By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score
Phyllis Rafter Memorial Schedule
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls used solid pitching by Jessica Cross and a momentous grand slam by Sharon Swanson to take down No. 22 – ranked Georgia Tech, 4-1 at a sold out Bailey Park on Wednesday in their 2011 home opener.
With the game scoreless through the first two and a half innings of play, the Owls (7-3), who had just escaped a bases loaded jam in the top half of the frame, loaded up the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third, thanks to a Georgia Tech (7-4) error and a pair of singles by Jensen Hackett and Bianca Durant, bringing Sharon Swanson to the plate. Swanson, who came into the game as the Owls leading run producer with three home runs and 19 RBIs, lifted a 1-0 pitch from Kristen Adkins to left field. The ball just cleared the fence and the outstretched glove of Yellow Jackets left fielder Kristine Priebe, giving the Owls a 4-0 lead.
“It didn’t quite feel like a home run when I hit it, but it just kept carrying,” Swanson said. “I’ve had success hitting the ball to left field, our coaching staff has really helped me pull the ball, they’ve been a big help.”
Owls junior pitcher Jessica Cross was a stalwart on the mound for the Black and Gold, tossing a complete game and allowing just one unearned run on nine hits, striking out five. She moves to 4-1 on the season with the win.
Cross was able to put an end to several potentially game-changing rallies for Georgia Tech, beginning in the first inning. After the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with two outs on a single and a pair of walks, Cross hunkered down and induced a fly out to deep right field by Shannon Bear.
Georgia Tech, who lost to the Owls for the first time in five meetings, loaded the bases twice more, first in the top of the third inning and then again in the top of the seventh. In the third, Cross was able to maneuver her way out of trouble with back-to-back ground outs. In the seventh, Alysha Rudnik led things off with a double to left center and then, two batters later, was joined on base by Shannon Bear, who recorded a hard-hit single to left field, and Ashley Thomas, who walked, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs. Kate Kuzma came to the plate and hit what looked to be a single through the left side, but the Owls shortstop, Lindsay Vollmer, was there, making a diving stop and flipping it to Jensen Hackett, who stepped on second base to end the game.
For Owls head coach Scott Whitlock, the win was a big one for his club, but is just one of many big steps he’d like to see his team take towards further success.
“I told the players after the game that I want them to enjoy this tonight, this was a great accomplishment, but tomorrow we’re going to be back out at practice focused on playing well this weekend,” said Whitlock, whose Owls host the Phyllis Rafter Memorial in Woodstock, Ga., Friday through Sunday. “Now that we’ve won a game against a team like this, we need to continue to play like this against elite competition, and continue to win these kinds of games.”
The Black and Gold had a chance to add on to their three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases on consecutive two out singles by Brittany Moore, Hackett and Sara Sikes, but Adkins was able to retire Durant, who lined a hard hit ball right at the shortstop to end the inning.
Sikes and Hackett were the two Owls to record multiple hits on the night, notching two apiece. With her grand slam, Swanson now has 10 RBIs in her last three games, putting her firmly in first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference in the early-going.
The win for the Owls was the first against Georgia Tech since Mar. 12, 2008, when they split a doubleheader with the Yellow Jackets at Bailey Park. They last defeated a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference on Mar. 6, 2009, when they defeated Boston College, 2-1, in Woodstock.
The Owls kick-off their four game weekend at Twin Creeks Softball Complex with a match-up against Ball State on Friday at 3:30 p.m. They take on Mississippi State and Bowling Green on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., and close the eight-team event with a match-up against Tennessee State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
