By: by Scott Lipsky
Live stats Game Notes
MACON, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls will put a cap on their 2011 regular season this Saturday, when they visit their in-state rivals, the Mercer Bears, for an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
The Owls (28-23, 10-8 A-Sun) are already locked into their second straight A-Sun Tournament, having clinched a spot after their doubleheader sweep of Belmont last Friday. Depending on how the weekend plays out for the Owls and Bears (26-22, 8-10 A-Sun), as well their counterpart in USC Upstate (11-7), the Owls could enter the A-Sun Tournament as high as a three seed or as low as a six seed. Campbell has already completed their A-Sun slate with an 11-9 record, and will await the results of this weekend to find out their seed.
The Black and Gold had the very best competition in preparation for their regular season finale on Wednesday, when they traveled to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs, who are currently the top-ranked team in the NCAA RPI. While falling, 6-1, Abbey Meixel, Cat Tarvin and Amanda Henderson all had the chance to pitch two innings, and Sara Sikes had a pair of hits against their former team.
Owls sophomore Sharon Swanson enters this weekend with a major achievement still in play. The outfielder currently leads the A-Sun in home runs (14) and RBI (49), while she trails just Florida Gulf Coast’s Courtney Platt with a .375 batting average. Should she be able to pull off the feat, she would become the second A-Sun player in three years to win the conference’s triple crown, with FGCU’s Cheyenne Jenks pulling it off in 2009.
Mercer still has work to do in order to lock down a spot in the A-Sun Tournament, which begins on May 11 in Spartanburg, S.C., and will earn the winner an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional. They currently lead North Florida by two games in the win column for the sixth and final spot, with UNF at 6-10 in the conference standings and hosting Stetson on Saturday before visiting Jacksonville on May 4.
The Owls have a commanding, 15-5, all-time series lead against Mercer, including a 7-3 mark since they joined NCAA Division I and the A-Sun in 2006. They swept their doubleheader against the Bears on Apr. 3 of last season, 4-3 and 9-5 at Bailey Park. Ashlee Burkett, Jessica Cross and Swanson all homered during the twin bill, while Cross was 2-for-4 with five RBI in the second game. Cross also pitched all nine innings in earning the extra-innings win in the 4-3 victory to kick things off that afternoon.
The Bears are led by junior infielder Sara Stukes, who is currently batting .319 with five home runs and a team-leading 33 RBI. In the circle, Mercer has been strongly dependent on Kari Chambers and Jenni Holtz. Both seniors, Chambers is 13-9 with a 1.62 ERA, while Holtz is 11-11 with a 2.95 ERA.
Live stats will be available for all of the action on Saturday.
