Kent State University
Iowa State
Softball Heads to Mizzou Tournament for Final Non-Conference Weekend
3/11/2021 1:46:00 PM | Softball
On the final weekend before the start of Mid-American Conference season, the Kent State softball team will play five games as part of the Mizzou Tournament being held at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
The Golden Flashes (3-6) will play back-to-back games on Friday, starting at 11 a.m. against Iowa State and then No. 17/18 Missouri at 1:30 p.m. On Saturday, Kent State will play Drake at 11 a.m. and return right back to the diamond for a 1:30 p.m. contest against Iowa State. The Flashes will end the weekend with a rematch against Drake at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 12
11:00 a.m. vs. Iowa State
1:30 p.m. at #17/18 Missouri
Saturday, March 13
11:00 a.m. vs. Drake
1:30 p.m. vs. Iowa State
Sunday, March 14
11:00 a.m. vs. Drake
Last Time Out
Kent State went 1-4 at the Easton T-Town Showdown last weekend. The Flashes started with two run-rule losses in six innings to No. 3/2 Alabama on Friday, then split a doubleheader with South Alabama on Saturday and closed with a 5-4 loss to Northern Iowa on Sunday.
Brooklyn Whitt earned a spot on the all-tournament team after posting a slash line of .357/.400/.571. Whitt scored two runs and had two RBIs. She hit her first career triple in the second game against the Crimson Tide. Kennadie Goth led Kent State with a .400 batting average and three runs scored. Goth extended her hitting streak to eight games, but was unable to collect a hit in the finale.
Jessica LeBeau finished the weekend with a 1-2 record and had 28 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. LeBeau struck out 15 and recorded her first shutout in the Flashes' 2-0 win over South Alabama on Saturday.
Scouting the Opposition
Iowa State
The Cyclones (16-4) fell out of the national rankings after 3-1 losses to Missouri State and Wichita State in their final two games at the UT Arlington Boerner Invitational. Iowa State averages 6.65 runs per game and has hit 35 doubles, which is the fifth-most in the country this season. Sami Williams is the catalyst of the offensive out of the two-hole, batting .492 with a hit in 19 of 20 games. Williams ranks second in the country in hits (32), is tied for third in home runs (10), is eighth in slugging percentage (1.077) and is tied for ninth in RBIs (26). Mikayla Ramos has a team-high eight doubles and is batting .354 with 18 RBIs. The Cyclones' pitching owns a 3.75 earned run average and has thrown two shutouts. Karlie Charles leads the way with a 7-2 record and 2.52 ERA, while Ellie Spelhaug is 5-0 and has a 2.72 ERA.
#17/18 Missouri
The Tigers enter their first home games of the season at 15-4 following a 3-2 weekend at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament in which they lost twice to No. 1 Oklahoma. Missouri scored the fourth-most runs in the country this season in a 20-0 victory against ULM. The Tigers have hitters throughout the lineup and own top-20 national rankings in runs per game (7.63), batting average (.362), slugging percentage (.644), doubles (39) and home runs (33). Alex Hannold has a team-high .419 batting average and is one of four Tigers batting better than .400 this season. Cayla Kessinger has 20 RBIs to lead five players who have driven in at least 15 runs and has homered six times. Kimberly Wert has a team-hih seven home runs and Hatti Moore has hit six long balls. The pitching staff has a 2.75 earned run average with six shutouts. Megan Schumacher is 4-1 with a 1.38 ERA, while Jordan Weber is 5-1 with a 2.77 EA.
Drake
The Bulldogs enter at 3-10 but showed much improvement at last weekend's Wooo Pig Classic. Drake scored a season-high 12 runs in its lone victory against Northwestern State and held late leads in both games of a doubleheader against No. 20 Arkansas. The host Razorbacks hit a walk-off grand slam in the first game and then needed to score five in the bottom of the sixth inning to complete the sweep. Macy Johnson leads the Bulldogs with a .521 batting average, 14 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. After missing the first six games, Libby Ryan has provided a boost to the offense the past two weekends, and is hitting .474 with five RBIs. Addie Lightner is a .310 hitter with a team-best 11 RBIs. The Bulldogs' pitching staff has a 5.02 earned run average. Emma Richards (1-3) leads the team in innings pitched (33.0) and strikeouts (26) with a 5.09 ERA.
