By: by Scott Lipsky
Mississippi State: Box Score
Bowling Green: Box Score
Phyllis Rafter Memorial official tournament page
WOODSTOCK, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls had a successful second day as hosts of the Third Annual Phyllis Rafter Memorial, downing the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 3-2, before quickly turning around and defeating the Bowling Green Falcons, 3-1 at Twin Creeks Softball Complex.
“I thought our pitchers did a great job today, and it was great to see Sharon Swanson and Brittany Moore hit the way that they did,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said. “These are two solid wins for us.”
Sophomore Sharon Swanson was at it again for the Owls (9-4) all afternoon, as the A-Sun leader in RBIs added to her total in game one, and it couldn’t have come at a better moment. Trailing Mississippi State (6-8), 1-0, with two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Swanson, who played many of her prep softball games at the very same facility, lifted a 2-2 pitch over the fence for her fifth round-tripper of the season to give the Black and Gold a lead they would not relinquish.
The Owls would add an insurance run against the Bulldogs in the very next inning, and once again, their offense was generated via the long ball. Third baseman Brittany Moore worked a full count against pitcher Kylie Vry before launching her first home run of the season to left field, giving the Owls all of the offense they would need.
A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year, junior Jessica Cross impressively maneuvered her way through the Bulldogs’ lineup, tossing her fourth complete game of the season while allowing just two earned runs on six hits, striking out six, to move to 5-1 for the season.
Cross was able to get out of a pair of jams against Mississippi State, as she loaded the bases in the top of the fourth before getting Chrissie Rovtar to ground out to Cross to end the threat.
The Bulldogs would bring the tying run to the plate with one out in the seventh inning, but the Owls defense would step up, throwing out Briana Bell at third base after she tried to stretch her RBI double into a triple, as Bianca Durant made a great relay throw to Jensen Hackett, who made a sharp throw to third base to get Bell.
Kennesaw State was sharp in the pitcher’s circle in the second game as well, as Cat Tarvin and Abbey Meixel combined to give up just one run on six hits over seven innings of work.
After falling behind, 1-0, in the first inning, the Owls clutch two-out hitting continued, as Sara Sikes slapped a single into center field to score Jensen Hackett and tie the game up.
The game would stay tied until the bottom of the sixth, when Sikes was at it again, once again with two outs. Sikes would leg out an infield single, scoring Moore from second base to make it a 2-1 game. Lyndsay McCurry would come around to score on a wild pitch during the next batter to make it a 3-1 game.
Tarvin pitched the first three innings, allowing the only run Bowling Green (1-8) would score in the game. She was replaced by Meixel to start the fourth inning. Meixel was dominant in her stint in the circle on Saturday afternoon, retiring the first six batters she faced and allowing just two hits while striking out seven.
Sikes and Swanson both had two hits in the second game, Sikes going 2-for-4 and Swanson 2-for-2. Cross went 2-for-3 against Mississippi State, the lone Owl to have multiple hits in the contest.
The Black and Gold conclude their event on Sunday afternoon, when they face Tennessee State at 1:00 p.m.
