Flashes Visit Central Florida Wednesday and Bethune-Cookman Thursday
3/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Kent State continues its eight-game road trip through the state of Florida Wednesday night at Central Florida, followed by a doubleheader at Bethune-Cookman Thursday. The Golden Flashes are hitting .288 as a team and have knocked 53 extra base hits in 22 games. KSU (7-15) has been have competitive throughout the season, but have suffered four one-run losses in their last eight games, including three extra inning affairs.
Cinadr Marching Over Opposing Pitchers
In Kent State's eight games during the month of March, senior Beth Cinadr is hitting .516 (16-for-31) with five doubles and eight runs batted in. Four of those doubles came this past weekend at the South Florida Invitational, including two in a 4-1 win over Rutgers. Cinadr went 3-for-3 against the Scarlet Knights with an RBI.
South Florida Invitational
The Golden Flashes defeated Rutgers 4-1 this past weekend at the South Florida Invitational, but came up short in four other games in Clearwater. KSU dropped a 10-9 battle in nine innings to Boston University and allowed four runs in the seventh inning in a 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast. Â
Sophomore Lauren Grimes hit .529 (9-for-17) with two doubles over five games at the South Florida Invitational.  She also walked twice and carried a .579 on-base percentage.  Grimes ranks second in the conference in hits (31), first in doubles (9) and sixth in batting average (392). Grimes has notched at least one hit in 19-of-22 games this season, including each of her last six contests. As a freshman in 2010, Grimes hit .374, the highest single season average at Kent State in the last decade. Her 45 runs scored was the second highest total in school history.
Senior Jess Carmichael homered twice over the weekend, raising her career total to 31.  Coming off a Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week performance at the Marshall Invitational, Carmichael carried her power surge to five home runs in a five-game span. She now ranks second among KSU's career home run leaders, trailing only Jamie Fitzpatrick who finished with 36. Carmichael has now won MAC East Player of the Week in four straight seasons. In three weekend games at Marshall, she launched three home runs, drove in nine and carried a 1.364 slugging percentage. She hit .455 with a double and three walks, netting an on-base percentage of .571.Â
Sophomore Danielle Abernathy tossed complete games on back-to-back days against Rutgers and Florida Gulf Coast. She allowed only one earned run in each game, which didn't come until the seventh inning both times. In her last three starts, Abernathy has allowed just one run in the first through fifth innings.
Freshman Abbey Ledford hit .429 with two doubles over five games. She is hitting .333 on the year with three home runs and is one of three freshmen making a major impact this season.Â
Freshman Alex Marcantonio has hit.500 or better in two of her last three weekends of competition. Playing three games at the Marshall Invitational, Marcantonio went 5-for-10 with two doubles. One weekend earlier, she went 6-for-11 (.545) with six walks, a double and six runs scored, giving her a .722 on-base percentage and an .822 slugging percentage. Marcantonio has started all 22 games, playing left field and shortstop. Her .381 average ranks second on the team and eighth in the conference.Â
Freshman pitcher Lauren McNeil leads the KSU staff with 54.1 innings pitched, but did not see action this past weekend. At the Marshall Invitational, she tossed 8.1 innings against the Thundering Herd, allowing two earned runs with five strikeouts. One week earlier, she earned two victories at Florida Atlantic. Against FAU, she struck out a season-high eight. She has fanned 35 on the year and carries a team best 3.35 ERA. At the Pirate Classic, McNeil allowed only four earned runs in 14 innings.Â
The Opposition
Central Florida (10-20) is led offensively by junior Natalie Land, who is hitting .356 with 12 extra base hits and 14 stolen bases. Senior Abby McClain (.298) has team bests of six home runs and 17 walks. Junior Lacey Dinney (7-6) leads the pitching staff with a 3.05 ERA and 64 strikeouts.
Bethune-Cookman (11-17) has three players hitting .325 or better led by sophomore Michelle Banuelos-Smith (.355), who has ripped nine doubles and driven in 20 runs. Junior Cesley Tafoya (.329) has five doubles and 12 walks on the year. Senior Allison Garcia (.325) has belted four runs. She leads the team in slugging (.545) and on-base percentage. Garcia is also the team's top pitcher at 7-5 with 59 strikeouts.
