TOLEDO, Ohio – With threatening weather looming, many wondered if it would be possible if nine innings of baseball would be played. Junior right-hander Brad Stillings made sure the full game would be played.

"Brad Stillings was outstanding. There’s not a whole lot more to say about that. He threw  lot of pitches for strikes and worked ahead in the count all game long," said head coach Scott Stricklin. "Brad stayed in a groove and threw very few bad pitches. He was really good. He kept the Toledo hitters off-balance, moved his fastball in and out and put guys away with his slider and change-up."

Stillings became only the ninth Kent State pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter (Lou Bocci threw two no-no’s in his KSU career). In nine innings of work, Stillings struck out eight, allowed no walks and was an error in the second inning away from a perfect game.

After the game, Stillings talked about how the quick pace helped him in the game. "It was a big help because of how cold it was today. I think if we scored a lot of runs like we are capable of, it might have got me out of a rhythm. Pretty much every inning was 1-2-3 or relatively quick so it kept me loose. I was really glad when we got the run."

Stillings now leads the team with a 5-0 record.

Toledo pitcher Justin Collop went toe-to-toe with Stillings, allowing only one run three hits and one walk over eight innings of work.

Leading the charge offensively for KSU was sophomore Ben Klafczynski, who had a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth. He was 2-for-4 from the plate. Freshman Jimmy Rider was 1-for-3 from the plate and scored the game-winning run.

Both teams were scoreless through five when Rider singled to lead off the sixth. Redshirt junior Cory Hindel sacrificed him to second before senior Chris Tremblay struck out. With two outs, Klafczynski doubled down the left field line for the only run of the game.

"It was a big hit," said Stricklin describing Klafczynski's double. "We knew there was not going to be a lot of offense today because of the quality of pitchers both teams had throwing and because of the weather conditions. It was 45 degrees and the wind was blowing straight in. We said before the game that whatever team executed was going to win the game. Jimmy Rider led off the sixth with a single, Cory Hindel moved him over to second and Ben Klafczynski got the big hit."

The last KSU no-hitter was by Mike Skeeles on April 23, 1997. Skeeles allowed five walks and struck out three in Kent State's 1-0 win over Akron.

Kent State will look to continue the best start in school history when they take on the Toledo Rockets in game two of the three game series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.