By: by Scott Lipsky
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State Owls softball pulled a little bit of everything out of their bag on Saturday afternoon, and they were successful, earning a doubleheader sweep against their conference and state-rival, the Mercer Bears, 4-3 and 9-5.
The Owls (17-13, 3-3 A-Sun) were able to pull themselves up the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, and did so by way of having just about all of their players contribute one way or another. Over the two games, seven different players drove in runs, and nine different players reached base. In addition, they used three pitchers in the second game, mixing and matching to play their way to victory.
Game one went into extra innings, and wasn’t resolved until there were two outs in the ninth inning with nobody on base. Klair Wells, who already had two hits in the game, finally put an end to the two-hour affair, hitting the first pitch she saw against Mercer starter Jenni Holtz just over the right-center field fence to give the Owls their first win of the day.
“I just felt confident up there at the plate. I saw a pitch I knew I could drive and made great contact,” said Wells. “It was great to get a hit like that at that moment and give us some momentum going into the second game.”
Freshman Sharon Swanson also homered in the first game, giving the Owls a quick, 2-0 lead in the first inning with her fourth round-tripper of the season, a hard-hit ball that sailed over the left field fence.
Mercer (18-18, 1-3 A-Sun) would gain a 3-2 edge by scoring one run apiece in the second, fourth, and fifth innings off of Owl starter Jessica Cross, who went all nine innings to earn her tenth win of the season.
Scott Whitlock’s club would quickly battle back to even things up in the bottom of the fifth, when Wells and Ashley Burkett led off the inning with back-to-back doubles to tie things up at three.
Both teams had their chances to take the lead earlier in extra innings, as the Owls had two runners on with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and the Bears had two runners on in the top of the ninth, but failed to convert.
Like Cross, Holtz also went the whole way in the pitcher’s circle in the first game, allowing four earned runs on seven hits in eight and two thirds innings, striking out seven. Cross allowed three runs on just two hits in her nine innings of work.
The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second game, scoring one run in the second inning and two in the third. They scored their first run with freshman Abbey Meixel on the mound with one out in the second inning, right after Meixel relieved Owls starter Amanda Burns, who had allowed two walks and a hit batsman after retiring the first four batters to start the game. Mercer would add on to their lead with two more in the third on the strength of a pair of doubles off of Meixel.
The top of the third would be the last time the Bears would lead, however, as the Owls answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. After Hannah Graham and Wells were hit by pitches to start the inning, Burkett walked to load the bases, bringing Cross to the plate. Cross would single to center field, driving home Graham and Wells. They would score two more runs in the inning on a Jenna Closner single and a Mercer error to give themselves a 4-3 lead.
After Mercer pulled even at 4-4 in the top of the fourth, the game remained tied heading into the bottom of the fifth, when Ashlee Burkett led things off with her sixth home run of the season to put her team up for good, 5-4.
“It was a good pitch that she threw me, a changeup, and I knew I could drive it. It was great to get a hit like that in that situation,” said Burkett.
Cross would put things away in the next innings, turning a 6-5 lead into a 9-5 cushion when she smashed her league-leading ninth home run of the season with out in the inning to cap-off the game two scoring.
Overall, Cross went 2-for-4 with five RBIs in the second game, and also picked up her first save of the season, coming in with two outs in the fifth inning and providing two and a third innings of relief to keep her team in front.
The Owls travel to UAB to make-up the doubleheader the two clubs were scheduled to play on Mar. 2. First pitch in Birmingham, Ala. is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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Klair Wells Explains Game WInnining Home Run.
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Coach Scott Whitlock Post Game Interview
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