Western Reserve graduate Andrew Chafin has been selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 43rd pick in the compensatory first round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Chafin becomes Kent State’s 76th draft selection and first ever selected by the Diamondbacks. He is the 20th Kent State pitcher who has been mentored by associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck to be drafted.

Chafin, who just helped lead the No. 24-ranked Golden Flashes to Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament crowns and a trip to the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional Final, entered the collegiate postseason ranked 29th in the nation in ERA and tied for 39th in strikeouts. Chafin’s efforts helped the Flashes rank sixth in the country in team ERA in 2011.

He finished the 2011 campaign with an 8-1 record, posting 105 strikeouts over 89 innings. Chafin’s 2011 strikeout total ranks as the third-most in a single season in the Kent State record books. He finished his two-year collegiate career with a 12-2 record to go with a 1.80 ERA and 160 strikeouts.

Chafin concluded his Kent State career by outdueling Texas right-handed top-15 draft pick Taylor Jungmann last Saturday in the winner’s bracket final of the Austin Regional. He fanned eight over 8 2/3 innings to power the Golden Flashes to a 7-5 triumph over the No. 5-ranked Longhorns on Texas’s home field.

Chafin constructed a scoreless complete-game masterpiece in Kent State’s MAC Tournament semifinal win over Eastern Michigan, striking out six and walking two to improve to 7-1 on the season. The First Team All-MAC selection sat down the side in three innings.

Chafin hurled a complete-game four-hit shutout and tallied a career-high 15 strikeouts with no walks as Kent State won its MAC opening game and 2011 home opener, 1-0, over Toledo on March 25. He hurled 113 pitches with a whopping 88 going for strikes, sat down the side in six innings — including striking out six straight between the seventh and ninth frames — in addition to issuing 22 first-pitch strikes. He was awarded MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week for the performance. Chafin tallied 13 strikeouts, allowed one earned run on seven hits in 8 2/3 innings of work and did not issue a walk as Kent State defeated Eastern Michigan, 4-2, on April 8. He totaled seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball for the Golden Flashes and had a no-hitter going through five frames at then-No. 23 Louisville on March 4 in his second start of the season, garnering MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week accolades for his effort.

Chafin’s solid sophomore campaign came after he rebounded from an elbow injury that sidelined him for the 2010 season. As a freshman in 2009, Chafin was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team after becaming only the third Kent State player and the first since 1992 to be named MAC Freshman of the Year.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin, a Kent State redshirt sophomore left-handed starting pitcher was named to the 60-man midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, USA Baseball announced on Tuesday.

Chafin is the lone representative from a Mid-American Conference school on the list.

Chafin ranks sixth in the country in strikeouts (83), ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.80) and 14th in ERA (1.28), helping the Golden Flashes tie for 12th in team ERA (2.57) and 24th in team strikeouts per nine innings (8.2). He has allowed five or more hits in only three of his nine starts and 10 appearances, worked through the seventh inning in six of his starts And has tallied 10 or more strikeouts in four of his starts.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin, a redshirt sophomore left-handed starting pitcher at Kent State, struck out 13 batters and dominated Central Michigan for eight innings, but it wasn’t enough, as Central Michigan rallied with runs in the eighth and ninth inning to beat the Golden Flashes, 2-1 in a Mid-American Conference game at Theunissen Stadium.

The loss ended Kent State’s season-long 11-game winning streak (22-11, 8-2) as the Flashes also suffered their first defeat in the month of April.

"It was a tough game to lose," said seventh-year Kent State head coach Scott Stricklin. "Andrew Chafin certainly deserved to win, and we had our opportunities. We just didn’t execute."

Chafin kept the Chippewas off balance all afternoon, pitching eight innings of four-hit ball while compiling 13 strikeouts with no walks.

"We thought he’d pile up some strikeouts because they’re a very aggressive team, and he did," Stricklin said. "It was a tough day to pitch with the wind blowing all over the place. It says a lot about him and how tough he is."

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin pitched seven solid innings for Kent State in a 3-2 extra-innings win over Western Michigan on Friday. Chafin, who didn’t get the win, started on the hill for the Flashes and scattered seven hits and fanned seven over 7 2/3 innings of work while allowing one earned run and three walks.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

No. 23-ranked Louisville overcame a two-run ninth-inning deficit to force extra innings, ruining Western Reserve graduate Andrew Chafin’s outstanding pitching performance, in a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the Cardinals last night.

