Kent State University
Bowling Green
Golden Flashes Visit Bowling Green and Toledo for Final Road Weekend of MAC Season
4/24/2015 12:22:00 AM | Softball
Kent State will look to sweep a Mid-American Conference opponent on the road for the first time this season when it visits Bowling Green and Toledo during the final road weekend of the season this weekend. The Golden Flashes are scheduled for a twinbill against Bowling Green on Friday and single games against Toledo on Saturday and Sunday.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 24
1 p.m.         Kent State at Bowling Green – Live Stats  AudioÂ
3 p.m.         Kent State at Bowling Green – Live Stats  AudioÂ
Saturday, April 25
2 p.m.         Kent State at Toledo – Live Stats Â
Sunday, April 26
1 p.m.         Kent State at Toledo – Live Stats Â
First-Place Flashes Off to Fast Start
Kent State (31-11, 9-4 MAC) is off to the third-best start in program history. The 1990 Golden Flashes won 36 of their first 41 games en route to the program's only trip to the Women's College World Series. In 2008, Kent State started 32-9 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship game. With two weekends of conference play remaining, the Flashes are one game behind Ball State in the overall MAC standings and 1.5 games ahead of Miami in the MAC East.
Offensive Leaders
Kent State is batting .291 as a team and has five players with a batting average higher than .300. The Flashes have 101 extra-base hits, including 43 home runs.
Sophomore Maddy Grimm leads the conference in home runs (15), RBIs (44) and slugging percentage (.888). Grimm also leads the Flashes with a .374 batting average, 10 doubles and 17 walks.
Senior outfielder Dani Ramos is batting .349 and has a team-high 45 hits, 36 runs, 4 triples and 18 stolen bases. Fellow senior outfielder Kim Kirkpatrick also has 45 hits and is second on the team with 34 runs, 7 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs and 15 stolen bases. Kirkpatrick is batting .333 with 20 RBIs.
Juniors Michele Duffy and Shelbi Tilton are enjoying breakout seasons and are tied for second on the team with 26 RBIs. Duffy is batting .325 batting with 5 doubles and 4 home runs, while Tilton has 5 doubles and 3 home runs.
Freshman Holly Speers leads the Flashes with a .424 batting average and .525 on-base percentage in MAC games. On the season, Speers is hitting .343 with 5 doubles, 5 home runs and 19 RBIs.
Pitching Staff Among National Leaders
Kent State's pitching staff has been outstanding this season and ranks sixth in the country with a 1.72 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .198 batting average.
Senior Emma Johnson (16-5) is the ace of the staff and has recorded 224 strikeouts in just 143.2 innings. Johnson ranks third in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (10.9), 15th in shutouts (7), 10th in ERA (1.02) and 12th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.85).
Sophomore Ronnie Ladines (9-5) has a 2.55 ERA in 15 starts. Ladines has struck out 79 batters while issuing just 27 walks.
Junior Alyssa Frankenfield (4-1) is having her best season as a Golden Flash. Frankenfield has a 2.39 ERA and a save. Sophomore Janel Hayes (2-0) has a 2.19 ERA and one save.
Scouting Bowling Green (16-23, 5-9 MAC)
• Bowling Green improved to 8-6 at home this season by sweeping IPFW (9-7, 2-0) on Tuesday afternoon.
• The Falcons had lost 9 of their previous 11 games entering the week.
• BG ranks last in the MAC in several offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored and strikeouts.
• INF Aspen Searle is the top hitter in BG's lineup and leads the team in batting average (.380), runs (33), doubles (10), home runs (8), RBIs (23) and slugging percentage (.674).
• OF Molly Holliday has a team-high 13 stolen bases and is batting .373 on the season.
• As a team, BG has a 3.79 ERA while opponents are hitting .295.
• P Jamie Kertes (7-11) leads the Falcons in wins, innings pitched (103.0) and strikeouts (83) to go with a 3.81 ERA.
Scouting Toledo (19-17, 4-10 MAC)
• Toledo is coming off an 11-1 loss in five innings at No. 24 Notre Dame on Wednesday.
• The Rockets are just 4-4 at home this season.
• Celeste Fidge is tied for the MAC lead with 4 triples and leads the Rockets with a .346 batting average and 29 RBIs.
• Jessica Lemieux is tied for second in the MAC in stolen bases (18) and third in doubles (13). Lemieux is second for the Rockets with a .333 batting average and 25 RBIs.
• Toledo has a team ERA of 4.68 and is allowing opponents to hit .318 this season.
• P Emily Anderson (9-13) leads the MAC with four saves. Anderson has thrown 16 complete games, including two shutouts, and leads the Rockets in innings pitched (163.0), strikeouts (101) and ERA (3.99).
• P Maria Gooding (10-11) leads the Rockets in wins and owns a 4.88 ERA.                                   Â
Series History vs. Opponents
• Kent State is 60-44-1 all-time vs. Bowling Green.
    • The Golden Flashes have won 8 of their last 9 games vs. the Falcons.
• Kent State is 53-36 all-time vs. Toledo.
    • The Golden Flashes have won 9 of their last 10 games vs. the Rockets.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will conclude the 2015 regular season at the Diamond at Dix when it hosts Western Michigan and Northern Illinois next weekend.
