April 20, 2007
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KENNESAW, Ga. - Brittany Matthews struck out 11 batters in a five-hit shutout as the Owls blanked Jacksonville, 7-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at Bailey Park on Friday afternoon.
Kennesaw State (36-17, 10-3 A-Sun) struck for a pair of runs in the first inning and that was all the support Matthews would need against Jacksonville (15-38, 4-9 A-Sun) as she dominated the Dolphins lineup.
The southpaw from Brooks, Ga. set the theme for the game early, striking out two batters in both the first and second innings before striking out the side in the third. Matthews struck out her 200th batter of the year in the third inning when she fanned Amber Moseley.
While Matthews (18-4) was controlling the Jacksonville offense, the Owls were busy constructing an insurmountable lead. Kennesaw State scored its first run on a balk and Jennifer Nolan followed with a sacrifice fly for an early lead.
The Owls would score four more runs in the third inning, three of them coming on an unusual array of mistakes by the Dolphins. After loading the bases on a single, walk and hit batsman, Kennesaw State emptied the bases when Kelsey Kulk grounded to third base where Jacksonville's Sara Gordon rifled a throw past the catcher, scoring Cowart.
Jacksonville catcher Ashley Mora then picked up the ball and threw it past the pitcher, Ashley Iveson, who was covering home. The wild throw scored Nolan and Keasler, giving the Owls a 5-0 lead. Megan Gant would make the score 6-0 with an RBI-single scoring Kulk.
Cowart and Klair Wells each had two hits in the game as the first two hitters in the Owls lineup combined to go 4-for-8 with three runs scored.
