Kent State University
11-2
Michigan State
10-9
Johnson’ No-Hitter Highlights Second Day at UCF Knights Invitational
3/7/2015 10:10:00 PM | Softball
Game 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Game 2
ORLANDO, Fla. – Kent State extended its winning streak to nine games with a 9-0 win over Michigan State in five innings before dropping a 5-1 game to No. 15 UCF Saturday at the UCF Knights Invitational.
Senior Emma Johnson was literally unhittable in the first game of the day, no-hitting the Spartans. It was the second no-hitter of Johnson's Kent State career.
"It was great to see Emma follow yesterday's performance with another dominating day against a Big Ten team," said head coach Karen Linder. "All phases of the game looked good in that game. We hit the ball very well and Kim and Michele both had nice catches in the outfield to help with the no-hitter. Against UCF, we made too many mistakes defensively and took too long to get going offensively."
Game 1: Kent State 9, Michigan State 0 (5 innings)
Emma Johnson (5-1) continued her dominance of opposing batters with nine strikeouts in a no-hit perfromance. Johnson walked two and hit two, but all four batters that reached base were stranded, as she threw her fourth straight shutout.
Kent State all four times it went to the plate. The Flashes' first two batters reached, as senior Kim Kirkpatrick was hit by a pitch and senior Dani Ramos singled. Two batters later junior, Shelbi Tilton hit the ball to the second baseman, whose throw to second in an attempt to retire Ramos was wild and allowed Kirkpatrick to round third and head home. Junior Michele Duffy then brought Ramos home with an RBI single to give the Flashes to a 2-0 lead.
Kirkpatrick scored again in the second. After singling up the middle and advancing to third on an error, she scored on a sac fly to center by sophomore Maddy Grimm.
A five-run third inning began with a walk drawn by freshman Holly Speers. A hit batter and an error loaded the bases, and Kirkpatrick plated two runners with a single to right field. Grimm drove home her second run of the game and Tilton added a two-run single up the middle.
Junior Lauren Kesterson drove home twin sister Chloe Kesterson, who entered as a pinch runner and stole second base, in the fourth inning for Kent State's final run.
Game 2: # 15 UCF 5, Kent State 1
For the second day in a row, Kent State's only offense against the 15th-ranked team in the country came via the long ball. Chloe Kesterson hit her first home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning for the Flashes' only run.
UCF used small ball to get on the board in the third inning. A walk, a single and a sac bunt placed two runners in scoring position. Back-to-back singles that plated a rune ach gave the Knights a 2-0 lead.
Defensive mistakes by the Flashes allowed UCF to add a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Sophomore Ronnie Ladines (3-2) allowed just two earned runs and five hits in 4.1 innings for Kent State. Junior Alyssa Frankenfield pitched 1.2 innings in relief. Frankenfield recorded four strikeouts and allowed two hits.
Kent State concludes play at the UCF Knights Invitational Sunday against Bradley at 9:30 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Emma (5-1)
L: Zalewski, K. (7-4)
Base Running:
SB: Long, M. 1
HBP: Thomas, S. 1 ; Gutknecht, S 1
Batting:
RBI: Kirkpatrick, Kim 2 ; Grimm, Maddy 2 ; Tilton, Shelbi 3 ; Duffy, Michele 1 ; Kesterson, Lauren 1
SF: Grimm, Maddy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirkpatrick, Kim 3 ; Ramos, Dani 2 ; Dobbin, Emily 1 ; Kesterson, Chloe 1 ; Scoarste, Vanessa 1 ; Kesterson, Lauren 1
SB: Kirkpatrick, Kim 1 ; Kesterson, Chloe 1 ; Kesterson, Lauren 1
HBP: Kirkpatrick, Kim 1 ; Tilton, Shelbi 1 ; Warren, Erika 1
