHawks took their first lead in the bottom of the seventh via a three-run bomb by Raether.
  • Austin Berggren recorded three straight outs to cap off the comeback victory.