Kent State University
Youngstown State
Softball Travels to YSU for Tuesday Twinbill
4/25/2017 10:05:00 AM | Softball
Live Stats (Game 1) Live Stats (Game 2) Audio
Kent State travels to Youngstown State on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch from YSU Softball Field is set for 3 p.m. and Jacob Pavilack will have the call on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio.
The Golden Flashes (19-24) will step out of Mid-American Conference play for the first time in nearly a month when they visited Alabama and Evansville on consecutive nights (March 28-29) as part of the Spring Break trip.
Last Time Out
Kent State won a road series over rival Akron, 2-1, to earn a crucial point in the Crystal Clininc Wagon Wheel Challenge standings. The Golden Flashes (19-24, 9-9 MAC) scored seven unanswered runs to win the opening game of the series on Friday, 7-3. After dropping Saturday's first game, 8-4, Kent State pounded out a season-high 11 hits and scored the most runs since opening weekend to take care of the Zips in five innings, 12-1.
The Flashes showed patience at the plate and drew more walks (20) than they had hits (19) to outscore Akron 23-12 for the series.
Senior Ronnie Ladines (11-13) was terrific in the circle and at the plate. Ladines allowed just one earned run in two complete game victories with 11 strikeouts and also batted .500 with three doubles and a team-high five RBIs while extending her hitting streak to six games.
Sophomore Bailey Brownfield also drove in five runs for the Flashes. Junior Emily Dobbin had four hits with a home run and scored four runs.
Senior Maddy Grimm scored a team-high seven runs and batted 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs to go with nine walks.
Scouting Youngstown State (23-24)
• Youngstown State has won six straight after back-to-back Horizon League series sweeps of Green Bay and Wright State and has outscored its opponents 44-11.
• The Penguins are 11-4 at YSU Softball Field, where they are averaging 1.5 more runs per game (4.7) than in road and neutral-site contests.
• YSU has at least 10 hits in each of the last five games with a .400 batting average (58-for-145).
• Overall, YSU scores 3.68 runs per game and has a .252 team batting average, which rank 226th and 237th in the country, respectively.
• INF Brittney Moffatt was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday after batting .429 (9-for-21) with three runs scored and nine RBIs over the team's six games.
• OF Hannah Lucas is batting .331 to lead the offense and also has team-highs of 28 runs scored, 44 hits and 14 stolen bases.
• C Maria Lacatena is the team's top power hitter with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and a .477 slugging percentage. Lacatena also has a team-high 23 walks.
• OF Sarah Dowd leads the Penguins with 26 RBIs and has hit six home runs.
• P Maddi Lusk (13-12) leads the Penguins in the circle with a 2.38 ERA, five shutouts, 124 strikeouts and 170.1 innings pitched.
Series History
• Kent State is 49-14 all-time vs. Youngstown State with a 25-6 record in trips to Youngstown.
• Last season, the teams each earned a one-run victory in a doubleheader at the Diamond at Dix. The Golden Flashes let a three-run slip away in a 7-6 defeat to start the day and then held on in the nightcap, 3-2.
• Michele Duffy, Ronnie Ladines and Maddy Grimm led the way with three hits apiece. Ladines hit a double and a home run with two RBIs and scored three runs, while Grimm had a double and reached three times via base on balls.
• Kent State has won the last four matchups at YSU Softball Field with sweeps in 2015 (3-1; 5-1) and 2006 (6-3; 12-6).
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State visits Buffalo for its final MAC road series with a single game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.
