Kent State University
Elon
Kent State Opens Season Thursday at Elon Softball Classic
2/7/2024 4:53:00 PM | Softball
Led by first-year head coach Jessica O'Donnell, Kent State begins the 2024 season this weekend at the Elon Softball Classic.
The Golden Flashes are scheduled to play five games in the first of three trips to the state of North Carolina this season. Kent State will open the weekend with a doubleheader against host Elon on Thursday at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed on FloSoftball. The Flashes will then play single contests against Evansville and App State on Saturday before finishing opening weekend with a 9:30 a.m. first pitch against Evansville on Sunday.
Weekend Schedule
Thursday, February 8
1 p.m. at Elon
3:30 p.m. at Elon
Friday, February 9
12 p.m. vs. Evansville
5 p.m. vs. App State
Saturday, February 10
9:30 a.m. vs. Evansville
About the Flashes
Kent State was picked eighth in the 2024 Mid-American Conference softball preseason coaches' poll, which was announced last week. The top six teams in the final standings will qualify for the MAC Tournament, which returns to Firestone Stadium in Akron for the first time since 2019.
The Golden Flashes' lineup returns all six players who collected at least 35 hits last season, led by the veteran trio of graduate student Alexandria Whitmore, graduate student Julia Mazanec and senior Emily Lippe. Whitmore earned All-MAC Second Team honors last season after leading the team with a .349 batting average against conference pitching. Mazanec is the most experienced member of the roster, appearing in 137 games and making 121 starts at the middle infield positions, and had a team-high 46 hits in 2023. Lippe ranked in the top-10 in the MAC in home runs (15), RBIs (37) and slugging percentage (.645) last season and enters her final campaign needing just seven homers to move into the top-5 in Kent State history.
Sophomore Bri Despines led the Flashes with a .309 overall batting average, .430 on-base percentage, 31 runs scored and nine doubles to earn a MAC All-Freshman Team selection last season. Junior Delaney Robeson had a breakout season at the plate and finished with nine home runs and 30 RBIs. Junior Savannah Wing totaled a career-high 35 hits and is the only Flash with at least 30 hits in each of the past two seasons.
Sophomore Macy Irelan is the only pitcher on the roster with collegiate experience. Irelan posted a 12-12 record and led the staff with 101 strikeouts in 2023. Freshmen Ella Esterby and Megan Nuechterlein will also see action in the circle this season.
Scouting the Opposition
Elon
The Phoenix went 22-26 in 2023 and were picked sixth in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) preseason poll, with Carley Davis and Kaitlyn Wells being selected to the CAA Preseason Watch List. Davis hit .301 and was tied for third in the conference with 13 doubles last year. Wells was second on the team with 27 RBIs.
Elon lost just 21.0 innings from last season in the circle when the pitching staff posted a 4.22 ERA and four shutouts. McKenna McCard (9-4) ranked third in the CAA in opponent batting average (.209) and fifth in ERA (2.36).
Evansville
The Purple Aces were picked ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll after posting a 22-32 record and ranking 281st out of 295 NCAA Division teams in batting average (.223) last season. Jess Willsey led Evansville with 44 hits and a .277 batting average, while Alexa Davis was the team leader with seven home runs and 24 RBIs.
Evansville's top three pitchers return in the circle. Megan Brenton (5-6) led the MVC with six saves and ranked sixth with a 2.23 ERA while recording a team-best 73 strikeouts.
App State
The Mountaineers went 23-28 last year and were picked last in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll. Two-time All-SBC selection Kayt Houston leads the way and is coming off a season in which she posted a .383/.464/.545 slash line. Taylor Thorp led the way with 27 RBIs in 2023.
App State lost just 23.2 innings from last season in the circle when the pitching staff posted a 3.54 ERA and five shutouts. The trio of Sejal Neas, Delani Buckner and Kaylie Northrop all return after recording ERAs below 3.50 a year ago.
Series History vs. Opponents
Kent State is 7-1 all-time against this weekend's competition.
The Golden Flashes are 2-1 against host Elon, winning the first matchup, 7-0, at a neutral site on March 17, 2001. The teams then split a pair of games played at Elon on Feb. 12-13-, 2011.
Kent State has gone 5-0 against Evansville with a combined score of 44-8. Most recently, the Flashes earned a 6-3 victory on March 10, 2018 on a neutral field.
The Flashes will play App State for the first time in program history.
On Deck for the Flashes
Kent State will take a week off and return to action at the UNCW Tournament on Feb. 23-25.
Follow the Flashes
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on X, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
