Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Softball Visits NIU for Second MAC Series
3/28/2024 9:35:00 AM | Softball
The Kent State softball team will play its second Mid-American Conference series this weekend at Northern Illinois. A single game is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. ET and a doubleheader will be played Saturday with first pitched scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
About the Golden Flashes
Kent State (17-8, 3-0 MAC) have won 10 in a row and swept Ball State last weekend in Muncie for the first 3-0 start to conference play since 2016, which is also the last season the Golden Flashes won the regular season title.
The offense has shown much improvement early in the season, as Kent State is 22nd nationally with a 3.24 batting average while ranking second in the MAC in batting in scoring (5.56 runs per game) and slugging percentage (.478).
Junior Savannah Wing is having a breakout season and sits third in the country in doubles per game (0.48) and 23rd in RBIs per game (1.17). Wing leads the MAC with 11 double and ranks fifth with a .411 batting average and 27 RBIs, 18 of which have come during the current winning streak. Graduate student Alexandria Whitmore, an All-MAC Second Team performer in 2023, is fifth in the conference with 34 hits and leads the Flashes with 23 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Whitmore has a .471 batting average over the last 10 games.
Graduate student Julia Mazanec and sophomore Bri Despines both have a .354 batting average on 28 hits in 79 at-bats. Mazanec has a 10-game hitting streak, while Despines is third on the team with 16 RBIs.
Senior Emily Lippe has a career-best .325 batting average and leads Kent State with six home runs while ranking second with 17 RBIs. Lippe is tied for 10th all-time in school history with 90 RBIs and needs one hit for the 100th of her career.
Sophomore Macy Irelan (7-4) has been awarded MAC Pitcher of the Week each of the past two weeks, posting a 4-0 record, 0.55 ERA and 36 strikeouts combined in series against Manhattan and Ball State. Irelan is tied for the conference lead with two saves and has 82 strikeouts to rank third. Freshman Megan Nuechterlein (10-3) shares MAC lead with 10 wins in victories and has thrown at least six innings in each of her last three starts.
Scouting the Opposition
Since a 4-0 win over Central Michigan in the MAC opener, Northern Illinois (7-19, 1-5 MAC) has lost six in a row, including a 17-5 loss to DePaul in the home opener on Tuesday. The Huskies are aggressive on the bases and average 2.35 stolen bases per game, which ranks ninth nationally.
Caitlyn Shumaker leads a trio of players with double-digit stolen bases and is third in the conference with 12 SB while sharing for the lead with three triples. Ellis Erickson has been NIU's top hitter and is batting .398 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. Danielle Stewart (4-6) ranks in the top-five in the MAC in opponent batting average (.222) and ERA (2.60) and leads the pitching staff with 56 strikeouts in 6.20 innings.
Series History
Kent State is 31-36 all-time against Northern Illinois. The Golden Flashes dropped two of three games against the Huskies at BW Softball Field in Berea last season, losing the series for the first time since 2017. Two of three games had dramatic finishes the last time the teams played in DeKalb. Kent State won the opening game, 3-1, on a home run by Emily Lippe in the top of the ninth, and NIU rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 win in the second game. Kylie Ringler tossed a shutout in a 3-0 victory to win the rubber match.
On Deck
Kent State will host Ohio at Devine Diamond for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
Follow the Flashes
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on X, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
