TOP OF THE ORDER• The Kennesaw State softball team returns to Bailey Park on Friday (Feb. 26) when it opens play in the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. (ET).
• The tournament field includes Alabama A&M, UT Martin and Western Michigan. The Owls-Broncos game will be the lone contest played on Friday and three games will take place on Saturday (Feb. 27) and Sunday (Feb. 28).
• Live video of Friday's games versus Western Michigan will be available on A-Sun TV and can be accessed by logging onto KSUOwls.com. Fans can also follow the action via live stats at KSUOwls.com and Twitter at @KSUOwlsSB.
•Through two weekends of play, the Owls are currently 6-1 on the season after opening the year with six straight wins before suffering their first setback to Bradley in the second game of doubleheader on Saturday (Feb. 20).
• The Kennesaw State victory over Murray State on Opening Day (Feb. 12) marked the 11th consecutive season-opening win for the Owls, all since they transitioned to the NCAA Division I level in 2006. Overall, Kennesaw State has won 26 consecutive season openers dating back to the 1991 campaign when it competed at the NAIA level.
• The Owls' 6-0 start was their best beginning to a season since 2013 when they opened the year 7-0 en route to a 34-20 record.
• The Kennesaw State 2016 schedule includes four teams that began the season either ranked or were receiving votes in the USA
Today/NFCA Division I Coaches and ESPN3.Com/USA Softball preseason polls.
• The Owls will play at No. 8/9 Tennessee (Apr. 5), No. 12/14 Georgia (Mar. 16) and No. 25/RV South Alabama (Apr. 30). KSU is also scheduled to travel to Atlantic Sun Conference rival USC Upstate Apr. 23-24 for a three-game series in Spartanburg. The Spartans are among teams receiving votes.
• #TOURNEYCENTRAL. Kennesaw State and Bailey Park has been tournament central this year as the Owls are hosting the final of three consecutive tournaments to open the season. This weekend's inaugural Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament follows the KSU Kickoff Classic (Feb. 12-14) and last weekend's Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament.
A look at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament field:
• ALABAMA A&M: The Bulldogs are currently 0-8 on the season after dropping a four-game series to Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend. Alabama A&M opened its season at the Mississippi State Tournament lost to Georgia Southern (7-2), Mississippi State (2-1), Houston (8-0) and Tennessee Tech (20-1).
• UT MARTIN: The Skyhawks will bring an 8-2 record and three-game winning streak into the weekend. UT Martin went 4-1 at the Chattanooga Spring Classic, defeating IPFW (6-1), Wright State (3-2), Chattanooga (6-2, 10) and Detroit Mercy (3-2). The Skyhawks' lone loss was a 5-4 setback to Dayton. UT Martin is batting .276 as a team and has a 1.56 ERA. Junior outfielder Carly Gonzalez leads the club with a .438 average, while Brooke Kennedy and Rachel Rhode each after three wins.
• WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos are 1-4 on the year and have lost four in a row after competing at the Mexico State Troy Cox Classic. After opening with a 4-3 win over Campbell, Western Michigan fell to New Mexico State (15-5, 8-0), Creighton (6-1) and No. 14 Oklahoma (12-0). The Broncos are batting .216 as a team and have an 8.86 ERA. Junior infielder Kelsea Cichocki leads Western Michigan with a .417 average.
• A LOOK BACK AT THE PHYLIS RAFTER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT: The Owls went 3-1 at the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament, opening with wins over Rutgers (4-2), Bowling Green (5-1) and Bradley (1-0) before suffering a 6-1 setback to the Braves in the second game of a doubleheader.
• NOTES • Junior catcher
Courtney Sutter led the Owls at the Phyllis Rafter Memorial with a .333 (4-for-12) average, scored three runs, had a double and two home runs. She had 11 total bases for a .917 slugging percentage and hit safely in all four games. She homered in a 4-2 win over Rutgers on Friday, and her first-inning home run on the first pitch of the at-bat was the decisive blow in a 1-0 win over Bradley.
• Junior pitcher
Logan Viers made three starts and went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. She logged 11 innings, scattered nine hits and struck out 10. Viers held Rutgers, Bowling Green and Bradley scoreless in each of her three starts, and went a season-high five innings against Bradley, combining with
Morgan Sikes on a 1-0 shutout of the Braves. She struck out five and did not walk a batter.
• Courtney Sutter's home run in the first game against Bradley on Sunday marked the fifth time in the first six games that Kennesaw State has homered. The Owls did not hit a home run in the nightcap for only the second time this year.
• With hits in both games Saturday against Bradley,
Courtney Sutter extended her season-opening hitting streak to seven games.
• Sutter also tied the career home run total of 16, shared with teammate
Megan Veringa, and is three shy of moving in the program's career Top 10 list.
• Logan Viers has been in control in the circle. In addition to posting a 3-0 record and 0.70 ERA in six appearances covering 20 innings, she has surrendered just one walk while striking out 20.
• The Owls' pitching staff as a whole has walked just six batters while striking out 37 in 49 innings.
• Kennesaw State currently ranks second in the A-Sun Conference with a 1.86 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs in 49 innings. USC Upstate tops the conference with a 1.54 ERA.
• The Owls are the top defensive team in the conference with a .977 fielding percentage. KSU has committed just five errors in 218 chances.
• PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The Owls are picked to finish third in the Atlantic Sun Conference, according the league's coaches. Lipscomb, which finished runner-up in the conference tournament a year ago, is picked to win the regular season after receiving six of seven first-place votes and 48 points.
USC Upstate, the 2015 tournament champion, finished second in the voting after garnering one first-place vote and 41 points.
Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Poll| RK | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Lipscomb (6) | 48 |
| 2. | USC Upstate (1) | 41 |
| 3. | Kennesaw State | 31 |
| 4. | Stetson | 25 |
| 5. | North Florida | 19 |
| 6. | FGCU | 16 |
| Jacksonville | 16 |
• SUTTER, VERINGA PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE: Junior catcher
Courtney Sutter and senior first baseman
Megan Veringa was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason all-conference team.
• Veringa was a unanimous selection by the league's coaches after earning second team all-conference selection in 2015 after batting a career-high .347 and establishing personal-bests in every offensive category, including runs scored (30), hits (52), home runs (9) and RBIs (46), while ranking sixth in the A-Sun Conference in RBIs and tied for 10th in home runs.
• A first-team all-conference catcher in 2015, Sutter is coming off a sophomore season in which she batted .313 with 26 runs scored, 47 hits, 10 doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBIs.
• HEAD COACH TORY ACHESON: Head coach
Tory Acheson is in his second season at the helm of the Owls program. The 2016 season marks Acheson's 22nd as a collegiate coach during which time he has posted a career mark of 834-453-2 (.648).
MILESTONE WATCH • With 32 wins in his first season leading the Owls and six thus far this year, head coach
Tory Acheson is 12 wins shy of No. 50 at Kennesaw State. He is also 16 victories shy of 850 career wins.
• Senior
Megan Veringa and junior
Courtney Sutter each have 16 career home runs and are enters this week with 15 career home runs and is four shy of tying for 10th place on the KSU all-time career home run list.
• Junior
Taylor Denton and senior
Kara Chambers rank ninth on the Kennesaw State all-time career stolen base list with 35 and are one shy of tying Krissy Bamford for eighth place all-time.
