Newcomer Q&A: Luke Burch

Luke Burch
#2, OF

How did you end up at Kent State after playing at Ashland University last season?

I decided to come here a week before school started, actually.  It was a pretty complicated process, and I had to get a release from Coach Schaly (Ashland head coach) five days before Ashland started, so it was kind of hard to do.

I wanted to come here so I went through my old summer coach and he talked to the coaches here and they came and watched me work out, so that’s kind of how it happened.

What would you say is the biggest difference now being at a Division I program?

The competition, the players are a lot better.  Facing our pitchers every day that throw 90, it’s a lot different.  The school is completely different.  My biggest walk to class last year was maybe five minutes and now to walk across campus is maybe 20-30.

How do you think fall ball went this year?

Pretty well.  I enjoyed playing because I won’t be able to play this year.  It was fun, I’m glad I came here.

What is your biggest goal, personally or as a team, for this upcoming season?

I can’t do a lot personally, but I’d like the team to make it to Omaha this year.  And it would be great to win a MAC championship.

Busy Weekend Ahead at Schoonover

Sawyer Polen
Junior, Infielder

Another year of Flashes baseball is underway. It has been great to get back on campus and begin our next quest for another MAC championship. It’s always exciting to meet the new freshman and watch them transform before our eyes and quickly learn how we play baseball here at Kent State University. We have great talent and leadership on our team this year. There is a mixture of returning starters and guys who are now getting their opportunity to show their abilities to a fresh new coaching staff. Our new coaching staff is great. They see the greatest potential that lives in each of us and continue to light the fire of competitive spirit that is a key component in a championship team. We are working extremely hard, having fun, and ready to close out the fall season with our annual Blue Gold World Series.

As a captain of the Blue squad this year I have been asked to write some thoughts about this closing weekend of fall baseball. We have a couple events going on this weekend. The first event is the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the new baseball and softball complex. This ceremony is going to include members of the university administration, athletic department, and both softball and baseball teams. The complex is going to consist of indoor batting cages, dirt pitching mounds, training equipment, and offices. This is a project that is sure to keep both of our programs with top-notch facilities to allow us to continue our excellence not only in the classroom but also on the field. I would just like to say on behalf of myself and the baseball team, thank you so much to all of the donors that have made this complex possible.

The main event for this weekend is the legendary Blue vs. Gold series. The coaches have selected myself and TJ Sutton to be the captains of this year’s team. I will be the captain of the Blue squad and TJ has been chosen as the Gold squad captain. I cannot wait for this series to get underway. TJ and I are great friends and have been playing with each other for three years now. We have both selected our teams and are ready to take this competition to the field. This series is going to be great. The winner of this three game series will get a steak dinner to enjoy while the loser will get hot dogs and also be responsible for closing the field for the winter.

The final event of this weekend will be the ring ceremony. This is a ceremony to recognize last year’s team for winning the regular season MAC championship. Members of that team will receive their ring for all of their hard work from last season. I can remember watching my first ring ceremony as a freshman. I thought to myself how cool would it be to have a championship ring. I was jealous but it made me work as hard as I possibly could to get on that travel roster the next year and to earn my first ring. This will be my second ring now and I refuse to let it be my last. This team that we have has seen what it takes to win championships. Everyone knows that last year was a little bit of a disappointment. We all have high expectations for ourselves and for this team. We are ready to start our winter individuals and get ready for February 15^th when this team will be ready to make our mark in history for Kent State baseball. Get ready Kent State baseball fans, the Flashes are preparing to win another championship and get back to that magical city in Nebraska…OMAHA.

 Go Flashes

Coming to Kent State

Brandon Larson,

Volunteer Assistant Coach

I wanted to come to Kent State because of Jeff Duncan.  Jeff and I played our last year together and actually roomed together.  Mid-way through the season he retired and took a volunteer job at Auburn.  That was about six years ago, and I told him that was something I might be interested in some day.  He said when he became a head coach and had a spot open he’d call me.

So, six years later, the day after he was named head coach at Kent State, he called me.  I thought I had to come here and check it out.  In this day and age it’s very rare for someone to keep their word like that, and I’ve been loving it ever since.

Ball players never think about coaching when they’re playing ball because they want to play forever.  I miss being around it at a high level.  This afforded me the opportunity to be around it at a high level again and I’m having a blast doing it.