Stellar Pitching Highlights Successful Fall Season
10/13/2016 12:08:00 PM | Softball
Photos vs. Ohio State                       Photos vs. Ohio Dominican
KENT, Ohio – A pair of shutout victories at the Diamond at Dix on Sunday concluded a 5-2-1 fall season for the Kent State softball team. The Golden Flashes outscored their opponents 32-12 over the six games.
Nine student-athletes made their first appearance in a Kent State uniform in addition to 15 returning letterwinners that took the field during the fall season.
"I think the team had a successful fall season," said head coach Eric Oakley. "The win-loss record isn't as important as in the fall. It's more about getting the returners back into game shape and getting the newcomers adjusted to the college level. We played some pretty tough competition and performed well.
The pitching trio of seniors Ronnie Ladines and Janel Hayes and freshman Madi Huck combined for five shutouts. Ladines, an All-MAC First Team honoree, and Hayes combined to pitch 94 percent of the Flashes' innings last season, while Huck was named Ohio Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
"Ronnie and Janel seemed to be pick up right were they left off in the spring," Oakley said. "Madi had a successful fall facing college hitters for the first time. To have five shutouts in eight games is impressive and also means our defense played at a high level. We took a look at a lot of different defensive lineups and feel comfortable with the talent level and depth we have going into the spring."
Kent State kicked off competition on Friday, Sept. 16 at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The Golden Flashes dropped a 4-3 contest to Ashland in their first game of the day and then played rival Akron to a scoreless tie in the nightcap.
The following weekend, Kent State went to Penn State and swept a doubleheader by identical 3-0 scores.
The Flashes hosted Ohio State on Oct. 2 for the first of two home weekends at the Diamond at Dix. Kent State won an extra innings thriller in the first game of the doubleheader, 6-5. Senior Maddy Grimm hit two home runs to give the Flashes a 4-0 lead through five innings before the Buckeyes tied it in the sixth. Down to the final out in the bottom of the eighth, sophomore Hunter Brancifort homered to extend the game. Junior Emily Dobbin brought in the winning run as the next four Flashes all drew walks. In game two, the Flashes had the tying run in scoring position, but a fly ball to center field ended the game for a 3-1 Buckeyes victory.
This past Sunday, Kent State started the day by defeating Walsh, 4-0. Ronnie Ladines was perfect in the circle through five innings and Madi Huck pitched the final two innings of a combined one-hitter. Although they only collected four hits in the game, the Flashes showed patience at the plate and reached seven times by either drawing a walk or being hit by a pitch to put runners in scoring position.
The finale featured an offensive onslaught in a 12-0 win over Ohio Dominican. The Flashes plated five runs over the first two innings and a three-run blast by Maddy Grimm highlighted a seven-run fifth inning. It was the fourth long ball of the fall for Grimm, who will enter her final collegiate season third in Mid-American Conference history with 50 home runs.
"I thought our offensive production got better each weekend," Oakley said. "Hitting is something that is always going to be slower to come around in the fall because players aren't seeing live pitching during the summertime. I'd like to see us hit a little better with runners in scoring position, but we managed to get timely hits to win some of those games. We actually did a really nice job of executing bunts, and I'm pretty happy about that."
The two-time defending Mid-American Conference champions will open the 2017 campaign at the Mercer Invitational on Feb. 10-12. The Flashes will play five games against a field that includes Dayton, Mercer, Murray State and Portland State.
2016 Kent State Fall Results
Date            Opponent                     Result                                                                Â
Sept. 16      Ashland                        L, 4-3                       Â
Sept. 16      Akron                            T, 0-0                       Â
Sept. 24      Penn State                   W, 3-0                     Â
Sept. 24      Penn State                   W, 3-0                     Â
Oct. 2          Ohio State                    W, 6-5 (8)               Â
Oct. 2          Ohio State                    L, 3-1                       Â
Oct. 9          Walsh                           W, 4-0                     Â
Oct. 9          Ohio Dominican           W, 12-0                                         Â
