Kent State University
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Western Michigan
MAC Slate Begins this Weekend Against Western Michigan
3/23/2018 11:14:00 AM | Softball
The defending Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion Kent State Golden Flashes (12-9, 0-0 MAC) begin their conference season this weekend at home against Western Michigan (13011, 0-0 MAC). Kent State begins its MAC season with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m. Game two of the doubleheader will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The series wraps up on Sunday, March 25 at 1 p.m. The first and third game of the series will air on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio.
Media Information
Live Stats      Golden Flashes iHeart Radio   Game Notes
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes took one game of a three-game series at Penn State last weekend. KSU took the first game, 6-5, before falling 6-5 and 11-10 in nine innings. Holly Speers paced the Kent State offense, going 6-for-8 on the weekend with two home runs, a double, three RBIs, five runs and five walks. Her 38 career home runs ranks second in school history and tied for seventh in Mid-American Conference history.
Bailey Brownfield had a big weekend at the dish, hitting 5-for-12 with two doubles, a triple, two runs scored and seven RBIs. The Thornville, Ohio native hit her first career triple in the second game against the Nittany Lions. Jade Williams also recorded her first career triple, which came in a pinch-hitting role in the third game that drove in two runs.
With Kent State's win over Penn State last weekend, the Flashes have eight wins over Big 10 teams since 2014.
Flashes in National Statistics Rankings
- Speers leads the country with a .579 batting average and is second in on base percentage (.667).
- She also ranks third in slugging percentage (1.053) and eighth in walks per game (0.85).
- Maria Cegledy is 11th in triples per game (0.17) and 22nd overall with three triples.
- As a team, Kent State is 15th with a .976 fielding percentage and 22nd with 0.33 triples per game.
#FlashFacts
- Kent State is 5-0 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Flashes allowed their first runs all season in the seventh inning against Penn State and are outscoring the opposition 18-4 in the frame.
- As a club the Flashes are batting .294 which ranks fifth in the MAC.
- Kent State has won five weekly awards this season. Holly Speers was named MAC East Player of the Week three times, Emily Dobbin once and Madi Huck MAC East Pitcher of the Week once.
- Speers began the season on a 14-game hitting streak.
- Kennadie Goth has been a great table setter for the Flashes, hitting .469 with 2 doubles and a triple.
- Kent State's roster features two sisters, Bailey and Brenna Brownfield. Last weekend against Penn State, sister drove in sister, as Brenna singled in Bailey in the third game of the series.
- Eric Oakley is in his third season at the helm of the program and has guided the program to a regular season and tournament championship.
Kent State Selected to win MAC East and MAC Tournament
The Golden Flashes were picked in the MAC's preseason coaches' poll to win the MAC East Division and MAC Tournament. Kent State was picked to win the MAC East Division in back-to-back seasons. KSU has won a MAC championship in three straight years with two regular season crowns in 2015 and 2016 and a tournament title a season ago.
Success in the MAC
Kent State has a 58-26 record in MAC play over the last four seasons with three championships. The Golden Flashes are also one of only two schools to win the tournament multiple times in the last decade. Under head coach Eric Oakley, Kent State has a 7-3 record in the MAC Tournament.
Series History / Scouting Western Michigan
The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series over the Broncos, 49-32. The first meeting Saturday will be the 82nd all-time meeting with Kent State winning nine of the last 10 games. Last season the teams met in the second game of the MAC Tournament, with KSU besting the Broncos, 9-3. The Flashes had a slim 4-3 lead after the sixth inning, but blew the game open with five runs in the seventh. The two have not met in a regular season series since 2015, when the MAC utilized a round robin scheduling format. Kent State won both games in 2015 and current pitching coach Emma Johnson threw a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory. Â
Western Michigan checks in with a 13-11 overall record and were picked to finish fourth in the MAC West Division in the preseason coaches' poll. The Broncos opened their season with a bang, upsetting #19 BYU, 2-1, in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. WMU lost its last game to Fort Wayne, 9-6, in a mid-week contest on March. 14. Before the setback WMU was riding an eight-game winning streak on its spring break trip at the USF Under Armour Tournament. Much like the Golden Flashes, WMU was supposed to play a mid-week game at Notre Dame, but was postponed due to weather.
Senior Aspen Williams, an All-MAC Second Team member last year, leads the Broncos at the plate with six home runs and 19 RBIs while batting .312. Sophomore Kaylen Glenfield leads WMU in batting average (.387) while sophomore Mackenzie Swinehart paces the club with 32 hits. Junior Jordan Kurth is the ace of the staff with a 3.52 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched. She struck out a season-high 10 batters in the upset win over #19 BYU.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes spring break trip to the nation's capital begins next week with a doubleheader against UMBC on Tuesday, March 27 and a single game against Georgetown on Wednesday, March 28. All three games will be carried on the Golden Flashes iHeart Radio Channel.
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