By: KSU Sports Information
Box Scores: Game One Game Two
DeLAND, Fla. – The Kennesaw State Owls stepped up when it mattered on Saturday afternoon, scoring late-inning runs in bunches to sweep an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader on the road over the Stetson Hatters, 5-1 and 8-1. The pair of victories kept them on top of the A-Sun standings.
The Owls (25-20, 9-3 A-Sun) would come back from 1-0 deficits in each contest to post convincing wins over the Hatters (21-16, 6-6 A-Sun), who entered the day just one game behind the Black and Gold for first place in the A-Sun standings. The wins were the first over Stetson at Patricia Wilson Field, a place where the Owls only previous victory had come over USC Upstate in the 2010 A-Sun Tournament. They were 0-5 against Stetson on their home field.
“I’m unbelievably proud of this team today, they came down here and played well in a place where we haven’t had much success in the past,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said. “To come from behind and hold on for a pair of wins on the road is certainly a credit to them and the effort they put forth this weekend.”
Trailing by one run heading into the fifth inning of the opener, Jensen Hackett and Jessica Cross would single to lead off the frame, and after advancing to second and third on a wild pitch, Bianca Durant would step to the plate with one out and slap a single past the diving Alyssa Oddo at second base into right field, scoring Hackett and tying things up at one.
The score would stay that way until the top of the seventh, when the Black and Gold would use their long ball prowess to pull away. Sharon Swanson, who had struggled at the plate leading up to the final inning, would seemingly hit a ball off her fists with one out that carried over the right field fence to give the Owls a, 2-1, lead, her A-Sun leading 13
th round tripper of the season. That run would prove to be enough for Kennesaw State, but they weren’t satisfied. Back-to-back singles by Durant and Lindsay Vollmer sent Kaylee Williams to the plate with two runners on and one out. The freshman Williams would provide the Owls plenty of insurance launching the first pitch she saw from Meredith Owen well over the left field fence to make it, 5-1, which would prove to be the final score.
Abbey Mixon went the first four and two-thirds innings in the pitcher’s circle, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out three. She was replaced by Jessica Cross with two outs in the fifth inning, with the bases loaded. Cross would induce a groundout to second to end the threat, the second time during the opener that Stetson would strand the bases loaded, and then pitched a scoreless sixth. After allowing a lead-off double to Jordan Cleghorn in the seventh, Amanda Henderson would come in and retire the side to preserve the crucial win in the opener. The trio combined to strand 13 Hatters on base in the first game of the twin bill. Cross would be credited with the win to improve to 8-8 on the season.
Kennesaw State would once again use the long-ball to jumpstart their offense in the second game, as well. Having hit two balls out of the yard after already entering the day leading the A-Sun with 35 home runs, it was Durant who would again close the gap on another 1-0 deficit, this hitting a bullet over the centerfield wall with one out in the fifth inning for her fifth home run of the season. After preceding to then load the bases, Carly Van Auken would notch the first of her three RBI in the game with an infield single to give the Owls their first lead of the contest. Hackett and Cross would then walk in runs later in the frame to make it, 4-1.
Van Auken would extend the Owls advantage in the sixth, stepping to the plate with two outs in the sixth and Williams and Vollmer on second and third, respectively. She would find a hole on the left side, singling to left field to plate both of them, making it 6-1. The duo that scored would both notch RBI of their own in the seventh inning.
Henderson would go the distance in the second game, allowing one earned run on seven hits while striking out nine for her 11
th complete game of the season, moving to 11-7 in 2012. The Hatters had opportunities against Henderson on their Senior Day, but stranded runners in six different innings.
Durant was the lone Owl to have more than one hit in both games, going 2-for-4 in the opener before going 2-for-3 in the second game.
With the pair of wins, the Owls are now 9-3 and a full game in front of Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate for first place in the league, with those two squads currently holding 7-3 marks in the league.
There will be no mid-week, non-conference games for the Owls this coming week, as they next take the field on Friday when they host Lipscomb at Bailey Park in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m., before taking on Belmont for a pair on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Weekend Notes:
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Jessica Cross made her 106th career appearance in the pitcher's circle in Saturday's opener, setting the program's Division I record, surpassing Brittany Matthews, who was with the Owls from 2005-08, playing her freshman season during the Owls final year at the Division II level. She is fifth on the program's all-time list.
-With the sweep, the Owls move to 8-7 all-time against Stetson.
-Five of the last six games between the Owls and Hatters have now ended in come-from-behind wins.
-The Owls went with a slightly different batting order than what has been traditional during 2012 in Saturday. Cross and
Sharon Swanson, who generally have been third and fourth, batted first and second on Saturday, while
Natalie Rhodes and
Jensen Hackett were eighth and ninth, respectively, after having spen the last several weeks in the leadoff and two spots.
Carly Van Auken, who has spent a lot of time batting ninth, was seventh, while
Bianca Durant,
Lindsay Vollmer and
Kaylee Williams batted third, fourth and fifth. Brittany Moore batted sixth.
-Kennesaw State's 9-3 start in the A-Sun is t heir best since 2007, when they also won nine of their first 12. That '07 club, in just their second season at the Division I level, would go on to start out 13-3, finish 14-4, and take the A-Sun regular season title.
-The Owls did not commit any errors on Saturday, marking the third time this season in which they went two full games in one day without doing so. They were also error free last Friday in their home sweep of North Florida, as well on Feb. 24 in wins over Alabama State and Bradley. Overall, the Black and Gold are 13-3 this season when they do not committ any errors.
