By: KSU Sports Information
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ATHENS, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls play their final road game of the 2012 regular season on Wednesday evening when they travel up the road to take on the No. 12-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at Jack Turner Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s contest will also be the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Owls (28-21) who have won their last three contests.
Watch, Listen to the Action Live: Free, live audio of Wednesday’s action will be available on KSU All Access at
www.KSUOwls.com/Showcase. Georgia’s All Access service will also provide video streaming.
Success Against Ranked Teams: The Owls have defeated two ranked teams at the Division I level since moving up to the top level of collegiate softball in 2006. They topped Lipscomb, 5-3, in the second game of a doubleheader on Apr. 10, 2010 at Bailey Park, with the Bisons being ranked No. 25 in one poll at that time. Most recently, they triumphed over No. 22 Georgia Tech, 4-1, at Bailey Park on Feb. 23, 2011, with Sharon Swanson’s grand slam providing the offense.
About Georgia (35-12, 24-6 Home): The Bulldogs enter Wednesday looking to rebound from this past weekend, when they dropped two out of three games at home to the No. 2- ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. They are currently ranked No. 12 in the nation in both major polls, and are led at the plate by senior catcher and infielder Kristyn Sandberg, who is batting .351 and is tied for 11
th in the nation with 16 home runs. Senior Erin Arevalo has been the anchor in the pitcher’s circle, entering Wednesday with a 19-5 record and 1.70 Earned Run Average.
The Bulldogs are 2-0 this season against A-Sun competition, having most recently defeated USC Upstate, 7-3, on Apr. 10, and having also handled Mercer on Mar. 4, 2-0.
About the Match-up:
All-Time Against Georgia: 2-3
All-Time Record at Georgia: 2-3
All-TIme Meetings:
4/9/97- W, 5-2; W, 4-3 (Athens, Ga.)
3/18/09- L, 2-5 (Athens, Ga.)
3/31/10- L, 3-8 (Athens, Ga.)
4/27/11- L, 1-6 (Athens, Ga.)
Last Time: Georgia scored runs in each of the first four innings against the Black and Gold, who scratched out three hits in the contest against the Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time. Sara Sikes, who had played for Georgia in 2010, had two of those hits, going 2-for-3 as the Owls lead-off hitter.
The Owls Against the SEC: 5-5
Non-Georgia SEC games:
2/10/07- at Mississippi State- L, 0-6 (Starkville, Miss.)
3/2/07- at Ole Miss- L, 2-3 (Oxford, Miss.)
2/9/08- vs. Ole Miss- W, 3-0 (Kennesaw, Ga.)
2/6/09- at Mississippi State- W, 4-0 (Starkville, Miss.)
2/26/11- vs. Mississippi State- W, 3-2 (Woodstock, Ga.)
Owls Continue National Ascent: Kennesaw State is ranked No. 80 in the NCAA’s latest RPI rankings, which were released on Tuesday. They have now improved their national standing for five straight weeks, as they were 83 on Apri. 16, 85 on Apr. 10, 104 in Apr. 3, and were 117 in the first rankings released on Mar. 26.
Big Weekend Ahead For the Owls: Kennesaw State enters this coming weekend with a 12-4 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play, which ties them at the top of the standings with Florida Gulf Coast. A sweep against the Mercer Bears at Bailey Park this Saturday would clinch them at least a share of the A-Sun regular season title, which would be the first such title for the program since 2007. Their sweep over Belmont on Saturday clinched them a spot in their third straight Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, which will take place at USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., May 10-12.
Swanson, Henderson Among the Nation’s Best: In the latest NCAA statistical update, which was released on Monday, Owls sophomore Amanda Henderson finds herself fifth in the country in strikeouts per seven innings with a sterling rate of 9.8. Junior Sharon Swanson has hit 15 home runs this season, which is good enough to put her in a tie for 16th in the nation in that category, and first in the A-Sun. Henderson’s four saves on the season is also tied for ninth best in NCAA Division I.
Hit Them if You Can: The Owls pitching staff enters Wednesday ranked at the top of the Atlantic Sun Conference, having struck out 360 batters, well ahead of USC Upstate’s 323. Sophomore Amanda Henderson leads the charge in that category, having fanned 182 batters this season, good for fourth in the league, while Abbey Mixon’s 108 ranks her ninth in the A-Sun.
Williams, Saunders Flourish in Conference Play: Owl newcomers Kaylee Williams and Jamie Saunders may sport 2012 batting averages of .266 and .219, but that hasn’t stopped them from being a thorn in the side of A-Sun opponents. Williams is hitting at a .347 rate in conference play, while collecting 16 RBI. Saunders, for her part, has appeared in just eight A-Sun contests, but has made the most of her opportunities, batting .429. The junior transfer has come on strong lately, having hit safely in nine of her last 11 starts.
Owls Extend, Snap Shutout Streaks Last Weekend: The Black and Gold went 3-1 last weekend at home against A-Sun foes Lipscomb and Belmont, and in doing so, ended an unpleasant string while prolonging a positive one. In their, 7-1, win over Lipscomb in the second game of their doubleheader on Friday evening, they snapped a three-game stretch in which they were blanked by the Bisons, with the combined score of those three contests being 4-0. The following day, they handled Belmont by scores of 8-0 and 9-0, and in the process made it five straight shutouts against the Bruins. The latter streak will likely stay that way for awhile, as Belmont will be leaving the A-Sun for the Ohio Valley Conference at the conclusion of the season.
Saturday’s Opener Was Also Historic: The Owls, 8-0, win over Belmont was the 1500th game in the history of Kennesaw State Owls softball. They enter Wednesday with an all-time record of 1185-316, for an impressive winning percentage of .789.
