By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score:
Game One I
Game Two
Full A-Sun Tournament Coverage
KENNESAW, Ga. – With a spot in the Atlantic Sun Championship on the line, the Kennesaw State Owls softball team got the clutch pitching performances it needed out of Jessica Cross and Abbey Meixel on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the North Florida Ospreys, 3-0 and 2-0, to ensure themselves a spot in the tournament, which begins on Thursday in DeLand, Fla. The afternoon also gave Owls head coach Scott Whitlock the 900th collegiate fastpitch softball victory of his career.
The Owls (26-24, 11-9 A-Sun) began the day with a simple scenario: Split with or sweep the Ospreys, and they were in the A-Sun tournament. Lose both, and they would need help in order to get into the six-team tournament. Cross, a redshirt sophomore, helped take all of the guesswork out of the situation, allowing just three hits and striking out four in her 16th complete game and third shutout of the season to close the regular season with a 14-10 record and earned run average of just 1.89. She did not allow a hit until there was one out in the fifth inning.
UNF (23-31, 9-11 A-Sun) starter Devyn Findley was also on top of her game in the opener, also going the distance and giving up three runs on just three Owls hits. The big hit she allowed came in the bottom of the third, when, with two outs and two runners on, freshman Sharon Swanson had one of the biggest hits of the year for the Owls, hitting a towering home run to left center field to make it 3-0 and provide all of the scoring her team would need to ensure victory. The round-tripper was her fifth of the season and would prove to be the hit that sent Scott Whitlock’s club to the A-Sun Championship.
With a tournament bid secured, Meixel, a freshman, provided a fabulous outing of her own in the pitcher’s circle in the second game, pitching a complete game, allowing seven hits and also striking out four. She did a masterful job working her way out of several jams in a contest where the Owls committed five errors, stranding Ospreys in six out of seven innings, including three frames where there were two runners on base. The win brought her to 10-10 to close out her freshman regular season campaign and give her an earned run average of 2.98.
As with the first game, it was a pitcher’s duel, as Osprey starter Shaina Dent allowed just four hits against the Owls on Saturday. Just like Findley in the first game, however, she was victimized by one mighty swing of the bat, this time by Cross, who made her mark at the plate in the second game with a two-run home run to right center field in the bottom of the sixth inning with the game scoreless to make it 2-0 and propel the Owls to their second victory of the afternoon. The home run was Cross' 11th on the season to lead the team and put her alone in third place in the A-Sun in that category.
The afternoon had to be especially satisfying for Jenna Closner, Kelsey Kulk and Hollie Huffman. The three, along with student assistant Katie Kenady and trainer Ashley Jones, were honored for their contributions to the Owls program prior to their final games at Bailey Park. For all of them, they will be ending their Owls career by going to the A-Sun Tournament for the first time, as the team is eligible for the first time in 2010 after the athletic department successfully completed the NCAAs mandatory, four-year re-classification process.
Winning the second game also gave Scott Whitlock another important milestone in his already legendary coaching career, as it was his 900th collegiate fastpitch victory. He becomes just the 26th NCAA coach of all-time to accomplish the feat, and just the 17th coach to reach the milestone with just one team.
Whitlock’s club will go to DeLand as the number three seed in the double elimination tournament, and they will square off against the number four seed, USC Upstate, on Thursday at 9 a.m. The two squads, who both finish the A-Sun season with 11-9 records, split in their doubleheader at Upstate on April 16. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.
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| Owls head coach Scott Whitlock discusses his team's two victories on Saturday |
Jessica Cross discusses her stellar performance both in the pitcher's circle and at the plate on Saturday |
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| Sharon Swanson discusses her home run and solid play on Saturday |
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