Watch | Live Stats

LEADING OFF

* The Kennesaw State softball team plays its first mid-week game of the 2018 season when it travels to Atlanta to visit Georgia Tech on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Shirley Clements Mewborn Field.
* Wednesday's game begins a busy week for the Owls (4-5), who, after playing the Yellow Jackets, will return to Bailey Park to host Detroit, DePaul and UConn in the I-75 Challenge over the weekend.
* Kennesaw State posted a 2-2 mark last weekend, falling twice to Rutgers (4-3 (8), 7-0) on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday to defeat Florida A&M, 6-1, and Morehead State, 4-0.
* The 2018 season marks the second under head coach Pete D'Amour, who took the reins on Sept. 16, 2016, and guided Kennesaw State to a 40-20 record and postseason appearance in 2017. The Owls finished second in the ASUN Conference and made their first postseason showing at the NCAA Division I level, finishing third in the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship. KSU was ranked No. 47 nationally in the final RPI rankings.
* Kennesaw State returns 13 letter winners from a year ago and has added 11 newcomers to the roster.
* The 2018 roster is highlighted by sophomore pitcher Alley Cutting (2017 ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year) and outfielders Olivia Tamewitz, Hannah Thomason and Noelle Winkles, who earned All-ASUN Conference second team honors a year ago. Cutting was selected ASUN Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year in a vote by the league coaches.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Feb. 28
6 p.m.	Kennesaw State at Georgia Tech
Friday, Mar. 2
2 p.m., 4 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. Detroit (DH)
Saturday, Mar. 3
2 p.m., 4 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. DePaul (DH)
Sunday, Mar. 4
12 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. Uconn

 
Scouting Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets begin the week with a 6-6 record and are coming off a 4-1 weekend at the Camel Stampede in Buies Creek N.C. After falling 4-3 to Fairfield in the opener, Georgia Tech posted four straight wins, defeating Campbell (6-2, 8-0), Fairfield (13-4) and La Salle (3-2). The Yellow Jackets are batting .219 as a team and have two players batting .300 or better. Freshman Cameron Stanford leads the club with a .333 average, while junior Katie Krus is hitting .303 with a team-leading five home runs and 12 RBIs. Senior Emily Anderson tops Georgia Tech with a 4-3 record and 1.35 ERA while appearing in eight games and striking out 54 in 46 2/3 innings.

SERIES VERSUS GEORGIA TECH
Wednesday's game will mark the 24th meeting between the two programs, with Georgia Tech leading the all-time series, 16-7. The Yellow Jackets have won four in a row, including a 2-1, 12-inning victory at Bailey Park in 2017.

WEEK IN REVIEW
* The Owls made their 2018 home debut last weekend and went 2-2 during the Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament at Bailey Park. KSU opened play Friday and lost a doubleheader to Rutgers, falling 4-3 in 8 innings, and 7-0. The Owls rebounded on Saturday, defeating Florida A&M (6-1) and Morehead State (4-0).
* Kennesaw State received solid pitching over the weekend as Alley Cutting, Hailey Andrews and Abby Deane combined to post a 1.21 ERA and allow five earned runs over 29 innings. Cutting and Andrews earned wins.
* Offensively, sophomore Olivia Tamewitz led the Owls with a .462 average (6-for-13) and four runs scored in four games. Sophomore Katey Lynch played in three games, and batted .667 (4-for-6), with a triple, home run and two RBIs. She slugged at a 1.500 clip and recorded a .714 on-base percentage.
 
ASUN PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Coming off a 40-win season that included a postseason berth plus a solid nucleus returning, Kennesaw State was picked to finish first in the 2018 ASUN Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Jan. 17. The Owls, who received four first-place votes and totaled 46 points to finish ahead of defending conference champion USC Upstate (43 points, 2 first-place votes), garnered the top spot in the poll for the first time since joining the ASUN Conference prior to the 2006 season. KSU was ranked second in the preseason coaches' poll on three different occasions (2007, 2008, 2013).
 
