Kent State University
Michigan
Upset-Minded Golden Flashes Head to Ann Arbor for Three-Game Series vs. No. 3 Michigan
3/13/2015 6:00:00 PM | Softball
Kent State will face its toughest challenge of the 2015 season when it visits No. 3 Michigan for a three-game series this weekend. A doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday and a single game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
This is the second consecutive weekend the Golden Flashes (11-4) will visit a nationally-ranked opponent after playing in a tournament at No. 15 UCF last weekend. Kent State splits its two games with the Knights.
Michigan opens its home schedule and will provide live stats for all three games. Additionally, both games as part of Saturday's doubleheader can be watched for a fee on BTN Plus.
Weekend Schedule
Saturday, March 14
1 p.m. Kent State at Michigan – Live Stats Video
3 p.m. Kent State at Michigan – Live Stats Video
Sunday, March 15
1 p.m. Kent State at Michigan – Live Stats
Last Time Out
Kent State went 3-2 at the UCF Knights Invitational in Orlando, Fla. last weekend. The Flashes opened with wins over Bradley, No. 15 UCF and Michigan State by a combined score of 18-1 to extend their winning streak to nine. However, the Flashes lost in a rematch against the host Knights and then fell to Bradley in the weekend finale.
Emma Johnson opened the weekend with a dominant performance against UCF. Johnson had a career-high 18 strikeouts and allowed only two hits in shutting out the nation's 15th-ranked team. She threw a no-hitter against Michigan State in her next start. Johnson allowed two earned runs in a loss to Bradley on Sunday and finished the weekend with 36 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Offensively, Maddy Grimm led the way with two home runs and six RBI. Dani Ramos batted .429 with six hits and scored five runs. Kim Kirkpatrick, Holly Speers and Erika Warren collected five hits apiece. Kirkpatrick had a double and a triple, while Speers hit two doubles. Chloe Kesterson hit her first home run of the season and also had two stolen bases.
Pitching Staff Among National Leaders
Kent State's pitching staff has performed brilliantly over the first month of the season and ranks fourth in the country with a 0.90 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .157 batting average.
Senior Emma Johnson (5-2) is the ace of the staff and has recorded 82 strikeouts in just 46 innings this season. Johnson is second in the nation in both hits allowed per seven innings (2.74) and strikeouts per seven innings (12.5), while ranking eighth in ERA (0.61) and shutouts (4).
Junior Alyssa Frankenfield (2-0) is having her best season as a Golden Flash. Frankenfield ranks 13th in the country with a 0.86 ERA and 30th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.29). Sophomore Ronnie Ladines (3-2) has a 1.34 ERA, which ranks 43rd in the nation. Sophomore Janel Hayes (1-0) allowed just one run in her only start of the season and has a 0.95 ERA, but has thrown only 7.1 innings and does not qualify for the national rankings.
Offensive Leaders
Four Golden Flashes are hitting better than .325, led by junior Michele Duffy. Batting .381, Duffy is second on the team with 16 hits and nine RBI.
Senior Kim Kirkpatrick leads the Flashes with 17 hits, 3 doubles and 2 triples while batting .333 from the leadoff spot in the lineup. Kirkpatrick is second on the team with 12 runs scored. Fellow senior Dani Ramos is Kent State's leader with 14 runs scored and 9 stolen bases.
Sophomore Maddy Grimm brings power to the Flashes' lineup. Grimm homered twice last weekend and has a team-high 10 RBI despite missing the first weekend of the season.
Flashes Racking Up Honors
Several Golden Flashes have been recognized for their outstanding play during the early part of the 2015 season. Senior Emma Johnson has received MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week each of the past two weeks and also was named MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week this past week. Additionally, Johnson garnered national attention and was included in an ESPNW's "NCAA Softball: 5 Things You Need to Know."
Senior Kim Kirkpatrick has named MAC East Division Player of the Week by the conference and sophomore Maddy Grimm was named MAC Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com this past week.
Scouting No. 3 Michigan (22-3)
• The Wolverines have a 7-3 mark vs. nationally-ranked opponents this season, which includes two losses to No. 1 Florida.
• After losing its first two games at the Judi Garman Classic last weekend, Michigan won its next three games in five inning each by a combined score of 30-4.
• Michigan has hit 38 home runs over the last 16 games and has blasted 44 homers on the season.
• The Wolverines feature three players on the USA Softball Preseason Top 50 Watch List in OF Sierra Lawrence, SS Sierra Romero and P Haylie Wagner.
• Romero leads Michigan with a .545 batting average, 32 runs, 9 home runs and 30 RBI.
• Lawrence is hitting .388 with 27 runs scored, 5 home runs, 21 RBI and a team-high 12 stolen bases.
• C Lauren Sweet and UTL Kelsey Susalla have both hit six home runs. Sweet has 27 RBI and Susalla has 26 RBI.
• Wagner is 9-1 with a 1.91 ERA with 2 shutouts and 45 strikeouts.
• P Megan Betsa is 9-2 with a 1.70 ERA and team-high 70 strikeouts.
• P Sara Driesenga is 4-0 with a team-best 0.78 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
Series History vs. Michigan
• Kent State is 0-8 all-time vs. the Wolverines.
• Last season, Kent State went 0-3 vs. Michigan on neutral fields. The Flashes lost 7-1, 1-0 (9 innings) and 12-4 (6 innings).
• Ronnie Ladines was outstanding in the second matchup, allowing just an unearned run with two outs in the ninth inning. She also homered in her only at-bat of the three games.
• Maddy Grimm led the Flashes at the plate, batting .500 (4-for-8) with a home run and 2 RBI.
• The Flashes last visited Ann Arbor for the 2008 NCAA Regionals. After losing its opening game to Notre Dame, Kent State defeated Wright State and Notre Dame before falling to Michigan in the regional championship game, 5-0.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will play five games at the Liberty Classic next weekend (March 20-22).
