Baseball Gods Smile on KSU... again

Hi again everybody!

There is no question the Kent State baseball program has been blessed over the last several years. From championship celebrations to high draft selections, from team grade point average records to a dramatic run to college baseball's promised land, the Golden Flashes program has seen its cup runneth over time and time again.

Wednesday night in Cleveland, it happened again.

KSU product Andrew Chafin throws a pitch in his MLB debut Wednesday night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OH

Andrew Chafin, who in 2009 set a new single-season earned run average record with a microscopic 1.23 as KSU's closer, was drafted in the first round by Arizona following an incredible performance in the 2011 NCAA Regionals in Texas. He outdueled a previously undefeated Taylor Jungmann in front of 7,000 Longhorn fans in what could arguably be viewed as Kent State's arrival on the national college baseball stage.

I have been working on a book project detailing Kent State baseball's dramatic month-long magic carpet ride in 2012 and wrote this excerpt a year or so ago. It seems fitting to share a preview here.

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You see, at Kent State, everything is earned. Student-athletes aren’t afforded the types of frills and benefits – all perfectly legal – their counterparts in the Southeastern Conference, Big XII Conference or elsewhere are. This is a tough Northeast Ohio college town. A mill town, a town with rich history in the Underground Railroad and one in constant battle with Mother Nature.

The best athletes in the nation do not come to Portage County – unless they do so as members of a visiting team. The fastest sprinters from Florida, toughest linebackers from California and big-armed pitchers from Texas aren’t coming to Kent State. The Golden Flashes do not have a national recruiting base – they must try and contend with players in their own backyard or just across the street.

For northern so-called “mid-majors” like Kent State, good fortune must also play into the equation.

Much as it had on this steamy 100-degree night in the Southwest. Facing a Longhorn team with All-American talent on every corner of the roster, KSU sent six-foot, two-inch left-hander Andrew Chafin to the same pitcher’s mound once occupied by Roger Clemens, Greg Swindell and Huston Street.

Chafin – whose only scholarship offers came from Kent, Toledo and Cincinnati – dominated the star-studded Longhorns lineup and silenced the 6,268 in attendance at Disch-Falk Field. He watched in glee as catcher David Lyon smoked a grand slam into the right field bullpen off the heretofore-invincible Taylor Jungmann as part of a six-run sixth which gave the underdog Flashes a 7-2 lead.

The southpaw Chafin – whose hometown of Wakeman, Ohio boasts all of one stoplight – tired in the heat and pressure and gave way to the bullpen in the ninth inning. UT eventually closed the gap to 7-5 and had runners on the corners with two outs when KSU called upon an All-American of its own to collect the elusive 27^th out. And even though many of the fans had long departed, they collectively groaned as Kyle McMillen induced Shepherd to shoot the pop-up straight up into the humid Austin night.

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After soaring through the minor league ranks, Chafin rose to AAA Reno and was recently summoned to the big league club after a series of injuries decimated the Diamondbacks' roster. His call-up coincided with a brief two-game interleague series with the Indians this past week at 2401 Ontario Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

I've been fortunate to know the Chafin family since Andrew arrived as a hyper nine-year old in the Bellevue Little League many years ago. His father Darryl helped coach the team he was on and the two instantly became favorites of mine. At the time I was earning money in the summer serving as an umpire.

Darryl Chafin watches his son warm up

I was overjoyed when then-head coach Scott Stricklin re-introduced me to the Chafin family in 2008 on a recruiting trip, and even more thrilled when he signed the dotted line to become a Golden Flash. And as he worked his way through a brilliant KSU career, I became even more proud when he made North Texas stand still that night with a breathtaking performance.

But nothing compared to Wednesday night.

Those of us who follow the game know of the "Baseball Gods." And boy have they been wearing blue and gold lately. When the Arizona-Cleveland series started Tuesday night, torrential rains forced the game into a four-hour delay. Word trickled down that when the game resumed, Chafin would be on the mound for the D-backs in the fourth inning.

But it never resumed.

And MLB approved a traditional doubleheader the following day. This was key as it didn't allow either team to expand their roster to bring up additional pitching. Originally the Arizona folks announced Chafin would start game one of the DH but I got word that he would instead start the nightcap. And so it was off to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario to see a former Golden Flash start a Major League Baseball game.

Chafin loosens up in right field

It was great to see Andrew's dad before the game and we watched his son warm up in right field under the towering scoreboard which bore his surname as that night's starting pitcher. And in front of dozens of family members and friends, the southpaw did not disappoint, tossing five shutout innings and recording his first major league strikeout.

It was a great night for a great family. Not just the Chafin family but the Kent State baseball family as well. Players from all eras chimed in with their support from afar and it was truly a blessing to share in one young man's success.

I just wonder if Wakeman turned off its stoplight in his honor.

TL