By: by Scott Lipsky
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls softball team will try to win their fourth game in five tries on Thursday afternoon when they welcome the Big Ten’s Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bailey Park on the campus of KSU at 3 p.m.
The Owls (7-4) will be playing their first game since Saturday, when redshirt sophomore Jessica Cross went from being the team’s most dominant offensive player to clutch pitcher, going the distance in a 2-0 win over local rival Georgia State. Cross’ battery mate, senior catch Jenna Closner, provided the offensive fireworks, smacking a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to score the only runs of the game.
Their scheduled doubleheader on Tuesday at UAB was postponed due to inclement weather.
This will be the first time Kennesaw State and Minnesota (7-8) will meet on the softball diamond. The Gophers are stopping over in Kennesaw to play the Owls before they make the drive to Athens to compete in the Georgia Bulldog Invitational over the weekend.
They have relied heavily on freshman pitcher Lacey Middlebrooks, who won the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award last week after going 3-1 in four starts. On the year, she is 7-4, earning the win in all seven of her team’s victories, and has allowed just one earned run so far in her rookie campaign.
Head coach Scott Whitlock’s club faced a similar challenge in the circle on February 23 when they hosted Troy in a doubleheader. The Trojans’ top arm, Ashlyn Williams, was the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week at the time, but the Owls were able to score five runs against her on nine hits on their way to a 5-1 victory in the first game of their doubleheader sweep.
“We’re looking forward to playing a strong team like Minnesota,” Whitlock said on Tuesday. “Every time we play right now, we want to take another step forward and further develop our players. No matter who we’re playing, we want to focus on playing good softball and competing at a high level.”
Minnesota is the second Big Ten team the Owls had penciled in on their schedule this season. Their first, the Indiana Hoosiers, visited Kennesaw as part of the K-Club Classic, but did not end up facing the Black and Gold, as the weather that weekend forced a change in the tournament schedule.
