Kent State University
32-11, 10-4
Bowling Green
16-24, 5-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Bowling Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Johnson and Ladines Shutout Falcons in Kent State Sweep
4/24/2015 8:02:00 PM | Softball
Game 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Game 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Photo Gallery
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Senior Emma Johnson's no-hitter highlighted a dominant day of pitching performances by Kent State on the way to a doubleheader sweep of Bowling Green Friday night. The Golden Flashes held the host Falcons without a run, taking the opening game, 3-0, and finishing it off with a 1-0 win in the nightcap.
Kent State (33-11) earned its first road sweep of the conference season and improved to 11-4 in Mid-American Conference play.
Johnson threw 8.1 hitless innings on the day, including the third no-hitter of her collegiate career. This, however, was the first seven-inning no-hitter for the hurler from Groveport, Ohio. Her previous no-hit performances against Michigan State on March 7 and against Toledo last season came in games in which Kent State run-ruled the opponent in five innings.
Sophomore Ronnie Ladines was also terrific in the circle, shutting Bowling Green down for 5.2 innings before being relieved by Johnson in the second game.
"I'm really pleased with how we played today," said head coach Karen Linder. "I knew these were going to be tough games for us. Obviously, our pitchers really did a nice job and we played great defense behind them. Dani had that nice throw at the plate and Holly made that diving catch. Offensively, I wish we would've had a few more timely hits, but we did a nice job taking advantage of BG's mistakes."
The Flashes outhit the Falcons on the day, 15-5. Sophomore Maddy Grimm led the way with four hits, while junior Michele Duffy and senior Dani Ramos added three hits apiece.Â
Game 1: Kent State 3, Bowling Green 0
Emma Johnson (17-5) fanned 13 batters on the way to her third career no-hitter. A full count walk issued to leadoff the sixth inning is all that stood between Johnson and a perfect game.
Kent State got on the board in the fourth inning on a solo shot to straightaway centerfield by Michele Duffy.
The Flashes struck for two more runs the following inning on consecutive hits by the first three batters in the lineup. Kim Kirkpatrick doubled to centerfield and scored when Dani Ramos found a gap in right-center for a triple. Maddy Grimm made it a 3-0 game with a single the opposite way.
Game 2: Kent State 1, Bowling Green 0
Ronnie Ladines (10-5) pitched 5.2 scoreless innings to earn the victory for Kent State. Ladines held the Falcons to only five hits and had five strikeouts to just one walk. Emma Johnson threw the final 1.1 innings to earn her second save of the season. Johnson did not surrender a hit and had two strikeouts.
The Golden Flashes took advantage of a Bowling Green error to score the only run of the game in the first inning. Dani Ramos beat out a ball hit back to the pitcher and went to second when the throw to first sailed over the first baseman's head. After moving to third on an infield single by Maddy Grimm, Ramos scored on a groundout to second off the bat of Holly Speers.
Bowling Green had its only scoring opportunity of the day denied when Ramos gunned down a runner at the plate on a strike from shallow centerfield to bring the fourth inning to a close. A two-out single and passed ball put a Falcons base runner in scoring position. The next batter hit a ball back up the middle and a charging Ramos scooped it up and fired to the plate to get the runner by country mile.
The Flashes return to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest at Toledo.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Emma (17-5)
L: Kertes (7-12)
Batting:
2B: Kirkpatrick, Kim 1
3B: Ramos, Dani 1
HR: Duffy, Michele 1
RBI: Ramos, Dani 1 ; Grimm, Maddy 1 ; Duffy, Michele 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kirkpatrick, Kim 1 ; Ramos, Dani 1 ; Duffy, Michele 1
SB: Ramos, Dani 1
