Sunday, May 27, 2001
Locals lead Kent State NCAA wins
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Brady Glass' one-out homer in the bottom of the ninth tied it and Dave Mattle's two-out single won it as Kent State beat Delaware 12-11 Saturday night in the losers' bracket final of the NCAA regional at Bill Davis Stadium.
Kent State (32-29) advances to play Mississippi State in the championship bracket today. The Golden Flashes would have to win twice to advance to their first super regional next week.
The game's start was delayed 90 minutes by rain and it ended just after midnight. All five of the games in the tournament have been decided by one run.
After Delaware (45-15) had scored twice in the top of the ninth to take an 11-10 lead, Kent State came right back to win it.
With one out, Glass hit a tow ering home run, his seventh of the year, over the light standard in left field.
Chris Detweiler followed with a single, Eric O'Brien (Summit Country Day) was hit by a pitch and Chris Welsch (Moeller) singled to center to load the bases.
John VanBenschoten (Milford), who led the nation with 30 home runs this season, popped up for the second out. Mattle then drilled a 2-2 fastball at second baseman Andrew Salvo who tried to short-hop it but the ball bounded into centerfield.
VanBenschoten is noncommittal about whether he will turn pro after the season. Many believe he is a first-round pick — if not the No.1 pick overall.
Earlier Saturday, O'Brien hit a home run over the center-field wall leading off the ninth inning to give Kent a 9-8 victory and eliminate host Ohio State. O'Brien's 19th homer of the year came on a 3-2 pitch from Greg Prenger (5-2), who had set down 10 batters in a row and 11 of the 12.
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Locals lead Kent State NCAA wins
