KENNESAW STATE (23-13, 4-5) AT STETSON (22-7, 5-1)
GAMES 37-39 | APRIL 3-5, 2015
DELAND, Fla. | PATRICIA WILSON FIELD
 
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | TWITTER
 
THE GAMES:
The Kennesaw State softball team makes the trek to Deland, Fla., to take on reigning Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champion Stetson in a three-game conference series, starting with a doubleheader on Friday (April 3) at 12 p.m. ET, before wrapping the series with a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday (April 4) at Patricia Wilson Field.
 
THE COVERAGE:
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com for all three games against the Hatters.
LIVE VIDEO: Live video of all three games at Patricia Wilson Field will be available via HatterVision.
TWITTER: Follow the Kennesaw State softball team on Twitter @KSUOwlsSB to receive updates throughout the game.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN:
Kennesaw State leads, 12-10
Last 5 meetings    
4/13/14        STET 11-0 (5)
4/12/14        KSU 4-0
4/12/14        KSU 3-0
4/14/13        STET 4-2
4/14/13        STET 4-2
 
Last Kennesaw State Win         
4/12/14, 4-0, at Kennesaw State
Last Stetson Win                               
4/13/14, 11-0, at Kennesaw State
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Kennesaw State softball team dropped a 3-0 decision to crosstown rival Georgia Tech in front of a capacity crowd at Lexi's Day at Bailey Park 2015 on a beautiful Wednesday (April 1) night. Prior to the game, the Owls hosted the eighth-annual Lexi's Day at Bailey Park, an event to raise funds and awareness for the Alexis Kaiser Foundation, which was established to help Alexi Kaiser and other children with exceptional needs. The foundation is named in honor of Lexi Kaiser, a 10-year old girl who lives with Cerebral Palsy and a special member of the Owl softball family. The Kennesaw State department of athletics, along with the Owl softball program and the Alexis Kaiser Foundation raised over $3,400 on the night with 100 percent of the proceeds from the pre-game dinner provided by the Marietta Fish Market as well as donations from those in attendance going to the Foundation.
 
NEXT UP:
The Owls return to Bailey Park to take on crosstown rival Georgia State for the second time this season on Wednesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. ET.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
Winning Ways
The Owls have won eight of their last 12 games, while also earning four series victories out of the last five series with series wins over Furman, North Florida, Troy and Jacksonville. 
 
Tops in A-Sun Stats
As a team, the Owls lead the conference and ranks sixth nationally with 13 triples, while also leading the conference with seven saves and fielding double plays with 17. KSU also ranks 16th in the nation in double plays per game at 0.49.
 
Owls in A-Sun Stats
The Owls rank second in the league with 23 wins, 434 total bases and 59 batters struck out looking, while allowing the third-lowest number of walk with 75 on the season. KSU also ranks third with a .292 batting average, a .456 slugging percentage, 187 runs scored, 278 hits, 167 RBIs and 43 doubles in overall play.
 
Triples
Senior Natalie Rhodes leads the league and ranks second nationally with six triples on the year, with her 0.17 triples per game also ranking seventh in the NCAA.
 
Super Senior, Part I
Rhodes also ranks in the top 10 in several other categories in the A-Sun, including hits (third, 45), runs scored (t-ffth, 29), batting average (seventh, .388), stolen bases (t-sixth, 12) and total bases (t-seventh, 64).
 
RBIs
Junior Megan Veringa sits seventh in the conference with 30 RBIs and has had eight multiple RBI games this season, while classmate Hillary Kartman is tied for ninth with 28 RBIs on the year.
 
Stolen Bases
Four Owls have registered nine or more stolen bases this season with Rhodes and junior Kara Chambers leading the way with Rhodes owning a 12-of-16 mark and Chambers going 12-of-15. Sophomore Taylor Denton has gone 11-of-13 on stolen base attempts, while classmate Lauren Bennett is 9-of-11 on stolen base attempts.
 
Homers
Nine Owls have gone yard on the season, with Kartman leading the way with eight home runs, which sits in a tie for sixth in the A-Sun. Veringa (six), Chambers (five), redshirt-sophomore Courtney Sutter (four) and junior Emily Bishop (two) have also posted multiple homers on the season.
 
Sacrifice Hits
Redshirt-sophomore Courtney Sutter owns three sacrifice flies on the season to rank in a tie for third in the league and is 29th in the nation, while junior Missy Perkowski is tied for second in the A-Sun with six sacrifice bunts on the year.
 
Saves
Senior Paige Mathews leads the league and ranks fifth in the nation with four saves on the year. Sophomore Logan Viers also has two saves this season, which ranks second in the A-Sun and 43rd in the NCAA.
 
Super Senior, Part II
Mathews paces the Owls in the circle and is ninth in the A-Sun with a 3.16 ERA, while ranking third with 27 appearances this season. She also sits sixth with nine wins, fifth with 78 strikeouts on the season, eighth with 93.0 innings pitched and is ninth with an opposing batting average of .262.
 
Walks
Viers has given up just 11 walks on the season to lead the A-Sun, while  junior Morgan Sikes has only allowed 13 walks this season to rank second in the conference, with her 1.13 walks allowed per seven innings ranking 14 in the nation.
 
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.