Kent State junior right hander Chris Carpenter was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the third round (97th overall) of the 2008 First Year Player Draft. This marks the third time Carpenter has been selected in the draft, but the highest he has ever been taken.

Tomorrow morning I am hitting the road for the State baseball championships in Columbus. My original plan was to cover the Walsh Jesuit game Thursday morning, the Canton Central Catholic game Friday afternoon and then jump into a car with the Rivals guys, Steve Hare and Joe Harrington from Kentsportsreport.com, to watch Kent State basketball recruit Alex Grimsley play in the Hoosiers' Reunion All-Star Classic in Knightstown, Indiana, then make my way back to Columbus for baseball championships Saturday morning.

Unfortunately I have to fill in and do some high school track and field coverage Friday in Columbus instead. So, no Grimsley for me and no blog post about it for you.

I do get to watch Walsh Jesuit play baseball again. I've covered the last three Walsh games. they are impressive to watch, as they appear nearly machine-like as they dismantled both teams in regionals and beat Tallmadge in the district final. What does that have to do with Kent State?

It turns out that Walsh’s best player, shortstop Ross Brunello, is a Kent State commit.

“Ross Brunello is probably one of the best shortstops I have ever seen at the high school level… he just makes plays all over the field all the time,” Tallmadge coach Kenny Linn said after Brunello made countless defensive plays to beat his Blue Devils in the District Final a few weeks back.

His fielding is definitely enough to get him into any lineup. In that game against Tallmadge he got to many balls that are typically singles through the hole in high school games.

The kid can hit too. The Warriors were limited to four hits against Tallmadge, Brunello had two of them. He also reached on an error and had a deep SAC fly to left. In two games of regional play last week he tripled to deep centerfield and had two singles.

Kent State also inked Walsh left-hander Brannon Belair for next season. Walsh is absolutely loaded. One would think that a left-handed pitcher going to a Division I program would be the ace of the staff. Not at Walsh Jesuit. Their ace, sophomore Tyler Skulina, a 6-foot-5, 235 pound right-hander, could jump to pro ball after high school. He hits 92 on the gun already.

Senior David Starn, a left-hander, is next in the pecking order, although I am not as high on Starn as others are. He seems to throw with all arm across his body, using little leg drive, which cost him velocity (he was low to mid 80’s on the radar gun in the regional final) and makes me wonder if an injury is down the line. Cleveland State and Tiffin have shown interest. Kent State would like for him to walk on.

As for the Kent State recruit, Belair, I don’t know much. I finally saw him pitch in the fifth inning of the regional final. Walsh already had a 17-run cushion. Imagine that, a Division I caliber pitcher in mop-up duty, only at Walsh Jesuit. He did have a curve with some nice break, that’s about all I can tell you.

On a day when the Kent State baseball team begins its quest for its seventh Mid-American Conference Tournament title, awards from its regular season began to accumulate. Juniors Greg Rohan, a power-hitting first baseman, and Chris Carpenter, a right-handed pitcher, were selected as the MAC Player of the Year and MAC Pitcher of the Year.

Rohan led the conference in home runs (19), RBI (58) and slugging percentage (.772). He also tied former Flash Eric O’Brien (2001) for second most home runs in a single season at KSU.

Carpenter, who has been selected in the MLB amateur draft in two different seasons, held opponents to a .206 batting average and struck out 10 plus batters for every nine innings he pitched. His 6-2 record and 3.82 ERA anchored the KSU staff.

The MAC also announced this year’s All-MAC First and second teams. Joining Carpenter and Rohan on the first team is sophomore teammate Kyle Smith and Akron senior Kurt Davidson.

Smith compiled a league best 8-1 record and struck out 61 batters in 69 plus innings. Davidson earned his second-straight selection by hitting .322 and clubbing 12 home runs. Davidson holds Akron career records in at bats (807), home runs (41), RBI (180), and total bases (430).

Kent State senior Doug Sanders, junior shortstop Chris Tremblay and sophomore outfielder Anthony Gallas were All-MAC Second team selections.

Tom Gaffney had a good preview story on today's first round play off game against Central Michigan and how the Flashes turned their season around. Check it out here. The scouting report for the game is here.

Kent State grad John Van BenSchoten started his first game of the season monday for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Van BenSchoten gave up six earned runs in four plus innings of action. He was them promptly sent back to Triple A Indianapolis after the game.

The eighth overall pick of the 2001 draft was 0-2 with an 9.39 ERA in four appearances this season. Three of them were in relief. Van BenSchoten began the season at Indianapolis 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA, all in relief, before being called up.

Although Van Benschoten hasn't pitched particularly well at the major league level it is my opinion that the Pirates may have mismanaged a little bit. Van BenSchoten has pitched in relief the entire season, and pitched well in the minors doing so. He relieved in his first three appearances with the Pirates. So then the Pirates decide to start him out of nowhere?

