COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Who: Kent State (46-18) vs. Arkansas (44-20).
When, TV: 5 p.m. today, ESPN.
DEREK TOADVINE
• First team All-Ohio as a senior at Kenton Ridge High School in 2010
• Sophomore starting second baseman for Kent State, bats ninth
• This season: .255 batting average, 35 runs scored, 15 RBIs, 8 stolen bases, 5 doubles
Michael Bennett was pacing in front of his TV. His best friend, former teammate and Kent State second baseman Derek Toadvine, was standing on second base in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game, and a trip to Omaha, Neb., was a base hit away.
“I was biting my nails and everything else I was so nervous,” said Bennett.
In front of another TV, Aaron Shaffer, the Kenton Ridge High School baseball coach who helped prepare Toadvine for this moment, also was watching.
It was Monday and Toadvine was in Eugene, Ore., at an NCAA baseball super regional trying to win a three-game series against Oregon to earn Kent State’s first trip to the College World Series. Toadvine, a sophomore, had led off the ninth with a walk and had moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Now it was up to Jimmy Rider, the all-time hits leader in the Mid-American Conference.
Rider hit a fly ball down the left-field line that the left fielder, shortstop and third baseman chased. Toadvine said at first he thought it would be foul, then he considered tagging up because third base was uncovered. Then he realized the ball would not be caught, so he took off. A step or two from third he saw the ball land and turned for home to score the winning run.
“It was just a crazy feeling to see everyone attack me as soon as I crossed home plate knowing that we’re going to Omaha and the College World Series,” Toadvine said. “We’ll always be that team to be the first one from our school.”
Kent State’s celebration at home plate reverberated all the way back to Springfield.
“It fell in and I was like ‘He’s scoring, he’s scoring,’ ” Bennett said. “Once he scored I’m pretty sure everyone in Northridge heard me screaming from my house. I probably yelled for about three or four minutes with my arms up. I was so excited for him.”
The excitement for Kent State’s unexpected trip to Omaha created a texting frenzy in Toadvine’s hometown. He received over 60 texts of congratulations.
“It’s awesome that my friends and people I know back home are following the games,” Toadvine said. “They don’t have anything to do with Kent State, but just because they know me, or just that I’m from Springfield regardless if they know me, it’s just really cool to see people supporting me and my team and hoping for the best.”
Shaffer shares that sentiment.
“It really doesn’t matter if he’s a Kenton Ridge guy or a Shawnee guy, people in this whole area get excited to see a guy like that do what he’s done,” Shaffer said. “There’s no better feeling as a coach than to see your former players move on and succeed at the next level.”
Kent State (46-18) plays its opener at 5 p.m. today against Arkansas (44-20). Bennett will be among the 24,000 fans at TD Ameritrade Park along with Zach Zink, who played basketball with Toadvine and Bennett at Kenton Ridge. They left by car at 4 a.m. Friday.
“I’m not missing this,” Bennett said. “I’m all jacked up about it.”
Toadvine’s mother, grandparents, girlfriend and her parents also will be at the game along with many KSU supporters. Former KSU football star and current Cleveland Browns star Josh Cribbs has chartered a bus for 60 fans. Toadvine said a reporter told him when they arrived early Tuesday that the local fans usually adopt the underdog teams, which this year are Kent State and Stony Brook.
“It’s the biggest crowd any of us will have ever played in front of,” Toadvine said. “It will be just a really cool experience.”
What kind of a chance does a team from the MAC have against schools from the SEC and the Pac-12?
“We’re one of eight teams still left playing and there are 300-and-some Division I schools,” Toadvine said. “At this point I just feel like anything can happen.”
Contact this writer at jgilbert@cedarville.edu.
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