Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Softball Heads to NIU for Three-Game MAC Series
4/14/2022 2:45:00 PM | Softball
The Kent State softball team will start a stretch of six consecutive Mid-American Conference series to end the regular by traveling to Northern Illinois for three games this weekend. The Golden Flashes and Huskies are scheduled to play a single game at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, April 15 with a doubleheader to follow at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16.
Series Schedule
Friday, April 15
4 p.m. ET Game 1 (NIU All-Access)
Saturday, April 15
2 p.m. ET Game 2 (NIU All-Access)
4 p.m. ET Game 3 (NIU All-Access)
Last Time Out
Kent State (12-19, 3-8 MAC) split a doubleheader at Fordham on Saturday, winning the opener 6-1 and falling 2-0 in the second game. The Golden Flashes outhit the Rams 13-11, as starting pitchers Jessica LeBeau and Anilese Kelly kept the host off the scoreboard except for three solo home runs. The duo combined for 15 strikeouts and issued just four walks during the doubleheader.
Senior Brooklyn Whitt, sophomore Madison Hershberger and fifth-year Madyson Cole led the way with two hits apiece and combined to score three of Kent State's six runs in the first game. Whitt and Cole added singles in the second game to finish with three hits on the day. Freshman Savannah Wing delivered a double with two outs in the top of the seventh in the first game to bring in a pair of insurance runs.
Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies (10-19, 4-10 MAC) went 1-2 in series against Ball State and Central Michigan last week with three of those losses coming via run-rule. Northern Illinois is just 1-4 at Mary M. Bell Field and was outscored 45-6 over the first four games before a 13-9 win over Ball State on April 6.
Katie Keller leads the MAC with a .451 batting average and is the only player with 10 or more extra-base hits and stolen bases. Keller has a team-high 27 RBIs and ranks second in the conference in doubles (10) and on-base percentage (.539). Kara Apato is hitting .333 and is right behind with nine stolen bases. Sam Mallinder and Avery Carnahan are tied for second on the team with 14 RBIs each.
The NIU pitching staff ranks 11th in the MAC in earned run average (5.32) and 10th in opponent batting average (.296). Emily Dato (5-7) leads the staff in victories, ERA (3.83), strikeouts (41) and innings pitched (78.2). Claire Norred (3-7) has made a team-high 21 appearances in the circle and owns a 6.96 ERA.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will return to the Diamond at Dix for a three-game MAC series against Ohio on Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 20.
Follow the Flashes
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