MAC East Rivals Ohio and Akron Host Flashes This Weekend
4/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Holding a two-game lead in the MAC East standings, Kent State (21-16, 8-2 MAC) will visit division rivals Ohio and Akron this weekend. The Golden Flashes will take on the Bobcats in a doubleheader Friday (April 23) in Athens and will play single games Saturday and Sunday (April 24-25) at Akron. Along with holding the inside track for a fifth straight MAC East title, KSU is also in the driver's seat for its third MAC regular season title in four years.
- Since March 5, the Golden Flashes have gone 20-7. During that span senior pitcher Kylie Reynolds is 15-4 with four saves and a 1.49 ERA, while averaging 1.5 strikeouts per inning. On Tuesday, Reynolds was named MAC East Pitcher of the Week for the fifth time in the last seven weeks. Among active pitchers, she ranks second in the nation with 1,132 career strikeouts behind 2009 National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie.
Live stats for Friday's games can be found at at www.ohiobobcats.com beginning at 1 p.m. Akron's web website, www.gozips.com will have live stats available Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Going Deep
KSU has belted 39 homers on the year, the fourth most in school history. The Flashes' 1.05 home runs per game ranks 28th in the nation. Eight different players have at least two home runs on the year.
- In the starting lineup for just the third time in conference play and the 10th time this season, senior Alyssa Frobase belted two home runs Saturday off 2009 MAC Pitcher of the Year Elizabeth Milian.
- Senior Amy Hair also homered off Milian Saturday. It was her third round tripper in an eight-day span. Two different times this season Hair has left the yard twice in the same game.
- On Sunday, junior Jess Carmichael launched her seventh home run of the season, all of which have come since March 27. Her 21 career homers are the fifth most in KSU history.
- Freshman Lauren Grimes has pounded eight round trippers on the year, which is tied for the seventh most in a season at KSU.
The Golden Flashes have won each of their last three extra inning games this season, including a mini marathon against Miami on Friday. Beth Cinadr's bottom-of-the-12th single scored Heather Duhon to defeat the RedHawks 2-1.
- On March 28, Clare Sullivan smacked a pinch hit, three-run homer in the top of the 11th to lift KSU over Coastal Carolina 7-3. It was Sullivan's second career at bat.
- On Feb. 26 against Auburn, Sarah Starr stole third in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and scored on a throwing error to give the Flashes a 1-0 victory. Kylie Reynolds tossed and eight-inning no-hitter against the Eagles.
The Opposition
Ohio
Akron
Series History
Kent State holds a 60-40-1 all-time series lead against Akron. Since 2006, the Golden Flashes have won 10 straight against the Zips including MAC Tournament games in each of the last two seasons. Last year on April 11, Ashlee Hein ripped a bases loaded single in the bottom of the seventh to give KSU a 3-2 win in Kent. Hein also had a two-RBI double in Kent State's 3-1 MAC Tournament victory. The last time the teams played at Akron, the Flashes recorded 16 hits in a 12-1 win. Kylie Reynolds is 6-0 in her career against the Zips, including three victories last season.
The Golden Flashes have won five straight meetings with Ohio and hold a 54-37 all-time series lead. Reynolds earned a win and a save in a doubleheader sweep of the Bobcats last season. Jess Carmichael and Heather Duhon each homered in an 8-2 win, while Hein went deep in a 3-2 victory. Hein went 4-for-8 on the day, while Holly Finchum went 3-for-4 with three runs scored in game one. The last time the teams met in Athens, Reynolds threw a three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts.
Junior Jess Carmichael hit key home runs in victories over Ball State and Miami this past weekend. She carried a .769 slugging percentage and drove in five runs in four games. Carmichael hit a two-out, three-run homer Sunday in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie with Ball State. In a 2-1, 12-inning victory over Miami Friday, Carmichael's solo shot in the fourth was the Flashes' only hit in the first nine innings.
Freshman pitcher Danielle Abernathy tossed 4.0 innings against Miami last Friday and did not allow an earned run. She fanned six and permitted just one hit. In her last road appearnce she threw 3.1 scorless innings at Western Michigan.
Abernathy Progessing
Carmichael in the Clutch
- In their last four games, the Zips (15-25, 3-7 MAC) have split doubleheaders with St. Francis and Eastern Michigan. In a 10-6 win over the Red Flash, Akron knocked out 12 hits, including junior Heather Bauer's fourth home run of the year. Bauer is hitting .286 with five doubles and 20 stolen bases and is one three UA pitchers with at least 70 innings logged. Junior Alex Riedman tossed a shutout against EMU and carries a 2.36 ERA in 22 appearances. Sophomore Andrea Arney (6-12, 3.91) has tossed nine complete games. Junior Alex Feltes is hitting .387 with nine doubles and 11 stolen bases. Freshman Alissa Birkhimer is batting .317 with four homers and seven doubles. The Zips rank third in the MAC in hitting (.281) and hold the fifth lowest ERA (3.24). In MAC play, Akron carries a .970 fielding percentage.- The Bobcats (11-26, 6-4 MAC) sit in a tie for second place in the East Division standings after playing an extremely difficult non-conference schedule to start the season. Junior left-hander Melissa Bonner is 4-1 in five MAC starts with a 1.56 ERA. Senior outfielder and 2009 All-MAC Second Team selection Shalene Petrich (.339) is tied the school record in runs scored, including 19 this season. With five homers this year, junior Emily Wethington (.333) is already tied for the second most home runs in school history. Wethington is hitting .448 in MAC play with five extra-base hits. Sophomore shortstop Alexis Zambrana earned All-MAC First Team honors last season. Ohio scored a season-high 11 runs on 11 hits Friday against Eastern Michigan.
Going The Extra Mile
Live Stats
| Complete Notes in PDF |
