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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jessie Mullen hit a two-out opposite field home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift No. 2 seed Kennesaw State to a 2-1 victory over No. 3 seed North Florida in the quarterfinals of the ASUN Softball Championship Thursday at Draper Diamond in Nashville, Tenn.
 
Mullen's home run capped a dramatic comeback for the Owls (36-16), who trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh before rallying to tie the score and force extra innings. The win advances Kennesaw State to the semifinals where it will face regular-season champion and No. 1 seed USC Upstate today at 8 p.m. (ET). The Spartans were 3-0 winners over Florida Gulf Coast earlier this afternoon.
 
The home run by Mullen was her second clutch at-bat of the game as her hard-hit ball up the middle scored Chandler Griffin with the tying run in the seventh inning. Griffin had tripled with one out earlier in the frame.
 
"Coach Pete (D'Amour) just told me to load my back elbow more so I was just thinking to stay calm and hit the ball to the opposite field," Mullen said. "It felt awesome to see everyone waiting for me at home plate, especially since we won."
 
KSU starter Alley Cutting and North Florida's Megan Blourne were locked in a scoreless pitchers' duel for six innings before Dominica Cocuzza homered on the first pitch of the seventh inning to provide the Ospreys with a 1-0 lead.
 
Blourne was perfect through 3 2/3 innings before Kira Czyrklis doubled into the right field corner for the Owls' first hit and base runner.
 
Meanwhile, Cutting pitched with runners on base in four of her six-plus innings, but continually came up with the big pitch to keep the Ospreys scoreless. She was able to work out of a first-and-third jam in the second and then recorded a strikeout and induced a ground ball up the middle that Mullen turned into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
 
After allowing a single following Cocuzza's home run, Cutting was relieved by Logan Viers (13-6), who retired the next three batters and pitched the final three innings to earn the victory.
 
Kennesaw State will be making its second ASUN Conference Championship semifinal appearance and first since 2012 when it advanced to the finals before falling to Florida Gulf Coast.
 
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