Kent State University
Central Michigan University
Softball Hosts West Division Frontrunner Chippewas to Open MAC Season
3/24/2016 5:22:00 PM | Softball
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Kent State (17-7) will play its first home games of the 2016 season at the Diamond at Dix and hosts Central Michigan for a three-game series this weekend to kickoff the Mid-American Conference schedule. The Golden Flashes and Chippewas are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. on Friday and return to action Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
New MAC Schedule Format
The MAC has changed its schedule format for the 2016 season and eliminated round-robin play. The schedule now features 24 games with three games against each team in a school's division and three games against three schools in the other division. Seven of the eight three-game series are scheduled for one game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday with Sunday being available to finish the series if necessary. The final series will be played against each school's travel partner in a home-and-home over two midweek days.
Flashes Among Nation's Best
Kent State's terrific play early in the season has been recognized nationally. The Flashes received one point in this week's USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. A week ago, the Flashes received one point in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.
Additionally, Kent State came in at No. 49 in the first set of RPI rankings released by the NCAA on Monday. The Flashes' losses have been to the Nos. 4 (twice), 18, 34, 52, 54 and 120 teams.
Home Run Queen
Junior Maddy Grimm became Kent State's all-time home run leader earlier this season after hitting four round-trippers at the Red & Black Classic after to increase her career total to 38. The record-setting blast came against North Dakota State on February 28. Grimm has added two more home runs since and currently has 39 for her career.
Ace in the Hole
Junior Ronnie Ladines (11-1) has been outstanding in replacing 2015 MAC Pitcher of the Year Emma Johnson as the team's ace. Ladines is tied for the MAC lead with 11 victories and has gone the distance in 11 of 12 starts. In 78 innings, she has 74 strikeouts and a 2.60 ERA. Opposing teams are hitting just .219 against Ladines. Fellow junior Janel Hayes has proven capable of having a much bigger role on the pitching staff than in previous seasons and owns a 5-6Â record with a 2.94Â ERA. Hayes has 34Â strikeouts in 64.1Â innings and has thrown five complete games.
Scouting Central Michigan (13-12, 0-0 MAC)
• Central Michigan is on a three-game winning streak after sweeping Valparaiso on Tuesday and defeating Winthrop in the final game of the USF Under Armour Showcase on March 13.
• The Chippewas are 1-4 against common opponents. They split a pair of games with Florida Gulf Coast (1, 3-2; L, 1-2) and suffered losses to #11 Washington (0-23 in 5 innings), USF (2-3) and USC Upstate (0-1 in 8 innings).
• CMU earned an impressive 4-1 victory over #9 Arizona behind a stellar pitching performance from Rachael Knapp on February 20. Knapp fanned 12 batters and allowed one unearned run on four hits. Sara Hansen, Maison Kalina and Sydney Heath each collected two hits off the Wildcats' pitching staff.
• As a team Central Michigan has a 3.26 ERA while opponents are hitting .262.
• Rachael Knapp, an All-MAC Second Team selection last season, is the ace of the staff with a 7-5 record and a 2.26 ERA. Knapp ranks 11th in the country in strikeouts per 7 innings (10.1) and 12th in strikeouts (116) while walking only 27 batters in 80.2 innings.
• Hanna Warren has a 4-5 record and 3.96 ERA in the circle for CMU. Opposing batters are hitting .296 off Warren, who has thrown 53 innings. She has just 26 strikeouts and 24 walks on the season
• Reigning MAC Player of the Year Katelyn Rentschler leads the team with six home runs and 21 RBIs. Rentschler has a .342 batting average and is slugging .592.
• Lacy Tolfree sets the table for the lineup and is the team leader with a .370 batting average, 14 runs scored m .493 on-base percentage and 8 stolen bases.Â
Series History
• Central Michigan leads the all-time series 48-38.
• Last season, the teams split two regular season games played in Mount Pleasant. The Flashes won the first game 7-0, as Emma Johnson threw a one-hitter and Shelbi Tilton drove in three runs on 3-for-4 batting. The Chippewas took the second game, 4-0.
• The teams met in the second round of the MAC Tournament with CMU coming away with a 1-0 victory in the rubber match.
