Kent State University
Dayton
Kent State Opens 2017 Softball Season at Mercer Invite
2/9/2017 11:27:00 PM | Softball
Kent State begins heads south on the opening weekend of the 2017 softball season for five games at the Mercer Invitational. The Golden Flashes will take on in-state opponent Dayton at 12:15 p.m. on Friday before taking on host Mercer at 2:30 p.m. Saturday begins with an 11:45 a.m. contest against Portland State. Kent State will play Murray State at 6:30 p.m. with a rematch against the Racers Sunday at 1:15 p.m.
Voted the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East Division by the league's 12 head coaches, the Flashes will try to win their third straight conference regular season championship, which only one school has accomplished in MAC history. All-MAC honorees Maddy Grimm, Ronnie Ladines and Holly Speers lead a core of 14 letterwinners return from last season's team that won 37 games. Kent State also welcomes nine newcomers that includes North Dakota transfer Shelby Hard and freshman Madi Huck, the 2016 Ohio Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, February 10
12:15 p.m.   Dayton  –  Live Stats
2:30 p.m.     Mercer –  Live Stats
Saturday, February 11
11:45 a.m.   Portland State –  Live Stats
6:30 p.m.     Murray State –  Live Stats
Sunday, February 12
1:15 p.m.     Murray State –  Live Stats
Coaching Staff
Head coach Eric Oakley has helped Kent State to its winningest two-year span in program history during his two seasons with the program. As pitching coach in 2015, Oakley's staff had the nation's third-lowest ERA and the Flashes earned 41 victories, the third-most in school history. Last season, Oakley was named MAC Coach of the Year and led Kent State to 37 victories, the fourth-most in program history.
"When I had the opportunity to come to Kent State, I jumped on it because the standard is so high," Oakley said. "You are expected to win the conference every year, and we need to continue that tradition. I couldn't have been more proud of the way our players reacted to some adversity and won the conference when not many people expected much from our team last season. I think that helps us going into this season. Being selected to win the East is a compliment, but we realize that there is still a lot of hard work involved in accomplishing that."
Emlyn Knerem and Meaggan Pettipiece joined Oakley's coaching staff in July. Knerem, a Northeast Ohio native and All-American at Ashland University, is responsible for mentoring the team's pitchers and catchers. She spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan and helped the Bobcats to a 92-19 (.829) record and back-to-back NCAA Division II Super Regional appearances.
Pettipiece, a member of the Canadian National Team that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, works with outfielders, base running and slap hitters. She joins the Flashes after a 10-year tenure as the head coach at Northwood University.
