TOP OF THE ORDER
• Kennesaw State returns home this week to play its final non-conference game of the season when it hosts Georgia Tech Tuesday at Bailey Field beginning at 6 p.m. (ET). The game can be watched live on A-Sun TV beginning at 5:45 p.m.
• LEXI'S DAY: This year marks the ninth annual Lexi's Day game where the Kennesaw State softball program partners with the Alexis Kaiser Foundation in an effort to assist local young people who suffer with a neuromuscular disease. The 2016 honoree, selected by the Alexis Kaiser Foundation, is 11-year old Tyler George, son of David and
Tracey Britt George, who played for Whitlock from 1991-94 and earned NAIA All-American honors in 1994. Tyler, who suffers from cerebral palsy, will receive a tricycle that will help improve his quality of life.
• The Owls (25-22, 6-9) are looking to rebound from a tough Atlantic Sun Conference series at USC Upstate where they went winless in a three-game series against the conference-leading Spartans.
• Following Tuesday's game against Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State will travel to Mobile, Ala. to take on South Alabama in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. (ET).
• GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets enter Tuesday's contest with a 19-29 overall record and are 5-12 in ACC play after losing two of three to Virginia over the weekend. Georgia Tech is batting .227 as a team and is led by senior Courtney Ziese, who is hitting .321 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. The Yellow Jackets have posted a 4.19 team ERA and are led in the circle by junior Emily Anderson who has registered a 10-13 record and 3.02 ERA.
• SERIES VERSUS GEORGIA TECH: Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech have met 21 times and the Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 14-7. Georgia Tech has won the last two meetings, including a 3-0 victory in Kennesaw last season.
• SOUTH ALABAMA: The Jaguars enter the week 26-16 overall and 14-6 in the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama was swept in a three-game series at Texas State and has lost five in a row. Prior to hosting the Owls, the Jaguars will play at Mississippi State on Tuesday. South Alabama is batting .294 as a team and has five players batting .300 or better. Senior Emily Messer leads the club with a .434 average and .559 slugging percentage. The Jaguars have a team ERA of 2.14 and are led by sophomore Devin Brown who has recorded a 15-10 record, 1.62 ERA and 261 strikeouts in 166 2/3 innings.
• SERIES VERSUS SOUTH ALABAMA: Kennesaw State and South Alabama have met one previous time and the Jaguars recorded a 7-3 victory during the 2007 season in Kennesaw.
• LAST TIME OUT: Kennesaw State is coming off a tough Atlantic Sun Conference series at USC Upstate where it lost all three games to Spartans. The Owls fell in both in games of Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 2-1 before suffering a tough 1-0 loss in eight innings in which they were held hitless. The highlight of the three games came during the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader when junior
Taylor Denton stole her 28th base of the season to break the Kennesaw State single-season stolen base record.
• Three opponents on the Owls 2016 schedule opened the year nationally ranked or were receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches and ESPN3.Com/USA Softball preseason polls. 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.
A look at the Opponent:
• A-SUN CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS: Kennesaw State has had two players recognized by the A-Sun Conference with weekly honors. Senior third baseman
Kara Chambers was named the A-Sun Conference Player of the week on March 14 after posting a .429 average (6-for-14) with four runs scored, a double, triple, four RBIs, and was 9-for-9 in stolen bases in six games.
•
Logan Viers earned A-Sun Conference Co-Pitcher for the week honors for the week of Feb. 29. She 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. Viers capped the tournament by tossing a six-inning perfect game against Alabama A&M.
• ACHIEVING PERFECTION: Junior right-hander
Logan Viers achieved perfection in on Feb. 28 when she needed just 64 pitches to dispatch Alabama A&M as she struck out six in six innings.
• 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 (Mar. 7) following a week of online voting. The junior right-hander received 56 percent of the votes.
NOTES
* With Kennesaw State's doubleheader sweep of Alabama State on April 20, head coach
Tory Acheson earned his 850th and 851st career wins. He has an all-time career record of 851-476-1 (.641) in 22 seasons. He is 57-41 (.582) in two years at Kennesaw State.
• Kennesaw State continues to be one of top base stealing teams in the country as it ranks ninth nationally, averaging 2.47 stolen bases per game. Marist leads the nation with 3.11 steals per game.
• The Owls have already established a single-season school record for stolen bases. Through 47 games, Kennesaw State has totaled 116 stolen bases in 136 attempts. The previous was record was 74 accomplished in 90 attempts in 2015.
• Junior
Taylor Denton and senior
Kara Chambers have led the running game while establishing single-season career-highs. Denton is 28-for-30, while Chambers is 23-for-28. The duo also ranks second and third, respectively, on Kennesaw State's all-time career charts as Denton has 58 career stolen bases and Chambers 53. Jennifer Hunt (2003-06) is KSU's career leader with 60.
• Denton broke the single-season stolen base record during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at USC Upstate as she swiped her 28th bag of the year. The previous record was 27 set by Hunt in 2005. Chambers is currently tied with Lyndsay McCurry (2008) for third place on the single-season steals list.
• Denton and Chambers have 97 career runs scored on are three shy of reaching 100 for their careers. Chambers is also one hit away from 150 for her career.
• Sutter has 29 career doubles and is one away from 30 for her career.
• With her two home runs against Alabama State on Tuesday, senior
Megan Veringa increased her career total to 19 and is one shy of moving into Kennesaw State's career top 10 list.
• Junior
Courtney Sutter's home run in game two of last Tuesday's doubleheader versus Alabama State was the 21st of her career and tied her with Shannon Ross (1996-99) for ninth place on KSU's all-time career home run list.
• Junior
Logan Viers and senior
Morgan Sikes have established single-season career-highs for strikeouts. Viers has struck out 93 batters in 125 1/3 innings while Sikes has fanned 57 in 99 2/3 innings.
• Viers is currently second in the A-Sun Conference with a 1.79 ERA, while Sikes is third with a 2.04 ERA.
• Junior outfielder
Taylor Denton leads the Owls in A-Sun Conference play with a .449 average (22-for-49) and 14 runs scored while going 12-for-13 in stolen base attempts.
• With six career saves, including four this season, senior left-hander
Morgan Sikes is tied for seventh on KSU's career saves list.
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.
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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