Kent State University
Monmouth
Four Mid-Week Games on Tap in the Northeast Corridor
3/25/2019 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Kent State (9-16) will step outside of Mid-American Conference action for four midweek games against Monmouth (13-8) and Lehigh (9-14) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Golden Flashes will play the Hawks on Tuesday, March 26 with the doubleheader set for 2 p.m. and the Mountain Hawks on Wednesday, March 27 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Both games at Monmouth can be viewed on ESPN3 with all four games airing on the Golden Flashes iHeart Radio Channel.
Last Time Out
The Golden Flashes took the opening series from Toledo in Glass City winning two of the three games. KSU came out on Friday with a 6-1 victory and won game one of the doubleheader on Saturday 8-6 before falling in the nightcap, 5-2.
Brenna Brownfield excelled from the designated hitter spot of the lineup and went 5-for-6 in the series with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs. She teamed up with her sister Bailey Brownfield and both hit home runs in KSU 8-6 win. Slap-hitter Kennadie Goth was 6-for-11 on the weekend with a triple and an RBI and Hunter Brancifort capped hit a home run.
Madi Huck earned her first victory inside the circle of the season in the middle game of the set to aide Kent State to the series triumph. Andrea Scali appeared in all three games of the series and earned her first collegiate save. She struck out 20 Rockets over 14 innings of work and limited Toledo to a .208 batting average.
About Kent State
Sophomore Kennadie Goth leads the team with a .385 batting average, has registered 20 hits and saw her batting average jump 40 points this weekend. Senior Bailey Brownfield paces the squad with 22 hits and seven doubles. Senior Hunter Brancifort has driven in 12 runs so far and hit four home runs, the last one a solo shot against Toledo.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Andrea Scali has shined early this season. She has held the opposition to a batting average of .216 and is 12th in the country in strikeouts per seven innings (10.3). She has already claimed two MAC Pitcher of the Week Awards and was honored with the USA Softball National Collegiate Co-Player of the Week for her pair of victories over #21 Baylor.
#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.
- Bailey Brownfield leads the club this season with seven doubles. Last year her 13 two-baggers were tied for ninth-most in a single-season in program history. She currently has racked up 34 career doubles which is ninth most in a career in school history.
- Brancifort has been hit by a pitch 33 times in a career which is the most in school history.
- Fourth-year head coach Eric Oakley became the fastest Kent State head coach to earn their 100th victory at KSU, as Oakley accomplished the feat in 173 games with a 7-1 season-opening win over LIU Brooklyn. During his three complete seasons as the skipper, the Golden Flashes have finished each season with a .540 or better winning percentage and have won nine postseason games.
- Prior to the start of conference play, Kent State played the sixth toughest schedule in the nation.
- Oakley moved to 9-3 in MAC opening series last weekend at Toledo.
- This season, Kent State returned All-MAC First Team selection Bailey Brownfield as well as All-MAC Second Team members Maria Cegledy, Kennadie Goth, Madi Huck and Brenna Brownfield.
- Hunter Brancifort was 6-for-14 with two doubles, two homers, two RBIs, four hit by pitches and four runs scored last week. She also scored a career-high four runs against the Penguins on Wednesday.
- Maria Cegledy hit .500 (7-for-14) this past week with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored.
- Carlee Selle has recorded an RBI in her last three games and totaled five in the series at UT.
Series History
Kent State has only played Monmouth once and it was back in 1996 and won the game at a neutral site in Greenville, N.C. 7-2. The Golden Flashes are 2-0 all-time against Lehigh with a 9-2 victory in 2012 and an 8-6 victory last season. Last season Kent State scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning with an Allie Luther double and Carlee Selle scored the insurance run on an RBI single.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes host their home-opener later this week on Friday, March 29 at 3 p.m. against Ball State. The second MAC series of the season concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 30 beginning at 1 p.m.
Follow the Flashes
Be sure to follow the Flashes on Twitter and Instagram for news and in-game updates about the squad.
