By: KSU Sports Information
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Lexi's Night Feature
Weekly Release
Inside Owls Softball
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls welcome the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to Bailey Park for Lexi’s Night on Wednesday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The Owls will be looking avenge last Wednesday’s road defeat to Georgia Tech.
The Owls (19-17) are coming off a weekend in which they went 3-1 on the road against Atlantic Sun Conference foes East Tennessee State and USC Upstate. They are 3-4 this season at Bailey Park.
Come Out Early For Lexi’s Night: Wednesday is a special day at Bailey Park, as the Owls will celebrate their Fifth Annual Lexi’s Night, when they raise money for the Lexi Kaiser Foundation, which helps children with exceptional needs. The Foundation is named in honor of Lexi Kaiser, a nine-year old girl who lives with Cerebral Palsy. Prior to the game, fans are invited to take part in a pre-game meal courtesy of the Marietta Fish Market. Fans can get a ticket to the game and the meal for a 10 dollar donation. Lexi will present a specially-made bike to another child with exceptional needs prior to first-pitch. All ticket profits and donations on Wednesday will go to the Lexi Kaiser Foundation.
Watch Live: Fans can tune into the action on the Atlantic Sun Conference's video streaming service, ASun.tv. Ben Poplin and Jenna Closner will have all the action.
About Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets (23-16) are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, having most recently swept North Carolina State on the road this past weekend, after defeating the Owls, 9-1, last Wednesday. They are led at the plate by senior shortstop and 2011 All-American Kelsi Weseman, who enters Wednesday batting .387 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. She was 5-for-8 this past week on her way to winning ACC Player of the Week honors. They are anchored in the pitcher’s circle by junior Hope Rush, who is 15-10 with a 2.26 earned run average. They received one vote in the latest Top-25 Poll that was put out by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association on Tuesday.
About the Match-up:
Georgia Tech leads the all-time series between the two squads, 10-5, with the Owls sporting a 3-4 record against the Yellow Jackets at Bailey Park. The Black and Gold defeated Georgia Tech, 4-1, on Feb. 23 of last year at Bailey Park, with the big blast coming in the bottom of the third, when Sharon Swanson hit a grand slam to give the Owls all the runs they would need in the victory.
Last Wednesday’s meeting tied for the Owls largest margin of defeat against the Ramblin’ Wreck, as they allowed four home runs and were limited to three hits on the way to a, 9-1, loss in five innings at Mewborn Field in Atlanta. Shannon Bear hit two round-trippers in the winning effort for the home team.
Owls Vs. Georgia Tech- All- Time:
3/28/12- L, 9-1 (A)
4/6/11- L, 6-1 (A)
2/23/11- W, 4-1 (H)
4/14/10- L, 7-3 (H)
2/24/10- L, 8-3 (A)
4/14/09- L, 8-6 (A)
2/25/09- L, 8-0 (H)
3/12/08- L, 8-0; W, 6-3 (H)
4/18/07- L, 5-0; L, 8-0 (A)
2/18/07- L, 8-2 (H)
2/18/06- W, 5-4 (H)
4/30/92- W, 3-0; W, 5-1 (A)
Owls Withstand Delays, Have Solid Weekend Away From Bailey Park: The Black and Gold had their first back-to-back doubleheaders against conference opponents this season this past weekend, sweeping East Tennessee State on Friday evening before splitting a twin bill with USC Upstate on Saturday. The Owls pounded out 10 hits in each game against ETSU on Friday, winning the opener 4-3 before Abbey Mixon complemented a blistering offense with a 10 strikeout, four-hit shutout to help the visitors cruise to a, 9-0, win that ended after five innings. They would turn around on Saturday afternoon and drop a tight, 1-0, decision to Upstate before scoring in five straight innings on their way to a, 7-2, victory to seal a split with the Spartans. Both days involved weather-related stoppages in play, with Friday’s opener being delayed by three hours and 51 minutes due to heavy rain after the completion of the first inning, while Saturday’s second game was interrupted for 49 minutes due to lightning in the area.
Cross Earns First A-Sun Player of the Week Award Monday: Owls senior Jessica Cross was honored by the Atlantic Sun Conference for her terrific week at the plate on Monday, winning her first career A-Sun Player of the Week award. Cross was 7-for-15 in five games for the Owls this week, hitting three home runs while driving in four.
Cross had several big moments for the Black and Gold in the Owls 3-2 week on the road, most notably on Saturday, when she went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs to provide the Owls some insurance in their, 7-2, win over USC Upstate to secure a split in the doubleheader. Her bat was equally as effective on Friday evening in their sweep of East Tennessee State, as she hit a two-out double in the first inning of the opener that set-up a Sharon Swanson two-run home run. She would follow suit with the long-ball in the second game, hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning while the Owls cruised to a, 9-0, victory.
While this was the first time in Cross' career that she earned Player of the Week honors, she has been named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Week on two occasions.
OKay-Lee: Owls freshman Kaylee Williams broke out at the plate in a big way this past week, notching two multi-hit games on her way to a 7-for-12 performance from Wednesday to Saturday. She was a combined 5-for-7 on Friday at ETSU, hitting what would prove to be the game-winning two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Jessica Celebrates Her Birthday With Some Blasts: Owls senior Jessica Cross entered this past weekend with just three home runs this season after hitting 13 in 2011, but found her power stroke in a big way in conference play, slamming three home runs in two days. She hit a two-run dinger in the fourth frame of the Owls, 9-0, win over ETSU, and then hit a pair of long balls in their victory over USC Upstate on Saturday. The latter performance came on Cross’ 23
rd birthday, and launched her into the top-10 in the conference in batting average (.377); Slugging (.605) hits (43) and home runs (6).
A Perfect 10th: The Owls went throughout the entirety of Saturday’s, 1-0, defeat at USC Upstate without committing an error, the 10
th time they have done that this season.
Henderson Endures Some Bad Luck: Owls sophomore Amanda Henderson allowed just one run on four hits over six innings of work in the opener against USC Upstate on Saturday on the way to a tough-luck, 1-0 loss. The defeat marked the sixth occasion in her career in which the Covington, Ga., native allowed one earned run or less over six innings of work or more but still took the loss.
Cross Closing In on History: Jessica Cross made her 102
nd career appearance in the pitcher’s circle on Saturday at USC Upstate, putting her just three appearances away from tying Brittany Matthews for the most by an Owl during the program’s Division I era (2006-). She is in fifth place in program history overall.
Long Balls in Bulk: The Owls hit four home runs in the second game at USC Upstate on Saturday, tying their season-high in a game and marking the eighth time this season in which they have hit at multiple home runs in a contest. They enter Wednesday leading the A-Sun with 33 home runs this season.
Saving The Day...Literally: Owls junior Abbey Mixon came up in the clutch on 3/30 at ETSU. She came in in relief with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning of the opener that evening with the Owls clinging to a, 4-3, lead. She would go on to retire all seven batters she faced to earn her second save of the season, and then started the next game that night, shutting out the Bucs over five innings while striking out 10 in the Owls, 9-0, run-ruled victory.
Swanson Hard To Contain: Owls junior Sharon Swanson has showed that her Atlantic Sun Conference-leading 14
home runs in 2011 was no fluke. The Canton, Ga., native hit her 11
th home run of the season last Friday evening at ETSU, which currently puts her in a tie for 19th in that category nationally and tied for second in the A-Sun. She also enters Wednesday third in the A-Sun with a .753 slugging percentage and is tied for 3rd with 27 RBI.
