By: By Libby Knight
GAME ONE BOX SCORE (XML) | GAME ONE BOX SCORE (PDF) | GAME TWO BOX SCORE (XML) | GAME TWO BOX SCORE (PDF) MACON, Ga. – The Kennesaw State softball team dropped back-to-back contests to rival Mercer in heartbreaking fashion as the Owls suffered two walk-off losses Wednesday (April 2) at Sikes Field. KSU fell 1-0 in nine innings in game one, before suffering a 10-9 setback in game two.
The Owls move to 18-19 on the year and 7-7 in Atlantic Sun Conference action, while the Bears improve to 29-11 and 11-2 in league play.
It was pitcher's duel in the day's first game as neither team could push across a run in the first eight innings of action. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Riley Carter delivered a walk-off home run to left field to send the Bears to a 1-0 win in game one.
Junior pitcher
Paige Mathews (3-9) took the loss despite allowing only one run on five hits and striking out four in eight and two-thirds innings.
The Owls totaled three hits in the contest, with junior
Natalie Rhodes, sophomore
Kara Chambers and freshman
Taylor Denton each registering a hit.
Kirsten Stevens (11-2) earned the game one win for the Bears, who got two hits from Taylor Miller.
Senior
Angie Dascoli started things off for the Owls in game two, sending an RBI double down the left field line to score Denton for the 1-0 edge in the first inning.
After a two-run home run in the bottom of the first put the Bears up 2-1, KSU responded with a four-run inning to build a 5-2 lead in the top of the second as the Owls took advantage of two Mercer errors to go along with five hits, including a two-run single down the right field line from senior
Carly Van Auken and an RBI single up the middle from senior
Sara Sikes.
The Owls built onto their lead in the third with three runs on four hits and two Bear miscues as Chambers came home on a wild pitch, followed by Mercer fielding error to score sophomore
Missy Perkowski. Sikes then added an RBI single up the middle to plate Van Auken.
Van Auken came up big again in the fifth with a hard-hit double to centerfield to put runners on second and third, before a wild pitch scored sophomore pinch runner Kendall Robinson from third base for the 9-2 advantage.
The Bears then rallied for five-straight runs to trim the Owl lead to 9-7 heading into the seventh frame. Sophomore relief pitcher
Morgan Sikes would give up a leadoff double to right center field before senior starting pitcher
Amanda Henderson reentered the contest and quickly secured two outs.
Back-to-back singles from Mercer pulled the home team to within 9-8 with runners at first and third with two outs, before Kaytlin Haney hit a two-run double to left center field to send the Bears to the 10-9 win.
Henderson dropped to 14-7 with the setback, giving up five runs on seven hits and striking out eight in five and two-thirds innings of work. Mathews saw a third of an inning, giving up four runs on one hit, while Sikes went two-thirds of an inning, allowing only one run on two hits.
KSUs put up 15 hits against the Bears, with Van Auken going 3-of-4 with two RBI and two runs to lead the Owls, while Chambers and Perkowski both added three hits and two runs in the contest.
Riley Carter (5-1) earned the win for the Bears, who got three RBI and two hits from Haney.
The Owls next wrap an eight-game conference road trip with a three-game series against Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6. The Owls and the Eagles will face off in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 2 p.m., before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State softball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and @
KSUOwlsSB or by liking Kennesaw State University on
Facebook.
Season tickets are on sale for the entire home slate at $39, with single game tickets available for $6 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-12). To order season tickets contact the KSU Athletics Ticket Office at 770-423-OWLS (6957) or click HERE.
- #GoKSUOwls -
