KENT, Ohio (Interstat) — Ciaran Caughey delivered a dominant start and the Kent State offense erupted for eight unanswered runs, powering the Golden Flashes to an 8-1 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons in the opener of a three-game Mid-American Conference series Friday at Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded in the evening, was a pitcher’s duel for five innings before Kent State’s bats broke through against the Bowling Green bullpen.

Bowling Green (2-7, 0-1 MAC) took an early lead in the top of the fourth inning when shortstop Vinny Salvione launched a solo home run down the left field line off Caughey. That was one of only two hits allowed by the Kent State ace.

Caughey, the top star for Kent State, was otherwise masterful. The right-hander pitched seven strong innings, surrendering just the one run on two hits while striking out nine and walking one. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced after the Salvione homer, effectively silencing the Falcons’ lineup.

His counterpart, Bowling Green’s Jacob Turner, was equally sharp early, holding a potent Kent State lineup hitless through five and one-third innings. The no-hit bid and the Falcons’ 1-0 lead vanished in the bottom of the sixth. Sawyer Solitaria doubled and Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe walked to set the table. After a groundout advanced both runners, designated hitter Kolton Schaller crushed a three-run homer to right-center field, giving Kent State a 3-1 advantage.

The most important part of the game came in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Golden Flashes broke the game open. With Jacob Turner out of the game after 6.1 innings of work, reliever Ty Roder entered for Bowling Green. After a single by Hunter Klotz, Roder surrendered a three-run home run to Solitaria, who atoned for his earlier quiet at-bats by launching a shot to left-center to extend the Kent State lead to 6-1.

Kent State (10-3, 1-0 MAC) added two more insurance runs in the eighth. With two outs, Alejandro Covas singled and stole second, and Klotz delivered a two-run single to left center to cap the scoring at 8-1.

Brody Krzysiak closed out the win for Kent State with two scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out two.

The Golden Flashes finished with 11 hits, led by multi-hit games from Schaller (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), Solitaria (2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI), Klotz (2-for-4, 2 RBI), and Covas (2-for-4). Bowling Green managed only four hits total, with Salvione’s homer accounting for their lone run.

The victory improved Kent State’s strong early-season record, while Bowling Green’s struggles continued. The Falcons have lost seven of their last eight games.

The teams are scheduled to continue the series Saturday and Sunday at Schoonover Stadium. Kent State will look to build on its conference-opening win, while Bowling Green aims to even the series.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a Kent State victory by a 7-2 margin, and its ELO system gave the Golden Flashes a 71.5 percent probability to win. The actual result closely mirrored those forecasts, thanks to Caughey’s command and the late offensive surge.