The Kent State softball team (9-34, 2-17) broke its losing streak Wednesday after an 11-4 win against Buffalo. 

“I was glad that we came out and got the win in game one,” coach Jessica O’Donnell said. “I thought that was huge for us. Obviously, it would have been nice to pick up two, but I’m proud of our team for coming out from the gates and making something happen there.”

Senior utility player Delaney Robeson hit a two-run homer in the second for a 2-1 lead. 

“Delaney Robeson has been a consistent player for us,” O’Donnell said. “She finds ways to get it done, and I’ve just seen great leadership from her.”

Buffalo (12-28, 7-12) tied the game in the top of the fifth. 

KSU had a season-high of 13 hits in game one. 

“I thought we hit really well,” O’Donnell said. “Offensively this week, we hit .351 as a team, and that’s awesome. We had six of our hitters hitting above .300 this week alone, which is huge. We had seven home runs again.”

Junior utility player Brynn Libler scored a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. 

“I was impressed with Brynn Libler this week,” O’Donnell said. “Every day, she continues to work on what she’s struggling with, so I’m really impressed with her.”

Senior utility player Savannah Wing had a three-run home run in the sixth inning, leading the Flashes to the 11-4 final.

“Savannah Wing is tied for top-10 in doubles in program history,” O’Donnell said. “I’m always impressed by her and her ability to find ways to get the job done. She has amazing leadership and plays really nice at first base, too.” 

Senior pitcher Delaney Nagy earned the victory. She allowed two runs to score over five innings. 

“I was impressed with our pitching performance this weekend for keeping us in games and just our offensive explosion we had,” O’Donnell said. 

The Flashes lost 7-4 in the second game against Buffalo. 

“We still need to work on finishing strong,” O’Donnell said. “I think that’s been our Achilles’ heel; sometimes we start strong, but we’re not finishing.”

Over the first three innings, KSU had six players left on base and trailed 2-0.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Kendal Leitner scored a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. 

“We had so many different people step up offensively to help us score runs, so I was really proud of our offensive efforts in that area,” O’Donnell said. 

After a scoreless sixth inning, the Bulls added two runs with a home run in the top of the seventh to lead 7-2.

“I think what killed us was our defense,” O’Donnell said. “We had 16 errors, and that really hurt us in the games that we lost.”

Leitner had a double in the bottom of the seventh for her third hit of the game, but the Flashes were not able to come back. 

The Flashes celebrated senior weekend and went 2-1 against Northern Illinois over the weekend.

“I think we’re continuing to learn and grow throughout the season,” O’Donnell said. “I’m proud of their ability to work through adversity and find ways to chip away and get a win.”

KSU played a close game, but lost 9-8 on Saturday.

NIU scored a two-run home run in the top of the first, but the weather postponed the game in the sixth inning. The game resumed on Sunday.

KSU lost 5-3 in the second game of the series.

“Game two was a little bit out of our hands,” O’Donnell said. “We fought, but not nearly the team that I know that they are.”

The Huskies took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second. 

“I told them that we have to have a short-term memory here,” O’Donnell said. “You have to forget about the past and let it go. We have no control over that anymore, and we got to be fresh for this last game.” 

Sophomore infielder Megan Claerhout and senior utility player Katie Jo Moery both had home runs in the sixth and seventh innings. 

“Katie Joe Moery had a really great week,” O’Donnell said. “She hit .471 on the week and made some really key adjustments.”

KSU won 9-3 in the last game of the weekend. 

“I think we’re learning and we’re growing,” O’Donnell said. “I saw a lot of really great things from many different people, and it was senior weekend too, so it was nice to send our seniors out on their last weekend series with the win.”

Nagy held NIU scoreless in the sixth and had her third scoreless inning in the top of the seventh to earn the victory. 

“Our pitching staff from this past week was at a 2.60 ERA, which was really good and a huge improvement from the previous weeks,” O’Donnell said. 

Up next

The Flashes will play Youngstown State Tuesday on the road.

“It will be a tight game with them being so close and knowing that we go up against them with recruiting and similar players, so it’s really important that our pitchers don’t get ahead of batters,” O’Donnell said.

KSU will also play in a three-game series over the weekend against Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich. 

“I think we’re in a great position right now where we’re continuing to get better, and some teams are sort of flattening out a little bit, and have reached their peak,” O’Donnell said. “I’m happy where our growth is going.”

The Flashes have lost the last four times that they have played the Broncos.

“We need to continue to ride this wave and give teams a run for their money,” O’Donnell said. 

Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].