GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State softball team is set for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series in Jacksonville, Fla., as the Owls take on North Florida on Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7. KSU and UNF will play a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a single game on Sunday. First pitch for both days is set for 1 p.m. (ET).
Live stats and video via ASun.TV will be available on KSUOwls.com. Fans can also follow the action by following Kennesaw State softball on Twitter, @
KSUOwlsSoftball.
Kennesaw State (23-11, 7-5 A-Sun) last dropped a single midweek game to Georgia State, 7-3, on Tuesday at Bailey Park. The Panthers plated three runs in the third and four runs in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead. The Owls rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to move the score to 7-3, but were shut out in the final two innings.
Sophomore
Natalie Rhodes (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) provided a single to right field with the bases loaded to tally the Owls’ first run of the night. Junior
Sara Sikes (Douglasville, Ga./Georgia) then delivered a two-RBI sacrifice fly to deep centerfield.
The NCAA released its second RPI of the season on Monday, with the Owls coming in at No. 51 in the ranking. Kennesaw State is the third highest ranked team in the A-Sun, only trailing USC Upstate (No. 38) and Jacksonville (No. 42).
Senior
Sharon Swanson (Canton, Ga./Cherokee HS) leads the KSU attack with a .375 batting average, and has contributed 39 hits, 23 RBI and seven home runs on the season. Sikes has also chipped in 39 hits, including a team-high 11 doubles and two triples, and owns a .355 batting average for the Owls. She ranks second on the team with 17 RBI and has three stolen bases in four attempts this season.
Junior
Amanda Henderson (Covington, Ga./Eastside HS) continues to lead the Owls in the circle. She owns a 1.03 ERA in 108.2 innings of work and is 13-1 on the season. Henderson leads the conference with 134 strikeouts and her 1.03 ERA ranks seventh in the nation.
North Florida (27-10, 6-3) is coming off of three-game series sweep of A-Sun rival East Tennessee State. The Ospreys defeated ETSU by scores of 5-1 and 10-0 (five innings) on Saturday, before completing the sweep with a 1-0 win on Sunday. The Ospreys have won seven of their last eight games, including taking two from Lipscomb at Nashville on March 23-24.
Danica Mandarano leads North Florida with a .333 batting average, with 35 hits, 18 runs and 10 RBI on the season. Kelly Wilson ranks second on the squad with a .310 batting average and has collected a team-leading 36 hits, including a team-leading 11 doubles.
In the circle UNF is led by Kaylie Wallace, who is 13-4 this season and has an ERA of 1.38 in 101.2 innings. She has given up 20 earned runs, while registering 81 strikeouts.
Kennesaw State next returns to Bailey Park for an A-Sun midweek series against Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10. The Owls and the Eagles will play a doubleheader on Tuesday, followed by a single game on Wednesday. First pitch on both days is scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET).
Keep up with Owls softball this year by following KSU on Twitter at @
KSUOwlNation and @
KSUOwlsSoftball, or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on
Facebook.
Kennesaw State is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
