Kent State University
Central Michigan University
Top-Seeded Golden Flashes Open MAC Tournament Play Wednesday vs. Central Michigan
5/11/2016 9:54:00 AM | Softball
2016 MAC Softball Tournament Central
Regular season champion Kent State (35-20, 16-7 MAC) looks to continue its success and clinch an NCAA postseason bid at the 2016 Mid-American Conference Softball Championship, which begins on Wednesday at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The top-seeded Golden Flashes will open with a first round matchup against No. 8 Central Michigan (24-25-1, 11-11-1) on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
An automatic bid to an NCAA Regional is on the line, as eight teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament, which is scheduled through Saturday. The championship game scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to be streamed live on ESPN3.
Follow the Flashes
Fans can listen live to all of Kent State's game throughout the week, which will air on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel. Additionally, the MAC will be providing live stats and a video stream on the softball championships page of its website.
Be sure to follow @KentStSoftball on Twitter and Instagram for updates, photos and videos from Firestone Stadium throughout the week.
Flashes at the MAC Tournament
Kent State owns two MAC Tournament titles (2006, 2008) and is one of only two schools to win the tournament multiple times over the past decade. The Flashes are 25-27 all-time in conference tournament games and 13-16 in tournament games played at Firestone Stadium.
Series History vs. The Field
• Kent State owns a 42-47 all-time record against Central Michigan.
   • The Golden Flashes swept a three-game series from the Chippewas at the Diamond at Dix to start conference play March 25-26.
   • Kent State outscored CMU, 20-3, over the three games. Holly Speers blasted a home run in all four of her at-bats for nine RBIs and also drew six walks. Shelbi Tilton batted 5-for-8 (.625)    with a double and two RBIs.
   • Ronnie Ladines and Janel Hayes each threw a shutout in the circle for the Flashes.
   • Kent State and Central Michigan have met in the MAC Tournament 11 previous times with CMU holding an 8-3 advantage in those matchups.
   • This will be the seventh straight year the teams have met in Akron. The Flashes won the first of those matchups, 4-2, in 2010. However, the Chippewas have won the last five by a    Â
   combined score of 9-3.
• Kent State is 20-21 all-time in the MAC Tournament vs. this year's field.
   • The most common opponents for the Flashes have been Central Michigan (3-8) and Ohio (6-3).
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will play either No. 4 Northern Illinois or No. 5 Western Michigan on Thursday. A complete schedule for the weekend can be found on the 2016 MAC Softball Tournament Central.
