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KENNESAW, Ga. – Junior Logan Viers allowed one run over five innings and Kennesaw State collected 10 hits to lead the Owls to a 5-1 victory over visiting North Florida in the opener of an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader Saturday at Bailey Park.
 
The Ospreys (12-19, 2-3) came back in the nightcap to record a 12-4 victory over the Owls (21-14, 5-3) to gain a split. The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday when they play the rubber game at Bailey Park beginning at 1 p.m.
 
"The first game was a really solid effort. I thought we did a lot of things really well, and a lot of things we did well in Game One we managed not to do well in Game Two," head coach Tory Acheson said. "We have some challenges, some things we really need to fix as a team that we're struggling to fix.
 
"We leave way too many people on base and we've got to work harder in those situations to do something with the ball that gives us a chance to score runs," Acheson added. "There were a handful of times in that second game that we could have gotten back into it, but we just are not executing in those situations."
 
In the opener, senior Missy Perkowski broke a 1-1 tie with a one-out triple to right-center field that scored Taylor Denton and sparked a four-run rally. Senior Megan Veringa followed with an RBI single to center and freshman Jenna Kniss capped the rally with a two-run single up the middle.
 
The four-run rally made a winner of Viers (10-3) who held the Ospreys to two hits and struck out six in her five innings. Senior Morgan Sikes allowed two hits and struck out over the final two innings to secure the victory.
 
"Logan threw really well and gave us a real solid start and after those first two girls on (in the first inning) with the base hits, she really stepped and closed them down and gave our offense a chance to get going," Acheson said. "She is a key component for us and if she can continue to throw like that, it really gives us a chance every game she pitches. Hopefully, she can come back tomorrow and have that same type of performance that she had today."
 
After being held hitless in the first inning of the nightcap, North Florida bounced back with a 17-hit attack as it scored at least one run in the second through sixth innings. The Ospreys scored two runs in the second and third innings, add a single run in the fourth, two more in the fifth and broke the game open with a 5-run sixth inning.
 
Trailing 7-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Owls mounted a rally, scoring three runs and loading the bases with no outs while cutting the deficit to 7-3. However, Kennesaw State was unable to get any closer as Logan Green came on in relief and retired the side to prevent further damage.
 
Senior Rachel Dennis and junior Courtney Sutter led Kennesaw State with four hits apiece, while Veringa and Denton each collected three hits. Denton also scored three runs and three stolen bases on the afternoon.
 
"We got the split. Our whole agenda week-after-week is to try to keep winning series, so we'll come back and play well tomorrow and we still have a chance to reach our goal for the weekend," Acheson said.
 
NOTES
• The Owls scored a run in the first inning of the opener to improve to 11-1 when scoring in the first inning and 17-4 when scoring first.
 
• The Owls added to their ongoing single-season school record for stolen bases, swiping four more bags to increase their total to 100 in 35 games. Kennesaw State entered the weekend ranked fourth nationally with 2.91 stolen bases a game.
 
• Senior Kara Chambers and junior Taylor Denton have led the running game while establishing single-season career-highs. Chambers is 22-for-24, while Denton is 23-for-24. The duo also ranks second and third, respectively, on Kennesaw State's all-time career charts as Denton has 53 career stolen bases and Chambers has 52. Jennifer Hunt (2003-06) is KSU's career leader with 60.
 
• With hits in both games of the doubleheader on Saturday, Denton has now hit safely in 11 in of her last 12 games. During that stretch she is batting a team-leading .390 (16-for-41) with 11 runs scored, two doubles, six RBIs and is 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.

*Senior first baseman Megan Veringa fifth-inning RBI in Game One was the 99th of her career and moved her to within one of reaching 100 for her career.
  
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