Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Senior Day Highlights Home Series vs. NIU
4/18/2025 1:29:00 PM | Softball
The Kent State softball team closes its five-games homestand at Devine Diamond with a three-game series against Northern Illinois. Due to weather forecasts, the teams will play a single game on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and a doubleheader on Sunday. The Golden Flashes will recognition this year's senior class prior to first pitch on Sunday.
About the Flashes
Kent State split a doubleheader with Buffalo on Wednesday at Devine Diamond, winning the first game by a score of 11-4 and then falling by a score of 7-4. Junior Brynn Libler was one of four Golden Flashes who homered and went 6-for-8 at the plate while scoring four runs. Redshirt sophomore Kendal Leitner totaled four hits, including two doubles and a home run, while recording four RBIs. Senior Delaney Nagy tossed nine innings over the two games and allowed just three earned runs.
Leitner ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference with a .400 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .460, which ranks ninth. Libler and senior Delaney Robeson are both hitting .341 on the season. Libler has a nine-game hitting streak and is tied for the conference lead with three triples. Robeson leads the Flashes with four home runs and 30 RBIs.
Freshman Ella Johnson ranks fifth in the country with 35 appearances and has a team-high 50 strikeouts.
Scouting the Opposition
Northern Illinois (15-22, 9-8 MAC) has won three in a row and gone 8-2 in its last 10 games. The Huskies are scoring 5.30 runs per game during this stretch, which is more than a full run more than their season average (3.75).
Jenna Turner is one of only four MAC batters with at least 50 hits this season and leads the Huskies with a .397 batting average. Turner is hitting .492 against conference pitchers and set the NIU single-game record with five runs scored in the series finale at Buffalo on Saturday. Madison Matthews is a .381 hitter and leads the team with five home runs and 29 RBIs. Lily Cassell (7-7) leads the pitching staff with a 4.51 ERA, 43 strikeouts and seven complete games.
Series History
Kent State is 32-38 all-time against Northern Illinois. The Golden Flashes dropped two of three games last season in DeKalb and have lost four of the last five in the series overall. This will be the first time the teams meet in Kent since 2017 when the Huskies took two of three games.
On Deck
Kent State will travel to Youngstown State for a single game on Tuesday, April 22 for the final non-conference game of the season.
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