TOP OF THE ORDER• The Kennesaw State softball team travels to Cookeville, Tenn. this weekend to compete in the Tennessee Round Robin hosted by Tennessee Tech beginning Saturday (Mar. 12).
• The tournament format calls for the Owls to play host Tennessee Tech at 12 p.m. (ET) and East Tennessee State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Kennesaw State will play the same two teams again on Sunday (Mar. 13), facing East Tennessee State at 12 p.m. and Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m.
• The two games against Tennessee Tech will be available online at www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com.
•The Owls enter the weekend with a 12-6 record after falling 2-0 to Boston College at Bailey Park on Thursday (Mar. 10).
• The Tennessee Round Robin marks the Owls' final weekend of non-conference play before they open their 18-game Atlantic Sun Conference schedule at Jacksonville on Mar. 20.
• Kennesaw State will play two mid-week non-conference affairs next week when it hosts Georgia State on Tuesday (Mar. 15) and travels to nationally-ranked Georgia on Wednesday (Mar. 16).
• 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.
• Three opponents on the Owls 2016 schedule opened the year nationally ranked. No. 8/9 Tennessee (Apr. 5), No. 12/14 Georgia (Mar. 16) and No. 25/RV South Alabama (Apr. 30) received Top 25 national rankings. 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 were among teams receiving votes.
• #TOURNEYTIME. Kennesaw State has participated in plenty of tournament action during the early portion of the 2016 schedule. The Owls opened the year by hosting three straight tournaments (KSU Kickoff Classic, Phyllis Rafter Memorial and Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial). The Owls traveled to Columbia, S.C. for the Gamecock Invitational last weekend and concluded regular-season tournament action this weekend at the Tennessee Round Robin in Cookeville, Tenn.
A look at the Tennessee Round Robin:
• TENNESSEE TECH: The Golden Eagles are currently 5-13 on the season and have lost two in a row after falling to Louisiana Tech and LSU in Baton Rouge, La. last weekend. Tennessee Tech is batting .227 as a team and is led by sophomore catcher Bayli Cruse, who is batting .291 with a team-high seven doubles. The Golden Eagles have posted a 7.09 ERA. Danielle Liberatore and Leigh Thomas each have two wins on the season.
• EAST TENNESSEE STATE: The Buccaneers are 7-5 and has won three of its last five after posting a 3-2 mark at the Buccaneer Classic last weekend. ETSU is hitting .306 as a team and has four players batting .300 or better. Senior Madison Boyd leads the club with a .483 average and a team-high nine RBIs. The Buccaneers have recorded a .239 ERA and are led in the circle by Lindsey Fadnek, who is 4-6 with a 1.77 ERA in eight appearances.
• THE WEEK IN REVIEW The Owls are coming off two late-inning setbacks on the road at Jacksonville State (3-1) on Tuesday (Mar. 8) and at home versus Boston College (2-0) on Wednesday (Mar. 10).
• ACHIEVING PERFECTION: Junior right-hander
Logan Viers achieved perfection in Sunday's tournament finale against Alabama A&M. The Owls' junior needed just 64 pitches to dispatch of the Bulldogs as she struck out six in six innings.
• A-SUN HONOR FOR VIERS:
Logan Viers earned Atlantic Sun Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week honors after her performance over the weekend. Viers concluded the weekend 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA. In 17 2/3 innings, she allowed 11 hits, seven runs (five earned), walked two and struck out 23 to help the Owls post a 4-0 record at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament.
• MORE RECOGNITION FOR VIERS: In addition to being named A-Sun Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week, Viers also was tabbed the HERO National Pitcher of the Week following a week of online voting. The junior right-hander received 56 percent of the votes.
• NOTES • The perfect game by
Logan Viers marked the 37th no-hitter in program history dating back to 1991 and was the sixth perfect game. It also represents the second perfect game in KSU's NCAA Division I era.
• Viers pitched two inning and struck out two at Georgia State on Wednesday (Mar. 2) to increase her season total to 45 in 39 2/3 innings to rank third in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Before a surrendering a hit in the fourth inning against Boston College on Thursday, Viers worked 9 1/3 perfect innings at Bailey Park dating back to her perfect game against Alabama A&M on Feb. 28.
• The loss to Boston College was only the second setback of the season at home for Kennesaw State. The Owls are 10-2 at Bailey Park.
• Viers, who has 49 strikeouts on the season, is four punch outs away from 100 for her career.
• Senior
Morgan Sikes is also nearing 100 career strikeouts as she currently has 95 for her career.
• Courtney Sutter is climbing the Kennesaw State career home run list. With five home runs through the first 12 games, Sutter has 18 career homers and is one round tripper shy of moving into the Top 10.
• Senior
Missy Perkowski leads the Owls with seven multiple-hit games.
• Taylor Denton and
Kara Chambers each have eight stolen bases on the season. The two players are currently tied for seventh on the KSU all-time career stolen base list with 38.
• Sophomore Katie Cannignton currently leads the Owls with nine stolen bases.
• 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 840-458-2 (.647).
MILESTONE WATCH • With 34 wins in his first season leading the Owls and 12 thus far this year, head coach
Tory Acheson is six wins shy of No. 50 at Kennesaw State. He is also 10 victories shy of 850 career wins.
