By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score
ATLANTA- Sharon Swanson hit her conference-leading 11th home run of the season on Wednesday evening, but it wasn’t enough, as the Kennesaw State Owls fell, 6-1, to the No. 23-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mewborn Field on the campus of Georgia Tech.
The Owls (20-17) kept the game scoreless early thanks to a spectacular play by the defense behind pitcher Abbey Meixel. After Meixel, who took the loss to move to 5-4 on the season, set down Georgia Tech (32-6) in order in the bottom of the first, she gave up back-to-back hits to start off the second inning. Alysha Rudnik would lead things off with a base hit to left field, and Kristine Priebe would follow with a double that rolled all the way to the wall. Owls right fielder Bianca Durant made a heads-up play, however, making a great relay throw to Jensen Hackett, who threw a dart to catcher Morgan Chapman, who was able to make a nice swipe-tag of a sliding Rudnik for the first out of the inning.
Jessica Sinclair would notch a base hit in the next at-bat, scoring Priebe and giving the Yellow Jackets a lead they would not relinquish.
Georgia Tech would add their first insurance runs in the bottom half of the third inning, with Kelsi Weseman hitting her 12th home run of the season with a runner on base to make it 3-0.
Meixel would last three and a third innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on six hits. She had just one strikeout after fanning 25 over the course of her two previous starts.
Cat Tarvin would relieve Meixel with one out in the fourth inning, going the rest of the way. She would allow two earned runs on four hits while striking out four.
Swanson’s home run came with one out in the sixth inning off of Yellow Jackets starter Lindsey Anderson, who went the distance for Georgia Tech to move to 6-0 on the season. Her home run, which was to left field, gives her four home runs in her last four games, after hitting one on Tuesday at Georgia Southern and a pair against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. She now leads the Atlantic Sun Conference in home runs, as well as RBI, with 40.
The Black and Gold finish the home-and-home season series with their local rivals with a split, having defeated the Yellow Jackets, 4-1, on Feb. 23 at Bailey Park.
The Owls defense was solid on Wednesday evening, not committing an error for the first time in six games.
Kennesaw State continues their conference slate this weekend when they travel north to take on the Campbell Camels in a Saturday doubleheader at 12 p.m.
