Kent State University
Ohio
Golden Flashes Begin Quest for MAC Tournament Crown Wednesday
5/6/2015 9:36:00 AM | Softball
2015 MAC Softball Tournament Central
Regular season champion Kent State (39-11, 17-4)looks to continue its success and clinch an NCAA postseason bid at the 2015 Mid-American Conference Softball Championship, which begins on Wednesday at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The top-seeded Golden Flashes will open with a first round matchup against No. 8 Ohio (15-30, 7-11) on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
An automatic bid to an NCAA Regional is on the line, as eight teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament, which is scheduled through Saturday.
Follow the Flashes
Fans can listen live to all of Kent State's game throughout the week, which will air on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel. Additionally, the MAC will be providing live stats and a video stream on the softball championships page of its website.
Flashes at the MAC Tournament
Kent State owns two MAC Tournament titles (2006, 2008) and is one of only two schools to win the tournament multiple times over the past decade. The Flashes 24-27 all-time in conference tournament games and 12-16 in tournament games played at Firestone Stadium.
A year ago, the Flashes entered as the No. 4 seed and opened with a2-1 loss to eventual tournament champion Ohio. Kent State then defeated Miami, 4-1, in an elimination game before being knocked out by Central Michigan (3-1). Dani Ramos received All-Tournament Team recognition after batting 5-for-11 with a triple and a stolen base. Maddy Grimm led the Flashes with three RBIs and Michele Duffy had two doubles. Ronnie Ladines did not allow an earned run in 9.2 innings in the circle for the Flashes and had six strikeouts to only one walk.
Five Flashes Receive MAC Postseason Honors
Kent State was well-represented when the MAC announced its postseason awards on Tuesday with five individuals being recognized. Head coach Karen Linder was named Coach of the Year and senior Emma Johnson was named Pitcher of the Year. This is the second time Johnson has received the award and fourth straight season she has been an all-conference honoree. Joining her as All-MAC First Team selections were senior Dani Ramos and sophomore Maddy Grimm. Rounding out the honors for the Flashes was freshman Holly Speers, who was named to the All-MAC Second Team and All-Freshman Team.
Regular Season Rewind
In addition to capturing its fifth MAC regular season title, Kent State is having one of the most successful seasons in program history. At 39-11, the Flashes have won the third-most games in a season all-time and were one win away from tying the program record for regular season wins. The Flashes matched the third-longest winning streak in school history with11 straight victories at the end of March and beginning of April. Additionally, the team won a pair of true road games against Top 25 teams. The Flashes defeated No. 17 UCF, 1-0, on March 6 and No. 3 Michigan, 3-0, on March 14.
Records Watch
Kent State has a chance to break multiple single-season team records this week. The Flashes currently have a .463 slugging percentage, which is far ahead of the record (.445). Other records within reach include runs (22 away), home runs (6 away) and RBIs (16 away).
Maddy Grimm has already set records with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. In addition, her .878 slugging percentage would also be a record and she is four away from tying the record for total bases (119).
Pitching Staff Among National Leaders
Kent State's pitching staff has been outstanding this season and ranks third in the country with a 1.53 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .191 batting average. Over the weekend, the Flashes saw their 46.2 scoreless innings streak come to an end. No NCAA Division I team has as long of a streak this season.
Senior Emma Johnson (21-5) is the ace of the staff and has thrown two no-hitters. Johnson ranks third the nation in shutouts (11), fifth in in strikeouts per seven innings (10.7), fourth in ERA (0.98) sixth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.47) and 11th in strikeout (275). Additionally, Johnson leads the MAC in opponent batting average (.146) and has two saves.
Sophomore Ronnie Ladines (12-5) has a 2.13 ERA and has struck out 103 batters while issuing just 31 walks. Junior Alyssa Frankenfield (4-1) is having her best season as a Golden Flash with a 2.39 ERA and a save. Sophomore Janel Hayes (2-0) has a 2.19 ERA and one save.
Offensive Leaders
Kent State is batting .285 as a team and has five players with a batting average higher than .300. The Flashes have 120 extra-base hits, including 53 home runs.
Sophomore Maddy Grimm leads the Flashes in several offensive categories, including  a .382 batting average, .878 slugging percentage, .461 on-base percentage, 11 doubles, 18 home runs, 52 RBIs and 20 walks.
Senior outfielder Dani Ramos has a team-high 56 hits, 5 triples and 23 stolen bases. Ramos has scored 42 runs and is batting .366, which both are second on the team. Fellow senior outfielder Kim Kirkpatrick is batting .319 with 24 RBIs and leads the Flashes with 43 runs. Kirkpatrick is second on the team with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs and 16 stolen bases.                      Â
Freshman Holly Speers and junior Michele Duffy also bring powerful bats to the lineup for Kent State. Speers, who is batting .325 with 6 doubles and 5 home runs, has enjoyed much success batting in the cleanup spot during league play. Duffy has driven in 30 runs on the season, which is second on the team. She is batting .314 with 6 doubles and 6 home runs.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will play either No. 4 Central Michigan or No. 5 Western Michigan on Thursday. A complete schedule for the weekend can be found on the 2015 MAC Softball Tournament bracket.
