By: KSU Sports Information
College of Charleston Classic Schedule
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Mt. Pleasant, S.C. – The Kennesaw State Owls softball team will try and build off of their 3-0 start to the 2012 campaign this weekend when they hit the road for the first time, as they will play five games in the College of Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C. They take the field Friday for games against Marshall and Charleston Southern.
The (3-0) were solid in all facets of their game last weekend during the season-opening KSU Classic, which they hosted at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock, Ga. While they batted .338 as a team and outscored their opponents, 17-1, they also committed just two errors and drew 11 walks, while successful laying down three sacrifice bunts.
In the pitcher’s circle, Jessica Cross and Abbey Mixon tossed back-to-back shutouts, while Amanda Henderson came up big out of the bullpen in the season opener, shutting down the Mercer Bears over four and a third shutout frames while striking out 10 on the way to leading the Owls to a, 6-1, victory. Cross was also a menace at the plate, going 6-for-10 while also hitting a home run.
“The best part about last weekend, we were able to learn a lot about ourselves while we were winning. We did a lot of good things on the field, but we can’t allow our early success to give us a false sense of security,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said. “We know we’re going to be tested this weekend, going on the road for the first time, and we know we still have a long way to go in our development as a team, but last weekend was definitely a positive start for us.”
One of the players who led the charge at the plate was freshman infielder Natalie Rhodes, started all three games at second base while serving as the leadoff hitter. Rhodes was sure-handed at second base and acted as the main table-setter in the leadoff spot in the absence of junior Sara Sikes, who will miss the early portion of the season due to injury.
The Canton, Ga. native was 2-for-6 at the plate last weekend while walking three times and laying down a pair of sacrifice bunts, exactly the things you would want to see out of someone in the No. 1 hole.
“Natalie came in here as a gifted freshman, and she’s done a nice job learning her role and improving as a player during the fall and now the spring,” Whitlock commented. “She certainly did her job at the plate for us last weekend, which was to get on base, it doesn’t matter how. Her success as a lead-off hitter will be measured by on-base percentage, not necessarily batting average.”
This coming weekend will mark the second of three tournaments the Owls will play at neutral sites this month, the type of format that has agreed with Whitlock’s club in recent years. Taking last weekend into account, the Black and Gold are 16-7 in February neutral site tournaments since 2010. Overall, they are 58-32 in all games played in February since they moved up to the Division I ranks in 2006.
Following Friday’s pair of games in the six-team, 15 game event held at Patriot’s Point Athletic Complex in nearby Mt. Pleasant, S.C., several minutes from College of Charleston’s downtown campus, the Owls will take on the hosting College of Charleston Cougars and the Morehead State Eagles on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and Noon, respectively. They wrap-up the weekend on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. against the Akron Zips.
The Owls match-up with the Marshall Thundering Herd, which happens to be the team Owls assistant coach Leigh Wintter played for during her college years, is scheduled to begin at Noon on Friday, with their tilt against the Charleston Southern Bucs set to start at 2 p.m.
2012 College of Charleston Classic: Participants (Date/Time Vs. Owls)
Marshall Thundering Herd (Friday, 2/17- Noon):
All Time Series: First Meeting
2012 Record: 4-1
Last Weekend: Went 4-1 at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic, hosted by Coastal Carolina (Won two vs. Georgia Southern; W vs. George Mason, George Washington; L at Coastal Carolina)
2011 Record (Year-End RPI): 19-33 (146)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Rebecca Gamby- Sr., C/INF- .290, 12 HR, 31 RBI, .391 OBP
Charleston Southern Bucs (Friday, 2/17- 2 p.m.)
All Time Series: First Meeting
2012 Record: 3-0
Last Weekend: Swept three-game series at home vs. Furman
2011 Record (Year-end RPI): 152
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Megan Lombard- So., INF- .330, 8 HR, 33 RBI, .410 OBP
College of Charleston Cougars (Saturday, 2/18- 10 a.m.):
All Time Series: Owls Lead, 2-1
Last Meeting: 2/24/08- L, 2-0 (Charleston, S.C.)
2012 Record: 2-0
Last Weekend: Swept doubleheader at Savannah State
2011 Record (Year-End RPI): 37-21 (113)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Kelsey Hodges-So., INF- .308, 8 HR, 26 RBI, .386 OBP
Morehead State Eagles (Saturday, 2/18- Noon):
All Time Series: First Meeting
2012 Record: 0-0
Last Weekend: They begin 2012 season this weekend
2011 Record (Year-End RPI): 19-36 (201)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Kayla Brill-Sr., OF-.312, 9 HR, 39 RBI
Akron Zips (Sunday, 2/19- 10 a.m.):
All Time Series: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: 3/7/10- W, 2-0 (Woodstock, Ga.)
2012 Record: 2-3
Last Weekend: Went 2-3 at the Southeast Louisiana Lion Classic, hosted by Southeastern Louisiana (W at Southeastern Louisiana, vs. Southern; L vs. Northern Colorado, Troy, Nicholls State)
2011 Record (Year-End RPI): 24-24 (185)
Top returnee (2011 Stats): Alissa Birkhimer-Jr., P/INF- .318, 10 HR, 31 RBI; 2-1, 3.15 ERA, 2 SV
