Kent State University
Georgia
Flashes Begin Softball Season at Georgia Classic
2/19/2021 2:46:00 PM | Softball
Kent State heads to Georgia for the first of three early-season tournaments at Southeastern Conference schools and is scheduled to play four games at the Georgia Classic.
The Golden Flashes will take on 16th-ranked at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday and then Longwood at 5:30 p.m. Kent State will play both teams again on Sunday, beginning with the Lancers at 10:45 a.m. and the host Bulldogs at 2 p.m.
Weekend Schedule
Saturday, February 20
2:15 p.m. at #16 Georgia (SEC Network+)
5:30 p.m. vs. Longwood
Sunday, February 21
10:45 a.m. vs. Longwood
2 p.m. at #16 Georgia
About the Flashes
Kent State received seven first-place votes and was picked as the favorite in the 2021 Mid-American Conference softball preseason coaches poll that was announced on Monday afternoon. The Golden Flashes totaled 106 points in the poll. Miami (94 points) and Ball State (88) were picked to finish second and third, respectively, and received the remaining first-place votes.
Kent State's lineup is headlined by 2019 MAC Player of the Year Brenna Brownfield and 2019 MAC Pitcher of the Year Andrea Scali. Brownfield was having another standout campaign prior to the remainder of the 2020 season being canceled. The senior batted .429 with seven doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs in 19 games. Two of her homers came against ranked teams (Georgia and Florida State). Scali posted a 4-6 record and 76 strikeouts over 54.1 innings in the circle. She had a 2.57 earned run average against unranked opponents.
Head coach Eric Oakley returns seven field position starters from last year's team that finished the shortened season at 9-10. Senior Kaitlyn Miller and junior Sabrina Kerschner both hit better than .340 and provide Kent State with one of the top middle infield duos in the conference. Outfielder Kennadie Goth enters her senior year as a .364 career hitter, which is the second-best in program history. Redshirt senior Olivia Sborlini, senior Carlee Selle and junior Megan Turner all started at least 11 games last season
Scouting the Opposition
No. 16 Georgia
The Bulldogs went 2-1 over opening weekend at the Black and Red Showcase, splitting games against South Alabama and defeating Virginia. Sydney Chambley earned co-SEC Freshman of the Week honors after batting 5-fo-6 and driving in a team-high six runs. All five of her hits went for extra bases and she leads the nation with three triples. Sydney Kuma and Lacey Fincher collected four RBIs apiece. Ace Mary Wilson Avant (2-0) won both of her starts and totaled 23 strikeouts in 13 innings with a 2.68 earned run average.
Longwood
The Lancers went 10-11 in 2020 and will begin the season after a series at NC State scheduled for opening weekend was canceled. Picked to finish third in the Big South preseason coaches poll, Longwood was named as the nation's 44th-best program by D1Softball after playing in the NCAA Tournament five times during the 2010s. Every starter from last year is back for the Lancers, including five who have been all-conference performers. Ace Sydney Backstrom, a First Team All-Big South selection in 2019, posted an 8-6 record with a 2.52 ERA and 66 strikeouts last season. Sydney Jacobsen led the Lancers in batting average (.315), on-base percentage (.367) and slugging percentage (.593), while Destiny Martinez has started 146 games during her career and stolen 52 bases.
Series History vs. Opponents
Kent State is 1-7 all-time against the tournament field.
Georgia has won all seven games with the Flashes. Five of these games have been decided by three runs or fewer. In the second game on opening day last season, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs plated eight runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 10-1 win in five innings. Brenna Brownfield homered in the top of the first inning, but Kent State managed just two hits over the final four innings.
Kent State and Longwood split its only two previous meetings at the Coastal Carolina Invitational in 2010. The Lancers took the first game, 1-0, and the Flashes came back and earned a 5-4 victory the following day.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will take a week off before traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for five games in the Easton T-Town Showdown March 5-7. The tournament field will include host Alabama, South Alabama, and UNI.
