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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State softball team fell to USC Upstate, 7-5, in the third and final game of their Atlantic Sun Conference series on Saturday, March 30 at Bailey Park.
The Spartans (28-3, 10-1 A-Sun) jumped out quickly against Kennesaw State (23-10, 7-5 A-Sun), plating six runs on four hits and two costly Owl errors in the opening inning of the game. Upstate started the game by collecting hits from the first four of five batters to go up 3-0. The Spartans’ Dana Landers then reached on a fielder’s choice and would come all the way around on a throwing error to second that went all the way to the fence in center, scoring along with two other Upstate runners on the play to put the Spartans up 6-0.
Senior starter
Abbey Mixon (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) was then replaced by junior
Amanda Henderson (Covington, Ga./Eastside HS), who posted three swinging strikeouts to end the inning.
The Owls cut into the Spartan lead with two runs in the third inning. Sophomore
Kaylee Williams (Kennesaw, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain HS) opened the inning with a single to shortstop and was brought home on a double to left field from freshman
Kara Chambers (Kennesaw, Ga./Allatoona HS). Junior
Sara Sikes (Douglasville, Ga./Georgia) then delivered a single to second base to score Chambers from second base.
Upstate added a run in the fifth on an RBI single to left field from Cheyenne Griffin to push its lead to 7-2.
Senior
Sharon Swanson (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) smacked her seventh home run of the season in the sixth inning to move KSU to within 7-3 heading into the seventh inning.
Down four heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Owls looked to rally with junior
Angie Dascoli (West Melbourne, Fla./State College of Florida) and Williams earning walks to lead off the inning. Junior
Carly Van Auken (Largo, Fla./State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota) provided a clutch single to second base to plate freshman pinch runner
Rachel Dennis (Marietta, Ga./Pope HS) from second base, before sophomore
Natalie Rhodes (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) singled to second base, scoring Williams and putting the Owls within two at 7-5.
Upstate then secured the final two outs of the game as Sikes popped up to shortstop and Rhodes was put out by Landers at second base on a fielder’s choice from Swanson.
Each team recorded seven hits in the game, with the Owls committing three errors. Chambers went 2-for-3 plus an RBI and a run to lead the Owls. Williams added a hit and two runs in the contest.
Mixon took the loss to move to 8-6 on the season, with Henderson# pitching for all seven innings, posting six strikeouts, while only giving up three hits and one earned run in the outing.
Hannah Alexander (12-2) earned the win for the Spartans, who got two hits from Griffin and Maddison Kieffer and a pair of RBI from Shellie Robinson.
Kennesaw State will look to exact some revenge on Tuesday, April 2 as KSU plays host to Georgia State for a single game starting at 5 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.
