By: by Scott Lipsky
Live stats Game Notes
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls make their 2011 Bailey Park debut on Wednesday afternoon when they host the No. 22-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 4:00 p.m.
The Owls (6-3) are coming off of a 2-3 weekend at the Hillenbrand Invitational, hosted by the University of Arizona. After dropping the first three games of the event, including a game to the hosts, No. 4 –ranked Arizona, the Black and Gold finished strong and took a pair to close out the weekend, taking down Texas A&M, Corpus Christi, 9-1, on Saturday evening and Drake, 6-3, on Sunday morning.
"It's good to come back home and play in front of our fans, and we have a challenging opponent to open up the home schedule," Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said on Tuesday. "They are a well-coached team and extremely talented and we certainly will be tested tomorrow."
Owls outfielder Sharon Swanson, who was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team last season, has shown no signs of a sophomore slump thus far in the early-going. After a sharp opening weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss. where she batted .400 and had 10 RBIs to help Scott Whitlock’s squad to a 4-0 start, continued her hot hitting this past weekend, going 6-for-15 over five games with two home runs. She went 3-for-3 with five RBIs in their win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Fellow sophomore Ashlee Burkett, the Owls first baseman, has also hit well to start the season. The 2010 A-Sun Freshman of the Year enters her 2011 home debut with a .391 batting average, with five hits in her last three games.
Also promising for the Black and Gold was freshman pitcher Amanda Henderson, who threw 5 and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief on Sunday in their win over Drake. The Covington, Ga., native allowed just three hits in her appearance, leading to her collegiate win.
In the Yellow Jackets (7-3), the Owls will be trying to beat a team who has been victorious over them the last four times they met, including twice last season. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Owls, 7-3 at Bailey Park on Apr. 14, and 8-3 on Feb. 24 at Georgia Tech.
The Owls last won over their I-75 rivals on March 12, 2008, when they split a doubleheader at home, taking the second game of the evening, 6-3.
Georgia Tech also went 2-3 last weekend at the Felsberg Memorial Tournament, taking games against Illinois and Providence while dropping a pair to host Florida Atlantic and a game to Pittsburgh.
The Yellow Jackets, who are currently ranked No. 22 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA poll, return from last season’s squad 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year and Third Team All-American, Hope Rush, as well as four other All-ACC honorees in seniors Christy Jones and Kristine Priebe and juniors Kelsi Weseman and Kate Kuzma.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast live on A-Sun.TV, the Atlantic Sun Conference’s subscription video streaming service, with Dave Albert and Jason Hanes calling the action. Live stats will also be available.
