By: by Scott Lipsky
Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box
KENNESAW, Ga. - It was an impressive debut for Kennesaw State freshman Abbey Meixel and the Owls as the Black and Gold swept a doubleheader from South Dakota State, 5-1 and 3-0, on Sunday evening at Bailey Park to conclude the weather-shortened K-Club Classic.
Meixel (1-0) was strong in her first collegiate pitching performance, striking out eight batters and allowing three hits in a complete game to lead her team to the win in the first game. The rookie also earned a save in the nightcap as she pitched a scoreless seventh inning while retiring the potential tying run with a strikeout.
In the opener, the Owls came up with four early runs courtesy of a pair of two-out bases loaded hits. Freshman Hannah Graham drove in the first two runs of the season in the second inning with her first collegiate hit, a line drive single to right field scoring Klair Wells and Lindsay McCurry.
In the third inning the Owls loaded the bases again against South Dakota State's Pam Nicholson. A pair of walks sandwiched a Kelsey Kulk double and pinch-hitter Sharon Swanson ripped a two-out single up the middle scoring Jenna Closner and Kulk for a 4-0 lead.
Meixel cruised through the first five innings including striking out the side in the fifth inning. The only run to cross the plate against the freshman came in the sixth inning when a walk and steal resulted in a run scoring on a groundout.
“I was very nervous in the first inning, having not pitched yet at this level,” said Meixel, who was the Georgia High School Class 5A Pitcher of the Year at nearby Cherokee High School last season. “The big difference between pitching in college and high school is that up here every hitter is dangerous. After I got through that first inning, though, I really felt good about my pitches and just pitched and didn’t over-think anything.”
The Owls (2-0) added a run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Closner, scoring Jensen Hackett, who led off the inning with a single to right field.
In the nightcap, the Owls and South Dakota State (0-2) were scoreless through six innings until Closner electrified the crowd with a towering home run to left field, igniting a three-run inning, and giving Scott Whitlock’s squad all the offense they would need. Jensen Hackett and Brittany Moore added RBI singles for the Black and Gold.
“I was waiting for a pitch that I could drive, and the pitcher [Kori Seidlitz] threw me one inside that I was able to make good contact with,” said Closner, a senior catcher, who led the Owls in home runs in 2009. “I had had a couple of rough at-bats against her during the game, so I was trying to protect the plate and stay in good position have a positive outcome. I’m thrilled with how it worked out.”
Redshirt sophomore Jessica Cross (1-0) was solid through six innings, allowing just a bunt single by Pam Nicholson in the fourth inning. After a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, Cross was replaced by Meixel, who earned her first collegiate save, striking out two batters including Tina Winter, who represented the game-tying run.
Meixel was named the K-Club Classic’s Most Outstanding Player for her effort on Sunday.
Although KSU’s first game didn’t begin until 4 p.m., the team was busy all day, helping to keep the field in good shape for the teams that played in the first three games at Bailey Park on Sunday. The K-Club Classic, which had originally been slated to be played on Saturday and Sunday at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock, was moved to the KSU campus and shortened to just one day after bad weather forced a change in plans.
Owls head coach Scott Whitlock is proud of his players for their performance on the field, but he is just as proud of the way they represented themselves as hosts of this annual event.
Aside from helping out all day on Sunday, the entire team also pitched in, along with the other four teams in the event, to get the field in playing shape on Saturday.
“With all the work our student-athletes did this weekend just to ensure everyone could play, I’m really happy with the way we played on Sunday, and I think it also says a lot about the character of our team,” said Whitlock. “Winning these two games was great, but it just added to what they accomplished over these last two days.”
The Owls will be back in action next weekend when they host the Phyliss Rafter Memorial at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock, Ga. The Owls play Alabama State at 1:00 and Middle Tennessee State at 3:30 on Friday, the first two of five games they will play over the three-day event.
K-Club Classic- Full Results
Game 1: Wright State 5, Indiana 3
Game 2: Jacksonville State 7, Indiana 6
Game 3: Jacksonville State 5, Wright State 4
Game 4: Kennesaw State 5, South Dakota State 1
Game 5: Kennesaw State 3, South Dakota State 0
