Flashes Head to Florida for Second Tournament
2/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Coming off a 2-3 weekend against stiff competition, the Kent State University softball team faces its next test at the Strike Out Cancer Tournament this weekend hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. The Golden Flashes will take on North Carolina State and Florida Atlantic Friday (Feb. 15) on its opening day, followed by matchups with Missouri State and Long Island on Saturday (Feb. 16). After six squads play four contests in the opening two days, teams will be seeded for a final round of games on Sunday (Feb. 17). The top seeds will play a championship game, while the reamaining teams compete for third and fifth place.
The Opposition
North Carolina State- The Wolfpack finished 42-21 last season and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Last week, NC State went 3-2 in its opening tournament with a pair of shutout victories over Central Arkansas and a 10-run 18-hit performance against host Central Florida. Senior shortstop Shanna Smith was named ACC Player of the Week after hitting .529 with two home runs and two doubles. Sophomore Allison Presnell smacked 11 hits in five games and drove in eight. Sophomore right-hander Lindsay Campana tossed a one-hit shutout in the Wolfpack's most recent win and struck out nine batters.
Florida Atlantic- The Owls are coming off a 42-23 season in 2007, including their 10th Sun Belt Conference championship in the last 11 years. FAU finished 2-2 in its opening weekend with victories over North Florida and South Carolina. Eight different Owls recorded hits in freshman Rose Gressley's shutour of North Florida. Sophomore Amber Barton (1-1) has also been solid in the circle, carrying a 1.94 ERA with nine strikeouts in 18 innings. Sophomore Blair Bodenmiller leads the offense with four hits and three stolen bases.
Long Island- The Blackbirds will open their 2008 season this weekend after a 34-22 campaign in 2007. LIU returns both of its top pitchers from last season. Junior right-hander Jenny Giles went 20-10 in 2007 with 137 strikeouts and a 1.84 ERA in 216.2 innings. Sophomore Blair Porter led the Blackbirds with 160 strikeouts and racked up 14 victories. Senior shortstop Celina Castillo hit .364 last season with 15 doubles, four homers and seven stolen bases. Classmate Vaness Mejia hit .316 with 16 extra-base hits.
Missouri State- The Bears will also be competing for the first time this season. Missouri State claimed 21 wins in 2007 led by Melissa Porche, who hurled 232 innings. Back for her senior year, Porche totaled 16 victories and 222 strikeouts with a 2.17 ERA last season. Junior shortstop Jessie Smith led the team with a .513 slugging percentage and 17 stolen bases in 2007.
Live Stats
Live stats for all tournament games of the Carolina Classic can be found on the Florida Atlantic web site at www.fausports.com.
Flashes Sweep MAC Awards
The MAC announced Tuesday (Feb. 12) that freshmen Jess Carmichael was recognized as the East Division Player of the Week and teammate Markie Pozzuto was honored as the East Division Pitcher of the Week. In her first week of collegiate competition, Carmichael ripped hits in all five contests and was named to the Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team. Carmichael went 6-for-7 in the first day of action (Feb. 8), belting two home runs, cracking a double, racking up five RBI and scoring three runs.
Pozzuto also made quite an impact, throwing a five-inning no-hitter without allowing a walk in the win against North Carolina Central. Pozzuto fanned 10 of the 15 batters she retired. She also appeared in relief vs. North Carolina, striking out three and tossing 1.2 innings without relinquishing a hit or run. Carmichael hit .588 (10-of-17) in five games, while Pozzuto did not allow a run or a hit in two appearances.
Series History
The Golden Flashes defeated Long Island 4-3 in 10 innings last March in the only meeting between the two schools. Kylie Reynolds tossed all 10 innings in victory and fanned 16. Jamie Fitzpatrick homered and drew four walks. KSU dropped a pair of games to North Carolina State in 2006 and trail the all-time series 2-1. The Flashes are 1-1 all-time against the host Owls and will be facing Missouri State for the first time.
