Kent State University
9-21, 4-4
Northern Illinois
15-17, 6-6
Golden Flashes Beat Huskies in Series Opener, 9-4
4/7/2023 8:13:00 PM | Softball
BEREA, Ohio – Kent State scored the final six runs to earn a Mid-American Conference softball victory over Northern Illinois, 9-4, at BW Softball Field on Friday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (9-21, 4-4 MAC) went 9-for-25 at the plate as a team for a season-best .360 batting average and also earned seven walks to match the most in a game this season. Sophomore Delaney Robeson, freshman Reagan Schultz and redshirt senior Alexandria Whitmore had two hits apiece. Robeson had two extra-base hits and scored a pair of runs.
A walk, stolen base and double gave NIU a 1-0 lead just three batters into the game. Redshirt senior Anilese Kelly then settled in and retired the next eight Huskies who stepped into the batter's box.
Kent State took the lead, 3-1, in the bottom of the third inning on back-to-back home runs by junior Emily Lippe and Robeson. Lippe's team-leading eighth home run of the season brought home Whitmore, who started the frame with a single.
NIU plated three runs of its own in the top of the fourth for a 4-3 lead.
The first four Flashes who stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth reached base, including three via walk, to tie it at 4-4. Schultz then sliced a liner inside the right field line to score a pair, and junior Jade Ramer followed with a single up the middle to make it 7-4.
A walk and two NIU errors helped the Flashes add two more runs in the sixth. Senior Morgan Bowers collected a RBI on a single up the middle in her first plate appearance of the season.
Kelly (3-8) finished with four strikeouts while recording her team-best sixth complete game of the season.
Kent State and Northern Illinois will conclude the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch of the doubleheader at BW Softball Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kelly, Anilese (3-8)
L: CASSELL, Lily (3-7)
Batting:
2B: WALINSKI, Kelly 1 ; STEWART, Danielle 1 ; CRUTHERS, Cara 1
HR: WALINSKI, Kelly 1
RBI: WALINSKI, Kelly 2 ; CONNER, Kylie 1 ; CRUTHERS, Cara 1
SH: MALLINDER, Sam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JAMES, Courtney 1 ; WALINSKI, Kelly 1 ; STEWART, Danielle 1 ; CONNER, Kylie 1
SB: JAMES, Courtney 1
CS: WALINSKI, Kelly 1
Batting:
2B: Robeson, Delaney 1 ; Schultz, Reagan 1
HR: Lippe, Emily 1 ; Robeson, Delaney 1
RBI: Lippe, Emily 2 ; Robeson, Delaney 1 ; Bowers, Morgan 1 ; Wing, Savannah 1 ; Schultz, Reagan 2 ; Ramer, Jade 1
SH: Whitmore, Alexandria 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitmore, Alexandria 1 ; Despines, Bri 1 ; Lippe, Emily 1 ; Shammo, Sydney 1 ; Crittendon, Jada 1 ; Robeson, Delaney 2 ; Hershberger, Madison 1 ; Schultz, Reagan 1
CS: Mazanec, Julia 1
HBP: Hershberger, Madison 1 ; Wing, Savannah 1
