By: by Scott Lipsky
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State Owls softball team will play the role of host as well as opponent for the second straight weekend beginning on Friday, when they welcome seven teams to the greater Atlanta area at the 2nd Annual Phyliss Rafter Memorial, which will take place at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in nearby Woodstock.
Head coach Scott Whitlock’s squad is scheduled to play five games over the three-day event, and they will hope to build off of the momentum they gained last weekend when they defeated South Dakota State in two consecutive games to kick-off their season.
The Owls were originally scheduled to play four games last weekend at Twin Creeks in the K-Club Classic, which they also hosted. However, inclement weather forced drastic changes in the schedule, moving the event to Bailey Park on KSU’s campus and shortening the event to just one day. Five consecutive games took place at KSU’s facility, with the Owl players helping to maintain the field in between games before they took to the diamond in the last two games of the day.
Alabama State will be the first opponent that the Owls will face this weekend, with a scheduled first pitch of 1 p.m. The event will start at 10:30 a.m. on Friday with two games to be played on adjacent fields.
Among the teams that KSU will play is Ball State, which has received votes in this year’s national ranking. They met last season on March 10 on Orlando, Fla., when then-freshman April Harper pitched a six-hit shutout in the Owls 1-0 victory. Tennessee Tech, Middle Tennessee State, and Southern Illinois will be the other clubs KSU will square off against over the three-day event. Atlantic Sun rival Mercer, as well as Western Illinois, will also compete this weekend, but will not face the Owls.
Pitching was key to the Owls’ success last weekend, with freshman Abbey Meixel and redshirt sophomore Jessica Cross combining to give up just one run over two games.
With the first weekend of play behind them, Whitlock is confident that this year’s team is coming together and is looking forward to getting out there again on Friday.
“This weekend will be a lot more routine for us than last weekend. Opening Day jitters should be behind us,” said Whitlock, who started four freshmen last weekend. “We’re looking at this weekend as another chance to get a look at a our team and to get better. We had a great week of preparation, and now we’ll get the chance to play against some great competition.”
Click here for the full schedule and more information about the Phyliss Rafter Memorial. The page will be updated throughout the weekend with results and recaps of each game. The event is the Atlantic Sun Conference’s featured softball event of the week.
