By: KSU Sports Information
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Owl Two-a-Days
WOODSTOCK, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls are set to open up their 2012 campaign this weekend, and they’ll do so as hosts of the KSU Classic, held at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock. They will play four games in two days, and start things off Saturday by taking on Mercer at 1:00 p.m. before facing Southern Illinois at 3:30.
“We are very excited to get started this season; I think the players are tired of practicing and want to get out there and face some solid outside competition, which we will be doing this weekend,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said. “These are some very good teams that we are fortunate to host over the next two days, and this will be a great way to start what will be a long, but exciting, journey, for us this season.”
Though the Owls do not play a game at their home field, Bailey Park, until Mar. 17, they will be playing the role of hosts for two weekends in February, first beginning tomorrow, when Mercer, Southern Illinois, Austin Peay and Miami (Ohio) come to town, and then Feb. 24-26, when they host three-day, 11-team Phyllis Rafter Memorial. Both events will be held at Twin Creeks, where they have either hosted or competed in early-season tournaments during each of the last three seasons.
The Owls, who return a total of 12 players and three All-Atlantic Sun Conference honorees in senior Jessica Cross and juniors Sara Sikes and Sharon Swanson from a 2011 squad that went 28-27, will be getting an early-look at their in-state and conference rivals, the Mercer Bears.
The Bears and Owls are slated to play one another in an A-Sun doubleheader in Kennesaw on Apr. 28, ironically the final regular season games for the Black and Gold, but due to a scheduling change they will see one another at the very start of the season in a contest that will count in the overall standings but not in the A-Sun standings. Perhaps even more ironically, the match-up comes right in the heat of rivalry weekend, as the men’s and women’s basketball teams also take on Mercer on Friday and Saturday evening, respectively, at the KSU Convocation Center.
Whitlock’s club returns Sunday to face Miami (Ohio) at 1:00 p.m. and then wrap things up at 3:30 p.m. with a match-up against the Austin Peay Lady Govs.
With Sikes out to start the season due to injury, the onus will be on Swanson and Cross to produce early on, as both were selected to the Preseason All A-Sun Team along with Sikes. Swanson led the league in home runs last season with 14 and was second with 49 RBI, to go along with a .357 batting average.
Tickets to the event are five dollars for each day. Fans who purchase a ticket for Saturday will also receive free admission to the Lady Owls game vs. Mercer, which begins at the Convocation Center at 5 p.m.
Live stats, box scores and recaps of each game will be available throughout the weekend on the KSU Classic’s official tournament page.
The Owls opponents:
Saturday, Feb. 11- 1:00 p.m.: Mercer Bears
Conference: Atlantic
Sun
2011 Record: 32-24
Owls All-Time record: 15-7
Last Meeting:
4/30/11- L, 2-1; L, 1-0 (Macon, Ga.)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Sara Stukes, Sr., INF- .302, 7 HR, 37 RBI
Saturday, Feb. 11- 3:30 p.m.: Southern Illinois Salukis
Conference: Missouri Valley
2011 Record: 36-17
Owls All-Time Record: 0-1
Last Meeting: 2/20/10- L, 0-4 (Woodstock, Ga.)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Taylor Orsburn, So., INF, .345, 10 HR, 49 RBI
Sunday, Feb. 12- 1:00 p.m.: Miami (Ohio) Red Hawks
Conference: Mid-American
2011 Record: 32-22
Owls All-Time record: 1-1
Last Meeting: 2/20/09- W, 5-4 (Marietta, Ga.)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Jessica Simpson, Sr., P- 27-15, 1.60 ERA, 317 SO, 15 SHO, 38 CG
Sunday, Feb. 12- 3:30 p.m.: Austin Peay Lady Govs
Conference: Ohio Valley
2011 Record: 12-40
Owls All-Time Record: 2-1
Last Meeting: 3/6/11- W, 1-0 (Kennesaw, Ga.)
Top returnee: Jessica Ryan, Jr., OF- .220, 8 HR, 19 RBI
