Kent State University
Buffalo
Flashes to Face Bulls This Weekend
4/19/2018 11:55:00 AM | Softball
Kent State (20-19, 6-8 MAC) continues Mid-American Conference play as it hosts Buffalo (15-23, 6-8 MAC) in a three-game series this weekend at the Diamond at Dix. begins Friday, April 20 at 3 p.m. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m. with the second game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. All three games will be streamed live on Golden Flashes TV.
Media Information
Live Stats
Video Stream: (Friday) (Saturday)
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes fell to Pitt in a non-conference game on Wednesday, 6-4. Pitt jumped out to a 6-0 lead, until Holly Speers belted a pinch hit grand slam in the sixth. Kent State's comeback attempt came up short, but pinch hitter Allie Luther nearly tied it on a deep fly ball to the warning track that was caught for the final out.
Kent State received a pinch hit single from Bailey Brownfield and Hunter Brancifort highlighted the offense by reaching base three times with a double, a walk and a hit by pitch. Jade Williams made her first career appearance catching and threw out a Panther attempting to steal second base.
Last MAC Series
The Golden Flashes went 1-2 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 swinging a hot bat, hitting .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 (.299) 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), and is third in on base percentage (.639), sixth in slugging percentage (.948) and ninth in batting average (.474).
- 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 .474 and .423 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.
- Maria Cegledy leads the Golden Flashes with a .417 batting average in conference games. She is second on the team with nine conference RBIs.
- Bailey Brownfield is batting .458 (27-for-59) since conference games started and leads the team during that stretch with 18 RBIs. The Thornville, Ohio native is hitting .455 (15-for-33) with 10 RBIs during the month of April.
- 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.
- KSU has clubbed two grand slam home runs this season. Hunter Brancifort hit a grand slam in the first weekend of the season against Rider to tie the game in the seventh.
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 Buffalo
Kent State leads the all-time series against the Bulls 30-8 and has won the last eight games in the series. Last season, the Golden Flashes won three games in Buffalo and outscored the Bulls, 22-1. Ronnie Ladines threw a perfect game in the series finale, a 10-0 Kent State victory.
This season, the Bulls are a much-improved squad and have almost doubled their conference win total from last season. The Bulls are coming off a doubleheader split against Canisius, winning the first game, 8-0, and falling in game two, 15-5. Buffalo swept Akron and Eastern Michigan for their six MAC wins. In UB's last conference series, they dropped two games to Bowling Green in a shortened weekend due to weather.
Jessica Goldyn paces the Bulls with a .404 batting average and is tied with Jenelle Martinez for the team lead with 40 hits. Martinez leads the team with 32 RBIs and has also clubbed five home runs. Ally Power is the team's ace and has a 3.96 ERA in 129 innings pitched. She has walked 46 while striking out 102 and is holding opponents to a .284 batting average. Mike Roberts is in his first year as UB's head coach.
Up Next
Kent State travels to St. Francis (Pa.) for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 24 at 1 p.m.
