Kent State University
Alabama
Softball Back in Action at Easton T-Town Showdown
3/4/2021 4:27:00 PM | Softball
The Kent State softball team returns to the diamond this weekend with five scheduled games at the Easton T-Town Showdown, hosted by No. 3/2 Alabama.
The Golden Flashes will play doubleheaders against the Crimson Tide and South Alabama on Friday and Saturday with first pitch slated for 5 p.m. both days. Kent State will then take on Northern Iowa on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 5
5:00 p.m. at #3/2 Alabama (SEC Network+)
7:30 p.m. at #3/2 Alabama (SEC Network+)
Saturday, March 6
5:00 p.m. vs. South Alabama
7:30 p.m. vs. South Alabama
Sunday, March 7
11:30 a.m. vs. Northern Iowa
About the Flashes
The Golden Flashes went 2-2 during its first weekend of competition at the Georgia Classic back on February 20-21 with wins over Longwood and losses to the 16th-ranked Bulldogs. Kent State gave Georgia a scare in the tournament finale, as freshman Jessica LeBeau opened the game throwing 5.2 scoreless innings in the 4-1 defeat.
LeBeau (1-1) was a bright spot for an unexperienced Flashes pitching staff that had to piece inning together after senior ace Andrea Scali left in the second inning of the opener. The Hartville, Ohio earned a complete game victory against Longwood on the first day and recorded her first save by tossing two scoreless innings against the Lancers the next day. LeBeau finished the weekend with 17 strikeouts and a 2.33 earned run average. Sophomore Morgan Bowers (1-1) made her collegiate debut in the circle and is second on the team in strikeouts (4) and innings pitched (5.2).
Senior Kennadie Goth recorded a hit in all four games and finished the first weekend with a team-high .455 batting average. Senior Brenna Brownfield hit Kent State's lone home run of the weekend and led the team with four RBIs and four runs scored. Sophomore Autumn Acord, redshirt senior Olivia Sborlini and senior Carlee Selle all drove in multiple runs.
Scouting the Opposition
#3/2 Alabama
The Crimson Tide (15-0) have a national-best eight shutouts after a 4-0 win over Mississippi State on Wednesday to remain undefeated. Montana Fouts (7-0) and Lexi Kilfoyl (6-0) have each thrown three shutouts to lead a pitching staff with an impressive 0.85 earned run average. Fouts owns a 1.21 ERA with 77 strikeouts over 40.1 innings, while Kilfoyl has allowed just one earned run in 38 innings for a miniscule 0.18 ERA and threw a no-hitter against North Carolina on February 27. Offensively, Alabama is scoring 6.2 runs per game. Kaylee Tow leads the way with a .450 batting average, three home runs and 16 RBIs. Alexis Mack (.417 BA) and Elissa Brown (.410 BA) are both hitting above .400 and have combined for 18 stolen bases.
South Alabama
Head coach Becky Clark earned career victory No. 600 on Sunday, as the Jaguars (7-5) downed Northwestern State by a score of 6-1 for the third straight win at their home tournament after losing to No. 17 Missouri, 7-5, on Friday. South Alabama does own a win against a ranked team this season, as it split a two-game series with No. 14 Georgia on opening day. Mackenzie Brasher is hitting a team-high .394 this season. Kamdyn Kvistad (.360 BA) has homered three times and Kennedy Cronan (.294 BA) leads the Jaguars with five doubles and nine RBIs. The pitching staff owns a 3.01 earned run average. Olivia Lackie (5-2) is eighth in the country with 58 strikeouts and has a 2.44 ERA. Allie Hughen (1-2) boasts a team-best 1.75 ERA.
Northern Iowa
The Panthers (5-5) split four games at the Samford Tournament last weekend, beating ULM twice and losing both contests against host Samford. Sammey Bunch, who was selected to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List in 2020, has a slash line of .429/.579/1.071 through the first 10 games of the season. Bunch has slugged six home runs and driven in 10 runs. Emmy Wells (.250 BA) has also swung a powerful batted and homered three times. Kailyn Packard (3-1) leads the pitching staff with a 1.77 earned run average and 27 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
Series History vs. Opponents
Kent State is 2-4 all-time against the tournament field and will play South Alabama for the first time.
Alabama won the only previous meeting, 5-3, on March 28, 2017. Maddy Grimm provided all the scoring for the Golden Flashes, beginning with a RBI single in the top of the first inning. The Crimson Tide struck for two runs in the bottom of the inning and added a run in the second. With two outs in the third, Grimm launched her 58th career homer off the videoboard in left field to tie the game. Mari Cranek broke the tie with a line drove over the right field wall to leadoff the bottom of the sixth.
Following two losses to Georgia earlier this season, Kent State is now 9-36 all-time vs. teams currently in the SEC.
Northern Iowa owns a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series and has outscored the Flashes 16-15 in those contests. Most recently, Kent State earned a 3-0 victory in a neutral site game played in Louisville, Kentucky on March 2, 2002.
The pitching staff owns a 3.01 earned run average. Olivia Lackie (5-2) is eighth in the country with 58 strikeouts and has a 2.44 ERA. Allie Hughen (1-2) boasts a team-best 1.75 ERA.