Starting and relieving takes two completely different mindsets and it showed in Van BenSchoten's performance. Van Benschoten struck out two batters in the first inning and worked a perfect second inning. He gave up an RBI single in the third inning to Yunel Escobar and then struck out Chipper Jones.

In the fourth inning Greg Norton reached first base on an error by THIRD BASEMAN Doug Mientkiewicz, wasn't he a Gold Glove first basemen? Why is he across the diamond? When did he move across the diamond? That play opened the gates for a Mark Kotsay two-run double. it was all downhill from there.

Is it a surprise a reliever pitched well for three innings then struggled afterward? No, that is his job to pitch well in brevity. While I agree the Van BenSchoten didn't throw the best in his brief stint in the majors I also feel the Pirates didn't put him in any type of situation to do so. But then again it’s the Pirates. There is a reason they never win anymore and I feel it shows in this situation.

I realize this is a Kent State blog so obviously it is biased, but tell me what you guys think in the comments section.

Update…

Perhaps I was too hasty in chastising the Pirates on the move. According to Dejan Kovacevic, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Pirates are very much interested in recalling Van BenSchoten soon. Matter of fact, they like what he has to offer, but want to "stretch" his arm out more in the minors.

"He has major league stuff," General manager Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic. "It's just getting his location and command consistent."

For that entire story click here

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. In the final two weeks of school I must focus my energy on finals that make my head feel as if it may explode. But I'm back now and able to concentrate on what is really important: Kent State athletics.

The Kent State baseball team was all smiles yesterday as it survived the rain and the Zips to win the three game set. The Flashes averaged more than 12 runs a game against the Zips and were powered by the long ball…. a lot.
The Flashes had two home runs in Friday's 15-7 loss. Freshmen Ben Klafczynksi (eighth of the season) and Brett Weibley (first) each hit homers. Saturday Junior first basemen Greg Rohan blasted two over the left field fence. Sophomore Jared Humphreys and junior Ryan Mitchell also went back-to-back in the fourth inning as the Flashes won 11-2.

Sunday it was Rohan again, hitting his conference leading 17th home run of the year. Senior Doug Sanders, Anthony Gallas, Conor Egan and Jared Bartholomew also tagged the Zips with home runs in the 19-5 win.

The Flashes have now won 21 of their last 25 games and really field a lot of talent. Watching Saturday's game it was quite obvious that the Flashes are one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference. I mean that as no slight to the Zips, who field a very solid MAC team. It is just that Kent State gets upper echelon talent and continues to show it on the field.

As I wrote in my game story in Sunday's paper, Junior Chris Carpenter worked ahead of most of the batters he faced. The only run he gave up came on an "excuse me" swing by Akron's Matt Roberts in the fourth inning.

Carpenter booted the slow roller back to himself allowing outfielder Brandon White to score. White was Carpenter's only walk two batters earlier. The run was unearned.

"I was just focusing on getting ahead of people and staying ahead and getting in good counts," Carpenter said after Saturday's game.

The junior flame thrower used that mentality and worked off of his above average fastball as he mixed in his off-speed stuff to strike out eight in the contest.

He has now been drafted twice in the Major League draft. As a high school senior the Detroit Tigers plucked him in the seventh round of the 2004 amateur draft. Last year, Carpenter was selected by the New York Yankees in the 18th round, but he did not sign. Carpenter has no idea where he may be selected this season and said he is just pitching and focusing on what he can do.

"Wherever I go. I go," he said.

With having such a marquee player like Carpenter, who Baseball America ranked as 43rd best college prospect, on the roster; the Flashes have the luxury of more scouts attending their games, Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said.

That gives a greater opportunity for players like Rohan, reliever Reid Lamport, shortstop Chris Tremblay, second baseman Doug Sanders a better chance of getting drafted. Stricklin believes all four of them could be drafted.

It will be interesting to see where Rohan eventually goes. The junior first baseman obviously hits with pop and has a short, compact body that reminds me of Jeff Bagwell.

When talking about the draft, the one guy that must be mentioned is Ben Klafczynksi. The freshman out of Medina Highland High school would have been a high draft pick last season, but made it known he wanted to play for the Flashes. This year her hit .338 with nine home runs, third on the team.

I know this is a Kent State blog, but I can't help it if my slight obsession with major league baseball shines through. After all, I am at least discussing Kent State guys right? That is enough to justify it.

A few weeks back I posted a blog about Tampa Bay Rays pitcher and Andy Sonnanstine throwing a three-hit shutout against the White Sox. That isn't all the Wadsworth and Kent State grad has accomplished this month.

Sonnanstine has become the only pitcher in Ray's history to win four games in the month of April. He is now 4-1 on the year with a 4.42 ERA and riding a three-game winning streak that started with that shut out of the White Sox.

For the first time in forever the Rays, or Devil Rays, or American League East forgottens (however you know them as), have a surplus of pitching. It is one of the major reasons the Rays are contending this year.

