By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score
ATLANTA - Jessica Cross hit her fourth home run in the last three games, and the Kennesaw State Owls softball team fought to the end, but dropped an 8-3 decision to the No. 8-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Wednesday night at Mewborn Field on the campus of Georgia Tech.
The Owls (6-4) had several chances during the latter half of the game to either tie the contest or take the lead. They brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the fifth down 5-1 with Klair Well at the plate and nobody out after a pair of singles by Jensen Hackett and Lyndsay McCurry and a walk to Ashley Burkett loaded the bases. Wells struck out looking, and while senior Kelsey Kulk would drive in a run on fielder’s choice to the shortstop, that would be all the Owls could muster in the fifth, as senior Jenna Closner struck out swinging to end the inning with the score 5-2.
Scott Whitlock’s club once again brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth inning after Cross hit a towering home run to dead center field to continue her red-hot hitting and put the Owls to within 5-3.
Freshman Sharon Swanson drew a walk two batters later, and after a two out single by Lyndsay McCurry, freshman Ashley Burkett stepped to the plate representing the lead run, but grounded into a force-out at second base to end the inning and halt the Owls last serious opportunity to get back into the game.
Georgia Tech (9-1) started out quickly, as Hope Rush hit a two-run home run off of Owl starter Abbey Meixel (L, 2-3) to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead with one out in the bottom of the first.
The Ramblin Wreck would add two more runs in the bottom of the second inning when pinch hitter Caitlin Jordan hit a one-out double to drive in two and make it 4-0. The Owls escaped any further damage when they picked off a base runner for the second out and Meixel was able to get a groundout to second to end the inning.
April Harper replaced Meixel in the bottom of the third inning and gave up a lead-off home run to Rush, her second round-tripper of the game, to make it 5-0. She would settle down thereafter, not allowing another run in the third frame and recording scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth to keep her team in the game.
The Owls showed up some power of their own in the top of the fourth, as Karlie Gillam slammed her second home run of the season, a hard-hit liner down the left field line.
After the Owls failed to convert on their opportunity to tie the game or take the lead in their half of the sixth, the Yellow Jackets put the game away in the bottom half of the sixth, as Jen Yee hit a three-run home run with one out to make the score 8-3 and effectively put a victory out of reach for Kennesaw State.
Cross and McCurry were the two Owls to have multi-hit games on Wednesday night, with Cross going 2-for-4 and McCurry 2-for-3. Cross is now 7-for-11 with four home runs and eight RBIs over her last three games.
“I’m proud of the effort that our players gave us tonight,” said head coach Scott Whitlock. “We played a superior team, but they weren’t intimidated. They went out there and took some aggressive swings, and we really had some chances to win later in the game.”
The Owls return to action on Saturday when they host the Georgia State Panthers at Bailey Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
