Kent State University
LSU
Flashes Travel to Bayou State to Face #9 LSU and Southeastern Louisiana
2/25/2019 4:34:00 PM | Softball
Kent State (6-4) will make a quick turnaround after a five-game slate in Waco, Tx. this past weekend as it will take on #9 LSU in Baton Rouge at 7:00 p.m. EST/6:00 CST on Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday Feb. 27, at 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 CST in Hammond. Tuesday's game at LSU can be seen on SEC Network+.
Last Time Out
Over the weekend, the Flashes finished their second straight tournament with a 3-2 record after two wins over #21 Baylor and a win to start the weekend against North Texas. After they got the opening game win-6-0 behind a one hit shutout by Andrea Scali, the Flashes dropped to 1-1 on the weekend after losing to #10 Louisiana, 21-1. Then, after rattling off two wins on Saturday against the host school Baylor, the Flashes fell in the Baylor Invitational Championship to North Texas, 9-0.
Taking On Nationally Ranked Competition.
Kent State will battle its fourth ranked team of the year when it travels to #9 LSU on Tuesday. Over the weekend, KSU faced #10 Louisiana and #21 Baylor. The Golden Flashes won both games over the Lady Bears and won two games in one day against a top-25 team for the first time in program history. The last time the Flashes defeated two ranked teams in a season was 2015, when they defeated #3 Michigan and #15 UCF. Current Pitching Coach Emma Johnson secured both wins for the Flashes.
Superb Scali
Redshirt freshman Andrea Scali is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career, nabbing all six wins for the Flashes so far and giving up just two earned runs. In 34 innings pitched, Scali has given up just 11 hits, two earned runs and eight walks while striking out 53. She also has an impressive WHIP of 0.56 in those six appearances. Scali also has three complete game shutouts in her four starts and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against North Texas while striking out 12. Over the past weekend, Scali was 3-0 in two starts and one relief appearance with 18 innings pitched and only giving up eight hits and two earned runs. She was the first pitcher to shut out #21 Baylor this year and the first pitcher to two-hit the Lady Bears since #2 Oklahoma's All-American Paige Parker on March 29th of last year. Her 11 strikeouts are also the most against the Lady Bears since #2 Florida's All-American Kelly Barnhill last year on March 3rd.
Scali is fourth in the NCAA in shutouts (4), sixth in hits allowed per seven innings (2.26), 11th in strikeouts per seven innings (10.9) and 15th in ERA (0.41).
#FlashFacts
- Kent State was picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference and received a vote to win the MAC Tournament in the preseason coaches' poll.
- Kent State is first in the MAC is batting average (.295) and fielding percentage (.970). The Flashes also rank second in the MAC in doubles per game (1.60) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.48).
- Sophomores Maria Cegledy and Kaitlyn Miller were both named to the Baylor Invitational All-Tournament Team.
- Bailey Brownfield leads the club this season with five doubles. Last year her 13 two-baggers were tied for ninth most in a single-season in program history.
- The Flashes are on an 11-day cross-country trip that will feature seven games against nationally ranked opponents. Kent State will travel 4,478 miles in total with stops at Baylor, LSU, Southeastern Louisiana and Arizona and return home on March 3rd.
Scouting the Opposition
-vs. #9 LSU – The Golden Flashes and the Tigers have met three previous times with the Flashes going 1-2 in those meetings. Kent State last defeated LSU 2-1 in 1982. The Golden Flashes have nine wins against schools from the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are 13-3 on the season with notable wins over #20 Oklahoma State, #11 Texas and Michigan. Two of their three losses have come to ranked opponents and one of which was against top-ranked Florida State.
-vs. Southeastern Louisiana – This will be the first-ever matchup between Kent State and Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are 7-7 and are coming off an 8-0 win over Alcorn State on Sunday. SELA's Jaquelyn Ramon leads the country with 23 stolen bases. The Lions have a quick turnaround as well, having played two games Sunday and they'll play two games Monday before taking on the Golden Flashes Wednesday at 4:00 p.m./3:00 CST
Next up
After the two mid-week games, the Flashes will head to Tucson for the Arizona Wildcat Invitational. The Flashes will play Minnesota and Arizona on Friday, March 1 and then James Madison and Arizona on Saturday. They will close the invitational on Sunday with a match-up against Drake.
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