GARY, Ind. (AP)
For as long as Friday night's 21-inning marathon between Kent State and Kentucky lasted at the NCAA Gary Regional, the game still fell four innings short of the Texas-Boston College affair in 2009.
Alex Miklos hit a go-ahead RBI triple in the 21st inning as the Golden Flashes outlasted Kentucky 7-6 in the second-longest game in NCAA tournament history.
''That might not have been the longest game in college baseball history, but it was certainly the best baseball game in college baseball history,'' Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said. ''There were so many twists and turns. The game was just unbelievable.''
The Golden Flashes (42-17) held the lead in the ninth and 18th innings, but the Wildcats (43-17) answered both times to extend it. Kentucky had numerous chances to end the game in extra innings, including having the bases loaded with one out in the 20th, but Kent State relief pitcher Michael Clark was able to get J.T. Riddle to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
''I got the one play that could get us out of that inning,'' Clark said. ''We would throw a punch and then they would throw a punch. It was a great game to be a part of.''
Each team used four pitchers that threw at least 60 pitches in the game. Kentucky reliever A.J. Reed started the game as the designated hitter and pitched the final nine innings of the game for the Wildcats. Clark threw the final three and two-thirds innings for Kent State and got the win while recording four strikeouts.
''This type of game is going to help us down the line,'' Clark said. ''We're riding on adrenaline right now, but once we get a meal, if anything is still open, we'll start to get focused on tomorrow's game.''
The Golden Flashes were two outs away from the victory in the ninth inning when Kentucky first baseman Luke Maile tied the game 5-5 with an RBI single that scored Austin Cousino. The teams played eight innings of scoreless baseball before Joe Koch gave Kent State a 6-5 lead with an RBI single. Kentucky catcher Michael Williams answered with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the 18th and the teams continued playing.
''It was a great game for the fans, two tremendous efforts out of the bullpen,'' Kentucky coach Gary Henderson said. ''Both sides pitched extremely well after the fourth inning. Forty-runners left on base, it was a very unique game.''
Miklos was an unlikely hero for the Golden Flashes as the freshman left fielder entered with the least amount of hits (35) in the starting lineup and with just a .271 batting average. Miklos came to the plate in the 21st inning having gone 1 for 7 and striking out three times. He hit a shot to the center-field wall that drove in Koch with the go-ahead run.
''I was just looking for something to work with,'' Miklos said. ''I'd say it's definitely the biggest hit of my career.''
Source: msn.foxsports.com
Kent State tops Kentucky in 21-inning NCAA tournament marathon, 7-6 - Cleveland Plain Dealer
GARY, Ind. — Lefty Michael Clark got a strikeout with two on and two outs in the 21st inning to give Kent State a hard-earned 7-6 victory Friday night in the opening game of the NCAA regional baseball tournament in Gary, Ind.
It was the second-longest game in NCAA Tournament history, trailing only Texas' 3-2 win over Boston College in 25 innings in 2009.
"I'm glad we didn't get it," KSU coach Scott Stricklin said of the 25-inning record. "It's certainly better to be on the winning side of that one."
Twice Kentucky used its potential final at-bat to extend the game at U.S. Steel Yard, scoring in the ninth and 18th innings to tie the Golden Flashes. But Kent scratched out a run in the top of the 21st, and Clark, despite letting runners get to second and third with two outs, got the strikeout he needed.
"I only remember the last hitter," Clark said of the 3 innings he pitched. He got two straight strikes on Kentucky's Thomas McCarthy, but did not waste the next one. "I went high and hard" and whiffed him on a checked swing.
That led to an eruption from a crowd that grew from 756 after nine innings to more than 5,000 by the end. Most seemingly waiting to see two Indiana schools, Purdue and Valparaiso, play the second game of the regional. The winner of that game will play Kent tonight at 7.
Clark isn't worried about the Golden Flashes being emotionally spent.
"If anything, I think this will help us. We're running on adrenaline."
Kent's winning rally in the top of the 21st began with a bunt single from senior Joe Koch. The ball just got past the outstretched hand of Kentucky pitcher A.J. Reed, who started the game as the DH for the first 10 innings. Reed then played two innings at first and pitched the final nine.
A sacrifice moved Koch to second, and with two outs, freshman Alex Miklos hit a triple to center that scored Koch. Derek Toadvine then became Kent's 26th strikeout victim of the game, but the good deed was already done. Twice before Kent was three outs away from victory, leading 5-4 in the ninth and 6-5 in the 18th, but could not close the win out.
"But I said it out loud in the dugout, 'Third time is the charm,' " Stricklin said.
The Flashes had a sweet opportunity to blow the game open in the second inning. They loaded the bases with none out behind a pair of singles and a hit batter. Kent picked up a run when the Kentucky shortstop booted a potential double-play ball, keeping the bases loaded with no outs.
But the next three batters were retired on two strikeouts and a soft liner.
The Wildcats scored twice in the third behind two singles and a hit batter to take a 2-1 lead. The hit batter was the third in the game, the second for Kent ace David Starn. That led to a warning for both teams.
Kent posted three runs in the fourth on a bunt single from Toadvine, a balk from Kentucky starter Alex Phillips, and a double from George Roberts, who went 5-for-10. But for the second time in four innings, KSU hitters could not deliver with the bases loaded. It was a pattern that lasted all game as KSU stranded 20 runners.
With Kent leading, 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth, relief pitcher Brian Clark gave up a first-pitch single and the runner was sacrificed to second. A Kentucky single up the middle followed to tie it, 5-5.
The two teams would then go scoreless until the 18th. But there was plenty of drama.
The Flashes got a huge break to start the bottom of the 12th as Kentucky's Michael Williams hit a rocket off the left-field wall for an apparent double. But he missed first base, and Kent threw the relay to first to beat him back to the bag. One pitch later, Toadvine made a diving catch for the second out of the inning, saving another potential double. Then an infield out ended the inning.
In the bottom of the 15th, the Wildcats loaded the bases, but were retired on a pop-up on a pitch that looked like ball four.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253
Source: www.cleveland.com
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