GAME ONE BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)
GAME TWO BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State softball team (19-4, 3-1 Atlantic Sun) split its doubleheader with Lipscomb (11-12, 2-3 A-Sun) on Saturday, March 16 at the Draper Diamond, earning a 6-3 win in game one, before dropping a 4-3 decision in game two.
The Bison opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning on three hits and a pair of stolen bases from Brittany Elmore.
KSU evened score in the second as junior
Bianca Durant (Douglasville, Ga./Chapel Hill HS) posted a leadoff single up the middle and was brought home three batters later on a single to centerfield from junior
Sara Sikes (Douglasville, Ga./Georgia).
The Owls took a 3-1 lead in the fourth frame when Sikes delivered her second hit of the game, a two-run double down the left field line to score pinch runners freshman
Rachel Dennis (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) and senior
Jensen Hackett (Tunnell Hill, Ga./Ringgold HS).
Kennesaw State stretched its lead to 4-1 in the fifth on a passed ball from LU catcher Mickey Bell to plate junior
Angie Dascoli (West Melbourne, Fla./State College of Florida), who doubled down the left field line earlier in the inning.
Just a half inning later, Lipscomb responded with a one-run home run to left center from Bree Thurman to close the gap to 4-2.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Owls plated a pair of runs to push the lead to 6-2. Senior
Sharon Swanson (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) smacked a single to deep right center, scoring junior
Carly Van Auken (Largo, Fla./State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota) and freshman
Missy Perkowski (Woodstock, Ga./Sequoyah HS).
LU added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but junior pitcher
Amanda Henderson struck out four in the final two innings to preserve the win. Henderson improved her record to 11-0 while totaling 14 strikeouts in a complete game effort, her ninth of the season.
Each team registered eight hits, with the Bison committing an error. Sikes and Swanson both posted a 2-for-4 performance to lead the Owls, with Sikes recording a season-high three RBI and Swanson adding two RBI.
Heather Parker (3-7) took the game one loss for LU.
Lipscomb again jumped to an early lead in game two, scoring a run in the second inning on a Haley Elliott home run.
The Owls evened the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning as freshman
Alexis Collis (Blue Ridge, Ga./Fannin County HS) singled and was brought home on a double to right center from Durant.
The tie game would not last long however, as the Bison took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth frame on a wild pitch from senior
Abbey Mixon (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) and a home run from Gracey Aguirre.
Down two heading in the top of the seventh, Kennesaw State proved resilient by tying up the game with a pair of runs. Back-to-back doubles from Swanson and Dascoli moved the Owls to within one, before freshman
Megan Veringa (Roswell, Ga./Centennial HS) pushed the tying run across the plate with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Dascoli from third.
The Owls looked to send the game into extra innings, but Lipscomb’s Brittany Elmore had different ideas as she drove in the winning run with a single to left center with runners at first and second. It was KSU’s 11th one-run game, but only third one-run loss of the season.
Kennesaw State outhit the Bison 10-8, with Durant posting a 3-for-4 effort plus an RBI for the Owls. Sikes and Swanson both added a pair of hits in the game.
Mixon (7-3) pitched 6.1 innings in the loss and struck out four batters, while Tanner Sanders (7-3) earned the win for LU.
The Owls wrap its three-game series with Lipscomb with the rubber match on Sunday, March 17. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. (ET).
Keep up with Owls softball this year by following KSU on Twitter at @
KSUOwlsSoftball and @
KSUOwlNation or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on
Facebook.
Kennesaw State is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
