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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls were able to bounce back from a tough opening defeat on Friday evening by tapping into their power bats and taking down the Lipscomb Bisons, 7-1, after falling, 1-0, to split an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader at Bailey Park.
After not being able to capitalize on an 11-strikeout performance by junior
Abbey Mixon in the opener, the Owls (26-21, 10-4 A-Sun) immediately pounced on the Bisons (28-14, 6-6 A-Sun) and pitcher Ashley Anderson in the second game, with
Bianca Durant turning on an 0-1 offering with one out in the first inning and driving it over the right field fence, a two-run shot that gave the sophomore her sixth home run of the season and the Black and Gold a, 2-0, lead, the first of three home runs in the contest for the home team.
Lipscomb would score their only run of the game in the fourth inning against Owls starter
Amanda Henderson, who moved to 12-7 on the season and notched her team-leading 12
th complete game of the season. They would notch two of the three hits they mustered against Henderson in the frame, including an RBI double by Caroline Mason to make it, 2-1.
The game wouldn’t be tight for long, however, as the Owls quickly loaded up the bases with one out in the bottom of fourth on singles by
Jamie Saunders and
Jensen Hackett and a walk to
Carly Van Auken. Saunders' hit and Van Auken’s walk prompted the Bisons to replace Anderson in the circle with senior Whitney Kiihnl, who shut down the Owls in the opener, but it would be in this inning that
Scott Whitlock’s club would get the big hits they needed against the 2010 A-Sun Player of the Year.
With no place to put junior
Sharon Swanson, Kiihnl threw a pitch that the A-Sun home run leader drove to deep centerfield that was barely going to stay inside the park, but deflected off the centerfielder Bree Thurman’s glove over the wall for a game-breaking grand slam to make it 6-1 in favor of the Owls.
The grand slam was the fourth of Swanson’s career and her second of 2012, and it put her squad firmly in control of the contest from that point forward. Henderson would retire the last nine batters she faced to ensure the Owls victory, while a
Lindsay Vollmer solo home run in the fifth inning would give the Owls some extra insurance coming down the stretch. Three of Henderson’s six strikeout victims in the outing would come over the final three innings.
Kennesaw State had trouble finding similar magic at the plate in the opener, falling under the spell of Kiihnl to the tune of being shut out while notching just three hits, none of the extra base variety. Mixon was dominant in the circle for most of the opener, striking out six of the first seven batters she faced and keeping the Owls in a scoreless tie into the fifth inning. It was then, however, that a pair of doubles by Hayley Elliott and Thurman would push across the only run that was needed to secure the victory in the first game of the twin bill. Mixon allowed just a total of four hits while walking just one, despite taking the loss and falling to 6-5 on the season.
The Owls best opportunity to get on the board in the opener perhaps came in the third inning, when Van Auken led things off with a single and moved up to second base with one out when a Hackett bunt was misplayed and put two runners on with one out. As was indicative of the Owls fortune against Kiihnl and the Bisons in the first game, however, they wouldn’t take advantage of the small opening, as
Jessica Cross and Swanson would be retired to end the threat.
With the split, the Black and Gold are now one game behind Florida Gulf Coast for first place in the A-Sun standings after entering the day tied at the top of the standings. FGCU swept East Tennessee State on the road on Friday evening to gain the slight edge.
Freshman
Natalie Rhodes had hits in both contests on Friday night, the only Owl to turn the trick, while Vollmer’s 2-for-3 performance in the second game was the only multi-hit effort for the Owls on the evening.
The Owls have two more chances to gain ground in the A-Sun on Saturday afternoon, when they host the Belmont Bruins for a doubleheader at Bailey Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. The first 500 fans to arrive at Bailey Park will receive Owls temporary tattoos, while all youth softball players that wear their jerseys will receive free admission, with accompanying parents getting in for three dollars. Belmont (11-30, 5-7 A-Sun) is coming off of a Friday night sweep at Mercer.
