Kent State University
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Kent State Set to Take On Saint Francis (Pa.)
4/23/2018 4:28:00 PM | Softball
Kent State (24-19, 9-8 MAC) visits Saint Francis (Pa.) (30-17, 10-0 NEC) in a matchup up two NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago on Tuesday, April 24. The twin bill begins at 1 p.m. with the second game following roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Both games can be heard on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio.
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Last Time Out
Kent State swept its weekend MAC series against Buffalo and outscored the Bulls, 33-3. The Golden Flashes won every game in five innings and scored 10 or more runs in three consecutive games for the second time this season. It is the most runs that Kent State has ever scored in a three-game series.
Holly Speers led the offense by hitting three home runs while driving in seven runs. Allie Luther and Brenna Brownfield drove in four runs each, with Luther scoring a team-high six runs. Bailey Brownfield was 7-for-9 in the series with two doubles and six RBIs.
The Golden Flashes had a team batting average of .518 in the series and averaged 2.5 runs scored per inning. Kent State also held Buffalo to a .164 batting average. Madi Huck allowed only two earned runs in 11 innings of work. She struck out a career-high eight on Friday and had a strikeout to walk ratio 8:1.
#FlashFacts
- Kent State leads the MAC in batting average (.315) and ranks 20th in the country.
- Holly Speers leads the nation in batting average (.496), on-base percentage (.649), slugging percentage (1.038) and walks per game (1.15).
- Speers has 47 walks this season, which is four away from tying the single-season school record of 51, which Maddy Grimm set last season.
- Speers and Kennadie Goth are the top two hitters in the Mid-American Conference with a .496 and .420 batting average, respectively.
- Kent State has won six weekly awards this season. Holly Speers was named MAC East Player of the Week three times, Emily Dobbin and Bailey Brownfield once and Madi Huck MAC East Pitcher of the Week once.
- Bailey Brownfield leads the Golden Flashes with a .466 batting average and 20 RBIs in conference games. Maria Cegledy is second on the team in conference batting average hitting .444 with 11 RBIs.
- Bailey Brownfield is batting .524 (22-for-42) in April with five doubles and 16 RBIs.
- Kent State has five walk-off wins this season. KSU came back from trailing by five entering the sixth against Western Michigan and came back to beat Toledo. Both were the first game of the series. The Flashes are 18-8 when scoring first and are 2-2 in extra innings.
- KSU has clubbed two grand slam home runs this season. Hunter Brancifort hit a grand slam in the first weekend of the season against Rider to tie the game in the seventh. Speers also hit a pinch hit grand slam against Pitt.
Series History / Scouting Saint Francis (Pa.)
The Golden Flashes and Red Flash have played just twice before with Kent State winning both games. Kent State defeated Saint Francis 8-3 in 2014 and 6-1 in 2015. Holly Speers is the only current Golden Flash to play in the game, and she hit a two-run home run.
This season, the Red Flash are 30-17 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the Northeast Conference. Saint Francis is riding a 10-game winning streak and last lost in a midweek game to Maryland on April 11. Saint Francis is one of the top home run hitting teams in the country and is second with 60 total homers. The Red Flash are also 25th in the country with a .477 slugging percentage.
Cheyenne McKee leads the team with a .328 batting average and Madison Cabell is first on the squad with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. Saint Francis has used two pitchers this season with Abby Trahan the ace of the staff. She is 22-11 this year and has an ERA of 2.57 with 158 strikeouts in 207.1 innings pitched. Adrian Smith (8-6) has tossed 100.2 innings and commands a 2.78 ERA.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes travel to Bowling Green this weekend for a three-game series against the Falcons. The first game of the series begins on Friday, April 27 at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 28.
