No. 5 KENNESAW STATE (24-27) VS No. 4 MERCER (34-17)
ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP | MAY 7-10, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. | DRAPER DIAMOND
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET | TWITTER
 
THE GAME:
After a nine-day break, the Kennesaw State softball team is back in action as the Owls travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship on May 7-10 at Draper Diamond.
 
KSU, making its fifth-straight appearance in the Championship, enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 Mercer at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday (May 7) on the opening day of the six-team event.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com.
LIVE VIDEO: Live video of Wednesday's first round contest will be provided by ASun.TV. Fans can follow the link via KSUOwls.com at the start of the contest.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State softball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsSB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
THE OPPONENT:
Mercer
The Bears wrapped the regular season with a 34-17 overall record and a 16-8 mark in the A-Sun, with their 34 wins the most wins in program history in a 51-game regular season schedule. Mercer is riding a five-game winning streak after ending the season with a three-game series sweep of Florida Gulf Coast. The Bears are led offensively by First-Team All-Conference honoree McKenzie Woody and Kirsten Stevens in the circle.
 
Kennesaw State leads, 21-10
Last 5 meetings    
3/13/13       KSU 2-1
3/20/13       MER 4-2
4/2/14         MER 1-0
4/2/14         MER 10-9
4/9/14         KSU 5-4
 
Last Kennesaw State Win         
4/9/14, 5-4, at Kennesaw State
Last Mercer Win                                
4/2/14, 10-9, at Mercer
         
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State softball team wrapped the 2014 regular season with a series win over East Tennessee State on April 26-27 as the Owls split a doubleheader with the Bucs on Saturday, winning 8-0 in six innings in game one before falling 12-5 in eight innings in game two. KSU rebounded with a 4-1 win in its series and regular season finale on Sunday.
 
Prior to game one on Saturday, the Owls celebrated Senior Day 2014 as seniors Amanda Henderson, Angie Dascoli, Carly Van Auken, Stephanie Phillips, Bianca Durant and Sara Sikes made their finale appearance at Bailey Park on Sunday.
 
NEXT UP:
With a win in Wednesday's contest against the Bears, the Owls will advance to face A-Sun regular season champion and No. 1 seed USC Upstate on Thursday (May 8) at 1:30 p.m. ET. However, if the Owls should fall to Mercer, KSU will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday against the loser between No. 3 Stetson and No. 6 Florida Gulf Coast.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
A-Sun Honors
Three Owls garnered postseason honors when the A-Sun announced its All-Conference Teams as sophomore Kara Chambers was named Defensive Player of the Year and joined senior Amanda Henderson and Freshman Taylor Denton as Second-Team All-Conference honorees. Denton also earned a spot on the A-Sun Freshmen Team. It is Henderson's third career All-Conference honor and Chambers and Denton's first.
 
Offensive Leaders
Senior Angie Dascoli leads the Owls and ranks in the top 15 in the conference with a .340 batting average in overall action, while Chambers and Denton rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in A-Sun play with averages of.382 and .378.
 
A-Sun Play
Denton also ranks in a tie for third in the conference with 23 runs in league play, as well as sitting in a tie for sixth with 31 hits. Chambers sits right behind the freshman with 21 runs and 29 hits in A-Sun action.
 
Topping the 600 Mark
Earlier this season Henderson went over the 600 mark in strikeouts in her career and now has 673 career strikeouts, which leads all active A-Sun players and sits second in the KSU Division I record books.
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Chambers, who took home A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year accolades, registered 67 putouts and 107 assists while only committing three errors in 51 games this season. In conference play, she held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 33 putouts and 52 assists to rank first in the league.
 
Henderson in the Circle
Second-Team honoree Henderson ranks in the top 10 in multiple pitching statistics in the A-Sun, including ranking second with 190 strikeouts and 44 looking strikeouts, as well as third in wins and innings pitched and fourth in the conference with 33 appearances this season. She is also nationally ranked in strikeouts per seven innings (26th) and strikeouts (44th).
 
Multiple Hit Games
Denton holds a team-leading 17 games with multiple hits, 13 with two and four with three, while Chambers owns 14 and Dascoli and junior Natalie Rhodes have 14 multiple hit games.
 
Stolen Bases
Denton, Chambers and Rhodes have combined for 37 stolen bases on the year, with Denton taking 15 in 19 attempts and Chambers and Rhodes stealing 11 in 14 tries.
 
Triples and Defense
Rhodes ranks in a tie for third in the A-Sun with three triples on the year. The junior also owns a 1.000 fielding percentage, having not committed an error in 47 games.
 
Fielding Percentage
KSU owns the best fielding percentage in A-Sun play at .977 and the third-best fielding percentage in overall action at .966, which ranks 68th in the nation, while committing the third-lowest number of errors with 48 total errors, including a league-low 15 miscues in A-Sun play.
 
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.
 
 

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