Kent State University
Albany
Flashes Head to Sunny Florida to Close Out February
2/23/2017 5:05:00 PM | Softball
EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational Webpage
The Kent State softball team hopes a change of scenery will lead to better results as it heads to sunny Florida for the EMU Madeira Beach Spring Invitational. The Golden Flashes are scheduled for five games at the Madeira Beach Recreation Center from Friday through Sunday.
Four of the Flashes' five opponents are celebrating their opening weekend in the Sunshine. Kent State (4-5) will play back-to-back contests on Friday against Army West Point at 11 a.m. and Albany at 1:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Flashes will take on Columbia at 1:30 p.m. and Stony Brook at 6:30 p.m. The weekend will conclude against Manhattan at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Rainy weather in the Palm Springs area wiped out an entire day of competition at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend and the Flashes went just 1-3. Kent State has won just one of its last five games, which has included a pair of one-run losses to Top 25 teams out of the Pac-12 Conference and being shutout twice.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 17
11:00 a.m. Army West Point – Live Stats
1:30 p.m. Albany – Live Stats
Saturday, February 18
1:30 p.m. Columbia – Live Stats
6:30 p.m. Stony Brook – Live Stats
Sunday, February 19
2:00 p.m. Manhattan – Live Stats
Last Time Out
Kent State defeated San Diego, 6-2, in its opening game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic before losing the final three games of the weekend. The Golden Flashes outplayed No. 7 Oregon (9-0) in many aspects of the game, including a 7-5 advantage in base hits, but a couple of costly mistakes allowed the Ducks to squeak by with a 4-3 victory. Kent State started Sunday by collecting only two hits and being shutout for the second time this season in a 4-0 loss to Saint Mary's. The Flashes got the bats going against No. 22 California with nine hits. Junior Holly Speers put Kent State ahead, 4-0, with a two-run blast in the third inning. junior Emily Dobbin brought in a run on a sacrifice bunt to go ahead 7-6 in the top of the sixth, but the Golden Bears answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth for a walk-off victory as the team had to catch its transportation back to attend classes the following morning.
All-Time vs. the Field
• Kent State is 6-0 all-time vs. this weekend's opponents.
• The Golden Flashes are 4-0 vs. Albany with three victories in 2008 and another in 2010 .
• KSU is 1-0 vs. Army West Point and Stony Brook. The Flashes defeated the Black Knights, 5-2, in 2013 and handed the Seawolves a 9-0 loss in 2008.
• This will be Kent State's first matchup on the softball diamond with both Columbia and Manhattan.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will take a week off from competition and return to action at the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky on March 10-12. The Flashes will play five games with matchups against No. 14 Michigan and host No. 22 Kentucky.
