Ohio will have to rebound from its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season Tuesday, when it faces off against Kent State.
The Bobcats (24-7) enter with a 5-1 record in the MAC after taking two out of three from Western Michigan over the weekend, while Kent State (13-18) is 3-3 in the MAC.
The mid-week doubleheader will pit the two teams that were the preseason favorites to finish first and second in the MAC East division against each other.
The Golden Flashes' struggles this season center around offense. Kent State only has four players that are hitting higher than .280, and the team as a whole is hitting .217.
The most dangerous player in the Kent State lineup is Maddy Grimm. She is hitting .318 and leading the team with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs.
Looking to slow down Grimm and keep Kent’s offensive struggles going is the talented Ohio pitching staff. The Bobcats' staff has a 2.31 ERA for the season and is led by Savannah Jo Dorsey and Danielle Stiene.
Dorsey is coming off a complete game victory Saturday to improve her season numbers to 14-3 with a 1.39 ERA. The victory over Western Michigan was a good bounce-back performance for Dorsey after she struggled in her start against Toledo on March 25, in which she walked seven.
Stiene is 8-3 with a 2.52 ERA this season after going 1-1 in the Western Michigan series.
In the circle, Kent State has been solid this season, sporting a team ERA of 2.96. The Golden Flashes' staff is led by Ronnie Ladines, who is 5-11 this year with a 2.02 ERA and 88 strikeouts over 118.0 innings.
Ladines and the rest of Kent State’s pitching staff will have to contend with the impressive Ohio offense. As a team, the Bobcats are hitting .300 with nine players carrying an average higher than .280.
The Ohio offense has shown impressive power this season, with 19 homers and 148 RBIs. Morgan Geno and Mikayla Cooper are supplying the majority of the power, with six homers and 27 RBIs and four homers and 16 RBIs, respectively.
The first game of the Tuesday doubleheader is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Kent.
