By: KSU Sports Information
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WOODSTOCK, Ga. – On a cold, windy Saturday afternoon, the Kennesaw State Owls started off the 2012 campaign in style, taking down their in-state and conference rivals, the Mercer Bears, 6-1, in a non-conference contest during the first day of the KSU Classic at Twin Creeks Softball Complex.
The Owls (1-0), who had their second scheduled game of afternoon against Southern Illinois canceled due to deteriorating weather conditions, used a mix of big hits and shutdown pitching to secure the victory. Home runs by Jessica Cross and Jamie Saunders, to go along with a 10-strikeout performance by Amanda Henderson, were more than enough to lift the Black and Gold out of an early, 1-0, hole against the Bears (0-2).
Henderson relieved Owls starter Abbey Mixon with two outs in the third inning after Mixon, who struck out five batters and allowed just one hit over two and two thirds innings, issue a walk with the bases loaded for what would be Mercer’s only run of the game. Henderson immediately struck out Tiffany Phillips to end the threat, the start of what would be a virtuoso performance by the sophomore, as she allowed just two hits over four a third innings of shutout work.
“Sometimes it can be harder to have command of your pitches in the cold, in weather like this I am constantly moving, constantly blowing on my hands, doing whatever I can to not lose feeling in my hands and feet,” said Henderson, who at one point struck out five batters in a row. “All in all, I felt good throwing the ball today even in these conditions.”
After giving up the first run of the game in the top half of the third inning, the Owls would answer right back, as senior Jessica Cross, who hit 13 home runs last season, picked up right where she left off at the plate, bashing a two-out home run that cleared the trees in left field to tie things up at one.
Kennesaw State would take the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth, and did so without recording a single hit in the frame. Kaylee Williams, Olivia Rutledge, Natalie Rhodes and Carly Van Auken, four of five Owls making their debut with the club on Saturday, would all draw walks to bring around the go-ahead run, with Rutledge scoring one batter later on a wild pitch.
Leading, 3-1, in the bottom of the fifth, the Black and Gold would put the game away, as junior Sharon Swanson would lead off the inning by doubling down the left field line for her second hit of the day. She was driven in with another clutch two-out hit, this time Lindsay Vollmer’s, as the senior doubled to the left-center field wall to drive in Swanson, who played much of her high school and youth softball games at Twin Creeks.
Now up, 4-1, Jamie Saunders, the fifth Owl to make her debut on Saturday, would step to the plate as a pinch-hitter, and had the best possible start to her Kennesaw State career as she ever could have had, driving a 1-0 offering from Kristen Bretscher over the left centerfield fence to give head coach Scott Whitlock’s club a, 6-1, lead.
“I was just waiting my turn, being really excited to get the chance to play with my new team, and wanting to contribute right away,” said Saunders, a junior who transferred to KSU in the fall. “I stayed ready for my opportunity and did everything I could to take advantage of it.”
Cross joined Swanson as the other Owl to have two hits in the game, going 2-for-4 while Swanson was 2-for-3. Rhodes walked three times in the lead-off spot for the Black and Gold.
The Owls and Bears meet during conference play on Apr. 28, when Mercer travels to Kennesaw for a doubleheader.
Sunday’s games in the KSU Classic, which were slated to start at 10:30 a.m., will now begin at Noon, with the Owls 1:00 p.m. game against Miami (Ohio) being moved to 2:00 p.m. They will then face Austin Peay at 4:00 p.m. to wrap up the two-day, five team event. Tickets for Sunday admission are five dollars.
