Kent State University
Oregon
Softball Prepares for West Coast Trip
2/16/2017 4:00:00 PM | Softball
Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Webpage
Kent State enters the first of three non-conference weekends in which it is scheduled to play at least three contests vs. Power 5 opponents at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Big League Dreams in Cathedral City, California. Perennial power Oregon, California and Arkansas combined to go 14-1 and outscore their opponents 108-30 on opening weekend.
The Golden Flashes (3-2) will take on San Diego in the weekend opener Friday at 1 p.m. ET before taking on No. 7 Oregon at 6 p.m. ET. The Flashes will play back-to-back on Saturday, beginning with Saint Mary's at 1 2:30 p.m. ET and then No. 22 California at 3 p.m. ET. An improved Arkansas squad will await the Flashes in the tournament finale on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
Every game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic will be available live and via replay exclusively on FloSoftball.com via FloPRO subscription, which offers unfettered access to live and archived footage of top club and college softball events, original documentaries on stars of the sport, a library of technique videos and more. For more information, visit FloSoftball.com.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 17
1:00 p.m. ET Â Â Â San Diego Â
6:00 p.m. ET    #7 Oregon –  Live Stats  Video
Saturday, February 18
12:30 p.m. ET   Saint Mary's –  Video
3:00 p.m. ET    #22 California –  Live Stats  Video
Sunday, February 19
12:00 p.m. ET   Arkansas –  Video
Last Time Out
Kent State went 3-2 on opening weekend at the Mercer Invitational. After losing to Dayton, 3-2, in eight innings, the Golden Flashes defeated Mercer (9-1), Portland State (9-1) and Murray State (14-5) via the eight-run rule. Murray State avenged the loss by beating the Flashes in five innings, 10-0, in the tournament finale on Sunday.
The offense got off to a hot start to help Kent State outscore its opponents, 34-20. The Flashes batted .325 and had a .441 on-base percentage over the five games. Six players recorded multi-hit games, led by a pair of them by junior Holly Speers.
Speers led the team with a .500 batting average with two home runs drove in seven runs. She collected six hits and is on a four-game hitting streak. Speers also drew five walks and reached base safely in every game. Senior Maddy Grimm is tied for the national lead with 13 RBIs. Grimm hit two three-run homers and added a double for a career-high seven RBIs in the victory over Murray State. After junior Emily Dobbin had the best hitting performance of her collegiate career with three hits and three RBIs vs. Portland State Friday afternoon, she displayed patience at the plate and drew three walks in both of the Flashes' games on Saturday. Dobbin scored a team-high six runs. Sophomore Bailey Brownfield hit safely in all five games and shares the team lead with six hits. Junior Vanessa Scoarste batted .400 with a hit in four of the five games.
All-Time vs. Weekend Field
• Kent State is 3-9 all-time vs. this weekend's opponents.
• The Golden Flashes are 0-1 vs. San Diego with a 3-2 loss in 2015.
• KSU is 1-5 vs. Oregon with the lone victory coming in the first meeting, 3-0, en route to the 1990 WCWS. Most recently, the Ducks squeaked out a 1-0 victory in 2007.
• The Flashes defeated Saint Mary's, 3-1 and 9-0, in their only matchups in Honolulu at the same tournament they played Oregon in 2007.
• KSU is 0-3 vs. California with a 3-2 loss in the most recent meeting in 2006.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State travels to Madeira Beach, Florida for five games at the Eastern Michigan Spring Spartan Invitational February 24-26.
