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Kent State 9, UB 0
Kent State 9, UB 7
UB 5, Kent State 3
Saturday was a day for the underdog at Amherst Audubon Field as last-place UB beat Kent State, the outright champion of the Mid-American Conference, 5-3 in both teams' regular season finale on Senior Day for the Bulls.
The Golden Flashes had swept the Bulls in a double-header on Friday, 9-0 and 9-7.
Senior Sean McWilliams, armed with his arsenal of a low-80s fastball and a devastating slider, capped off his career in fine fashion, pitching eight innings of beguiling baseball, allowing 10 hits, three walks and three runs. He struck out four in the game, but more importantly, stranded nine Kent State runners—three at third base.
Freshman Steve Geltz set the UB single-season save mark by tossing a perfect ninth inning. He faced three batters hitting above .300, including future Major League Baseball draft picks Emmanuel Burris and Drew Saylor, striking out one to close the game. He passed Bill Casbolt (1977) and Mike Klym (1974) with his fifth save of the season.
The Bulls (15-37 overall, 6-21 MAC) took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when freshman Eric Flynn drew a two-out walk. Three pitches later, sophomore Mike Folli lined a two-out double into right field that rolled to the wall, helping Flynn score easily.
UB put together another rally in the sixth inning when senior James Kingsley singled through the right side and junior Dan Quinn followed with a double off the base of the right field wall. Freshman Brad Agustin drove in Kingsley with a sacrifice fly to left. After another popout, sophomore Rick Oliveri delivered a huge single, giving UB a 5-2 lead.
The Flashes rallied in the eighth inning when Andrew Davis led off with a double. After a flyout, Will Vazquez singled him in and Andrew Patton followed with a single, but McWilliams got pinch-hitter Brad Winter to hit into a groundball double play, with Kingsley making a beautiful scoop of a low throw to end the inning.
Kingsley went 2-for-3 with two runs, finishing the season with a career-high .343 average and becoming the first player in school history to wrap 70 hits in a season twice in his career, reaching the plateau with his final hit.
Seniors David Amaro, Carl Aquila, Matt Johnson, Matt Larson, Kingsley, McWilliams and Aaron Otto were honored for their contributions to UB baseball in a ceremony before the game.
Kingsley had set another school record on Friday when he hit a two-run homer to set the career RBI mark, but Kent State won both ends of the doubleheader, 9-0 and 9-7.
Kingsley's milestone—his 138 RBIs now top Bryan Sanchez (2000-03) by two—was part of a 4-for-9, three-RBI day for the senior, who also blasted his 49th career double and 27th career homer in the doubleheader.