Chafin, a redshirt sophomore, hurled a career-high seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball for the Golden Flashes (5-3) and had a no-hitter going through five innings. Chafin struck out a career-high 10 batters and became the first Kent State pitcher to strike out 10 or more since Robert Sabo recorded 11 in a 9-2 victory over Miami on May 27, 2010, at the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

"It’s great to see Andrew back at 100 percent," said head coach Scott Stricklin. "His slider was really working today, and threw a lot of strikes. He was very aggressive in the strike zone. It was good to see him have that kind of outing. We’re going to win a lot of games with him out on the mound, no question."

The contest was a classic pitcher’s duel between Chafin and Louisville sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Matt Koch, who went eight innings for the Cardinals and gave up one earned run on five hits and struck out two. Chafin sat down seven batters in a row between the third and fifth innings.

Chafin’s no-hit bid was broken up by a two-out single up the middle by Louisville junior infielder Ryan Wright in the bottom of the sixth, but Kent State junior third baseman Travis Shaw struck back with a leadoff home run to left center in the ensuing frame.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve's Andrew Chafin, who pitches for Kent State, was invited to the 2009 USA Baseball Team Trials to be held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina from June 15-24.

The National Team Trials will be comprised of 36 college players vying for a spot on the final 22-man roster to be announced on June 24.

Chafin, a freshman, is 4-1 on the year and leads Kent State with eight saves and a 1.26 ERA.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, while pitching for Kent State, which was announced last week.

Chafin went 4-1 this year and recorded eight saves in nine chances. He had a 1.26 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. That not only earned him the Freshman of the Year honors, but a MAC First Team selection as well.

“You can’t expect that,” Kent State head coach Scott Stricklin said on the website. “He has overachieved and outperformed our expectations. He is awfully valuable in the bullpen when the game is on the line. He’s won a lot of games for us late where he’s just come in and taken control. It’s a luxury to have him back there … As a closer, he’s been as good as you can possibly be. He strikes out a lot of guys. He’s has a swing-and-miss slider; his fastball is overpowering. He has been in one word: dominating.”

The dominating 6-foot-2 lefty has been dealing with pressure-packed situations since his first appearance when he came in to pitch against UNC Greensboro in the bottom of the 10th inning with the score tied. He promptly struck out the first two batters and got the third to pop up before Kent State went on to win in 11 innings.

“I like being in the game when it matters the most,” Chafin said. “I thrive on the pressure that’s on me to get my job done. I enjoy knowing that it’s all on my shoulders.”

Against Northern Illinois, Chafin came into the game in the seventh inning and struck out seven of the ten batters he faced.

“In that game, I just went out and pitched like I could,” Chafin said. “I was fortunate that my stuff was working for me, and I just took advantage of that to take care of business.”

swalker@MorningJournal.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Western Reserve’s Andrew Chafin was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week for games played March 30-April 5, while pitching at Kent State.

For the week, Chafin went 1-0 with a save in six innings of work. Against Malone last Tuesday, he threw the final three innings and struck out six. Last Friday against Northern Illinois, he struck out seven batters in the final three innings for his team-leading fourth save of the year.

He is currently 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA. That includes nine appearances with two starts. Opposing batters are batting .215 against him. In 22.1 innings pitched this year, Chafin is also second in strikeouts (34).

Perkins’ Kyle Hallock, who is in his sophomore year, is currently 1-1 with a save in six appearances, including five starts. He has pitched 26 innnings and has 14 strikeouts, along with 3.46 ERA.

Last year as a freshman, he made 18 appearances, including five starts. He struck out 38 batters and also earned two saves.

Hallock was an impressive athlete at Perkins. He lettered four times in baseball and basketball. He was named first team All-Ohio, the Ohio District IV Player of the Year and the Sandusky Bay Conference Player of the Year. He is also Perkins’ all-time leading scorer in basketball with 1,293 points.

Kent State went 5-0 last week and swept Northern Illinois in a key conference weekend series. The Golden Flashes are currently 23-7 on the year.

swalker@MorningJournal.com