March 24, 2007
Box Score
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Kelley Cowart hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning and Brittany Matthews struck out a record 15 batters to lead Kennesaw State past Gardner-Webb, 1-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at Varsity Field on Saturday afternoon.
Matthews (13-3) out dueled Taryn Beck (12-7) as the Owls left-hander pitched an eight-inning, one-hit gem to lead Kennesaw State (28-11, 2-1 A-Sun) to its second straight victory.
Matthews was superb in the circle as she set the Kennesaw State record for strikeouts in a game with the 15-strikeout performance. The junior broke the 10-year old record of Brenda Farrell. The Owls NCAA Division II All-American, struck out 14 against Bowie State on March 7, 1997.
The only hit allowed by Matthews came when Jessi Polk led off the fourth inning with a single to left field. The Bulldogs (22-16, 0-1 A-Sun) managed just three base runners against Matthews, the fourth inning hit and a pair of walks.
The game remained scoreless through seven innings with both team having little or no scoring opportunities. In the ninth inning, Cowart, who missed the beginning of the season due to an injury, pulled a home run that just cleared the right field fence for the deciding margin.
In addition to Cowart's homer, the Kennesaw State offense got three hits off Beck. Jennifer Nolan, Kelsey Kulk and April Keasler each had base hits for the Owls.