Ace Scott Kazmir is supposed to retun this week from the disabled list, which means one of the Rays pitchers could be sent down.

Sonnanstine made a case to stay last night with eight strong innings, writes Carter Gaddis of The Tampa Tribune. Sonnanstine allowed just one run in eight innings against the Orioles. The Rays won 8-1.

Other Notes…

– Yesterday's blog post about John Van Benschoten possibly picking up a bat and returning to the field got me thinking a little and I decided to e-mail Pittsburgh Tribune Review beat writer Rob Biertempfel with the question.

"I talked to JVB about that during spring training," Biertempfel said in an e-mail. "The Pirates have no plans on trying him as a position player, and JVB seems to be down with that decision."

It doesn't mean that decision couldn't happen, but Van Benschoten is 28 years old now. The Arizona DiamondBacks drafted pitcher Micah Owings with the intent to use his bat as well. Rick Ankiel was still a pup when he lost his mind on the pitching mound and converted back to a hitter. It is not impossible, but the more I think about it, it does seem unlikely.

– The San Francisco Giants are a sinking ship, but they are finally letting the kids come up and play, which benefits two former Kent State players. I wrote a few weeks back about Emmanuel Burriss seeing his fist Major League action.

While I can't really say he is setting the world on fire with his .200 average (4-20), he is tearing up the base paths. Burriss has reached base five times this season (three singles, a double, and a walk) and has already swiped three bags. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that Burriss has only struck out once in those 20 at bats. It will be interesting to see how Burriss is used, if at all, when Omar Vizquel returns from the disabled list.

The other former Flash that could possibly benefit as the Giants turn away from employing senior citizens is third base prospect Andrew Davis. Davis was a 12th round pick by the Giants in 2007 and currently plays for the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League. His numbers are pedestrian so far, but the Giants organization lacks a solid third base prospect at this time.

Currently, Baseball America projects the Giants No.1 rated Prospect Angel Villalona as the future third basemen, but Villalona has been playing first base for the GreenJackets. If Villalona makes the switch across the diamond, like it appears he has, Davis could get an opportunity down the line at the Giants third base position. That decision remains in the future though.

it has been a long and winding road for former Kent State standout baseball player John Van Benschoten. The No. 8 pick in the 2001 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates saw a quick ascension to the major league roster in 2004. Injuries have crippled him ever since.

Van Benschoten missed the entire 2005 season with surgery to both shoulders. It wasn't until last season when he rejoined the Pirates, to less than stellar numbers.

He was once again recalled on Sunday and saw his first action of the season in Tuesday night's extra-inning loss to the Mets 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Van Benschoten was saddled with the loss after giving up two hits, two walks, a run, and balking in just 1/3 of an inning.

The poor performance could be looked at as more of a glitch than a full blown malfunction. Pittsburgh Tribune Review beat writer Rob Biertempfel says that Van Benschoten is finally regaining the velocity he once possessed.

Van Benschoten looks at pitching out of the bullpen not as a final chance, but as a building block he told Biertempfel. You can read that story here.

With the recent success of Rick Ankiel as a outfielder one has to begin to wonder if John Vanbenschoten could undergo the same conversion if injuries continue to plague his pitching ability.

Van Benschoten holds the single season home run record for both the Mid-American Conference and Kent State after he belted 31 home runs his senior season (2001). He then played out field and first base for the Flashes. He was inducted in the the Varsity K Hall of Fame in February.

If injuries continue to mount should the Pirates consider the change?

Former Kent State shortstop Emmanuel Burriss, currently of the San Francisco Giants, didn't take much time at all reaching the Major Leagues. The 33rd pick in the 2006 draft took just two years to make his major league debut in Sunday's 8-2 win at St. Louis. He was a late inning replacement for starting shortstop Brian Bocock.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Burriss could get the start Monday night. MLB.com has a really nice story on Burriss debut and call up, which you can read here.

The San Francisco Chronicle also has a nice write up Burriss's family making the trip to the game. You can read that here.

According to Baseball America, Either Bocock or Burriss is expected to claim the shortstop position in San Francisco by 2010.

Burriss is known for his speed and defensive ability. As a switch hitter, Burriss is a considered a contact hitter with virtually no real power. He can be a terror on the base paths.

Burriss hit .360 for the Flashes in 2006 with a .446 OBP and 42 stolen bases. For his complete minor statistics check it out here.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine, a Wadsworth High School and Kent State graduate, shut down the Chicago White Sox Saturday night earning his first career complete game and shut out. Sonnanstine allowed just three hits in the win andis 2-1 on the season.

Sonnanstine has seen mixed results in his short pro career. In four years of minor league baseball Sonnanstine struck out 463 hitters, walking only 75. His minor league ERA sat at 2.58. Yet in his major league debut last year his ERA jumped to 5.85 in 22 starts.

Tonight's start Sonnanstine was able to rely on his fastball and let his other pitches work off of that. Check out the AP story here.