Kent State University
Pitt
Midweek Battle vs. Pitt Set for Wednesday
4/17/2018 1:40:00 PM | Softball
Kent State (20-18, 6-8 MAC) hosts Pittsburgh (22-16-1, 11-6 ACC) in a Wednesday afternoon tilt from the Diamond at Dix on Wednesday, April 18 at 4 p.m. This is the first game of the scheduled series against the Panthers, with the series concluding in early May in the Steel City. Wednesday's game can be heard of the Golden Flashes iHeart Channel.
Media Information
Live Stats
Golden Flashes iHeart Radio
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes won one of three games last weekend at Miami in a tight series with three one-run contests. Kent State took game one, 4-3, before falling 6-5 in 11 innings, and 3-2 in the finale. The 11-inning marathon in game two was Kent State's longest game since defeating Eastern Michigan, 2-1, in 2015. It was the first MAC series Kent State has played where every game was decided by one run, since 2016.
Bailey Brownfield continued her hot hitting, batting .455 (5-for-11) with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Emily Dobbin also had a successful series, hitting .333 (4-for-12) with two doubles. Pitcher Madi Huck tossed 18.1 innings with an ERA of 2.67. She pitched in all three games with 5.2 innings out of the pen in the 11-inning marathon and was the tough luck loser, only allowing one run.
#FlashFacts
- Kent State leads the MAC in batting average (.303) and ranks 33rd in the country.
- The Golden Flashes are one of the best fielding teams in the nation and are ranked 20th with a .974 fielding percentage.
- Holly Speers leads the nation in walks per game (1.22), third in on base percentage (.636), sixth in slugging percentage (.917) and ninth in batting average (.469).
- Speers has 45 walks this season, which is six away from tying the single-season school record of 51 which Maddy Grimm set last season.
- Speers and Kennadie Goth are the top two hitters in the Mid-American Conference with a .469 and .427 batting average respectively.
- Kent State has won six weekly awards this season. Holly Speers was named MAC East Player of the Week three times, Emily Dobbin and Bailey Brownfield once and Madi Huck MAC East Pitcher of the Week once.
- Kent State has four walk-off wins this season. KSU came back from trailing by five entering the sixth against Western Michigan and came back to beat Toledo. Both were the first game of the series. The Flashes are 15-8 when scoring first and are 2-2 in extra innings.
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 62-33 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 Pitt
The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series against the Panthers, 14-11. Pitt won last year's meeting on the road, 7-0, and have won the last four in the series.
The Panthers are in the midst of their most successful season since joining the ACC with an 11-6 league record. Pitt has won five ACC series and most recently took two of three games at home against Georgia Tech. The Panthers biggest win of the season occurred on April 6, when they upset #9 Florida State, 1-0, on the road in eight innings. It snapped the Seminoles' 36-game conference winning streak.
Giorgiana Zeremenko leads the offense with a .347 batting average and an ACC leading 13 home runs. Gabrielle Fredericks is second on the team with 23 RBIs despite a .202 batting average. Kayla Harris has the lowest ERA on the staff (2.31) in 91 innings pitched. She threw the complete game shutout against Florida State.
Up Next
Kent State hosts Buffalo for a three-game conference series this weekend at the Diamond at Dix beginning with a single game on Friday, April 20 at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21 features a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. with the second game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of the second game.
