Kent State University
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Kent State Softball’s Road to WCWS Begins at NCAA Waco Regional
5/18/2017 10:47:00 PM | Softball
Waco Regional Event Central Page
Kent State Softball Postseason Guide
The Kent State University softball team (32-26) begins its journey to the 2017 Women's College World Series this weekend at the NCAA Tournament in Waco, Texas. The Golden Flashes will take on No. 15 Baylor (43-12) in its opening game Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, while James Madison (50-6) battles Oregon State (28-25).
The Golden Flashes are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2008, after winning the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament last week at Firestone Stadium in Akron.
Follow the Flashes
Every game played in the Waco Regional will be streamed on ESPN3 and Jacob Pavilack will have the call of Kent State's games on Golden Flashes Radio.
Be sure to follow @KentStSoftball on Twitter and Instagram for updates, photos and videos from throughout the team's NCAA Tournament run.
WACO REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 19
Game 1 – 5:00 p.m. James Madison vs. Oregon State
Game 2 – 7:30 p.m. No. 15 Baylor vs. Kent State
Saturday, May 20
Game 3 – 2:00 p.m. Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 - 4:30 p.m. Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 - 7 p.m. Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Sunday, May 21
Game 6 – 2:00 p.m. Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 4:30 p.m. Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
Last Time Out
Kent State became just the third team in conference history to come out of the loser's bracket and win three games on the final day to capture the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship
The fourth-seeded Golden Flashes defeated Ball State and Western Michigan in their first two games of the tournament before falling to Ohio on Friday evening.
Saturday's historic day began with a 9-3 victory over Northern Illinois before defeating Ohio, 1-0, on an eighth-inning double by Holly Speers.
The Flashes struck for three runs in the first inning of the final game and senior Ronnie Ladines tossed a three-hit shutout to cap a historic day.
Kent State outscored its opponents 26-9 for the week and batted .280.
The Flashes hit 11 doubles and seven home runs to a .491 slugging percentage.
Ladines earned MVP honors as Kent State's leader in the circle and at the plate. In the circle, the Flashes' ace went 4-1 with a save. She fanned 34 batters compared to just six walks and owned a 1.06 ERA over 33 innings. At the plate, Ladines led the way with a .529 batting average, four home runs and seven RBIs.
Freshman Madi Huck was Kent State's unsung hero, as she made her MAC Tournament debut by tossing seven scoreless innings in Saturday's first matchup against Ohio to give the Flashes an opportunity to win the game in the eighth.
Senior Maddy Grimm was spectacular on the field that she will call home with the Akron Racers this summer, batting .500 (9-for-18) with three doubles and one home run to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
Speers was named to the All-Tournament Team after hitting a team-high four doubles. She batted .316 (6-for-19) with one home run and four RBIs.
Junior Emily Dobbin drove in four RBIs and made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall in left field to rob Ohio's Morgan Geno of a home run in the final game of the tournament.
Flashes at the NCAA Tournament
Kent State owns a 6-6 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play. The Golden Flashes have won at least one game in each of their three previous appearances.
In 1990, the Golden 17th-ranked Flashes went 3-0 to capture the NCAA Mideast Regional in Columbus, Ohio and advance to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. However, Kent State lost to UCLA and UNLV in its first two games at the national tournament.
The Flashes were assigned to the Ann Arbor Regional in their most recent postseason appearances in 2006 and 2008. The 2006 squad defeated Youngstown State between losses to Oklahoma. In 2008, the Flashes dropped their opener to Notre Dame before earning victories over Wright State and Notre Dame to earn a spot in the regional championship, which it lost to Michigan, 5-0.
On Deck for the Flashes
The winner of the double elimination weekend will advance to the NCAA Super Regional May 25-28 against the winner of the Tucson Regional.
