Kent State hands YSU fourth straight loss

The Penguins hit three home runs but suffered an 11-7 defeat.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
KENT -- YSU sophomore Erich Diedrich stepped up to the plate in the top of the ninth inning of Wednesday's game against Kent State, got a good pitch to hit and ripped a line drive home run over the right-field wall for his career-best seventh homer of the season.
Of course, the Penguins were still trailing by four runs at the time, but on a day like Wednesday, you've got to look for the bright spots, right?
"It feels pretty good to pass last year's mark," said Diedrich, who had six home runs in 50 games last season. "I try to have an aggressive approach at the plate. That's been the key to my success.
"I'm just trying to hit the ball hard and get on base."
Maybe Kent State stole his idea.
The Flashes (18-11) entered the game leading the Mid-American Conference in batting average (.311) and were 19th in the nation in runs per game (8.2).
They did nothing to change that Wednesday. Kent got 15 hits against the Penguins, taking an 11-3 lead en route to a 11-7 victory at Schoonover Stadium.
"They swung the bats," said YSU coach Mike Florak, whose team has lost four straight games. "We've just got to keep playing hard. Every team has its ups and downs during a season. You've got to overcome it when adversity knocks on your door.
"It's on our welcome mat right now."
YSU has 12 hits
The Penguins (12-20) had no trouble at the plate, racking up 12 hits, including three home runs. But YSU starter Ryan Wackerman gave up six runs (two earned) in 22/3 innings and reliever Andy Svitak didn't fare much better, surrendering four runs (all earned) in 21/3.
The big blow came in the third, when three YSU errors (two of them throwing errors by Wackerman) led to four Kent State runs.
"We're fine," Florak said. "We've just got to fight a little harder."
Diedrich was a bright spot at catcher, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. He also threw out two Kent State runners following strikeouts.
He leads the team in batting average (.387), runs scored (28), homers (7), RBIs (37) and walks (16). He's also tied for the lead in hits (46) and triples (2).
"He's tough," said Florak of Diedrich. "He is mentally and physically tough. More guys on this team need to follow his example."
Diedrich, who graduated from Bay Village High, redshirted his freshman year and started to see action a couple weeks into last season at catcher and designated hitter. He finished the season leading the team in homers, sacrifice flies and walks. He was also second in slugging percentage and third in total bases and RBIs.
"In high school, most of my offers were from D-II or D-III schools," said Diedrich (6-3, 205). "I came here because I felt like Coach Florak was a great coach and they gave me a chance to play D-I.
"It's made me a better player."
Davis leads Flashes
Andrew Davis led Kent with three hits (including a homer) and three runs. Josh Page had two hits for YSU, while Justin Banks and John Koehnlein each had homers, taking advantage of the breeze blowing out in right center.
"When our lefty [Koehnlein] who weighs a buck-forty gets a piece of one, it's fun to see," said Diedrich.
The Penguins are in fifth place in the conference standings -- UIC leads the league with a 9-2 record -- but there are plenty of games left. YSU plays three games at UW-Milwaukee this weekend before playing host to Cleveland State on Tuesday.
"We've got to put a fire under our butt," said Diedrich. "There's a big week ahead of us."
scalzo@vindy.com