ASUN Preseason Rankings

Rank	Team (First Place Votes)	Votes
1.	Kennesaw State (4)	46
2.	USC Upstate (2)	43
3.	Florida Gulf Coast (1)	31
4.	Lipscomb	29
5.	North Florida	23
6.	Jacksonville	13
7.	Stetson	11

CUTTING TABBED ASUN PRESEASON CO-PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Sophomore Alley Cutting was named ASUN Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year, along with Lipscomb's Mandy Jordan, and selected to the all-conference team. She was also named the ASUN's Preseason Pitcher of the Year in a vote by the fans. The Owls right-hander posted a 20-10 record, 2.19 ERA, 16 complete games and two saves while making 38 appearances, including 31 starts. She worked 201 1/3 innings, allowed 63 earned runs, walked 49 and struck out 186 batters en route to earning ASUN Freshman of The Year and first team all-conference honors.
 
SOLID NUCLEUS RETURNS IN 2018
Including Alley Cutting, the Owls return five players who earned ASUN Conference accolades in 2017. Senior Noelle Winkles (.360, 8 HR, 41 RBI), junior Hannah Thomason (.354, 47 R, 33 SB) and sophomore Olivia Tamewitz (.342, 31 RBI, 19 SB), who earned second team All-ASUN Conference recognition a year ago, are back to form a talented outfield, while sophomore utility player Katey Lynch (.285, 4 HR, 28 RBI) also returns after garnering all-freshman team honors.
 
IN THE BATTER'S BOX
* The Owls are batting .272 as a team and averaging four runs a game. Four different players have hit home runs and KSU has totaled 16 extra base hits, including 10 doubles.
* Freshmen Patricia Awald and Meredith Milam, and junior Jessie Mullen lead the team with two doubles apiece.
* Sophomore Olivia Tamewitz is KSU's leading hitter, batting .393 with six runs scored, and is 4-for-4 in stolen bases. She has hit safely in four straight games.
* Awald ranks second on the club with a .364 average, eight RBIs, two multiple-RBI games and .591 slugging percentage.
* Awald, Lynch, Milam and Tamewitz lead the Owls with three multiple-hit games.
* Milam is batting .346 and has hit safely in five of nine games.
 
IN THE CIRCLE
* Junior Hailey Andrews is 1-0 with a team-leading 0.64 ERA after making two starts and logging 11 innings. She earned her first KSU victory on Saturday after tossing seven innings, scattering six hits, surrendering one run and striking out nine versus Florida A&M on Saturday.
* Sophomore Alley Cutting has worked a team-high 23 innings and is 1-2 with a 1.22 ERA. She has struck out a team-leading 16 batters.
* Sophomore Abby Deane is 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA while appearing in a team-high tying four games and allowing five earned runs in 17 innings. She has worked at least six innings in each of her last two starts, including seven innings versus Rutgers on Friday.
 
HEAD COACH PETE D'AMOUR
* Head coach Pete D'Amour enters his second season as Kennesaw State head coach after spending the prior 10 seasons at the University of Missouri.
* In his first season guiding the Owls, D'Amour led KSU to 40-20 overall record National Invitational Softball Championship Region 5 title and a No. 47 ranking in the final RPI rankings.
* While at Mizzou, D'Amour helped the Tigers post a 453-154 (.746) record, advance to three Women's College World Series (2009, 2010, 2011), reach eight NCAA Division I Super Regionals, and participate in 10 NCAA Regionals.
* During D'Amour's tenure, Missouri won two Big 12 Conference championships and earned 10 straight Top 20 national rankings.
* Primarily responsible for working with the pitchers and catchers, D'Amour watched Tigers pitcher throw 11 no-hitters, while mentoring 11 All-Americans, two SEC Freshen of the Year, three conference Pitchers of the Year, a national earned-run average leader, and a Defensive Player of the Year. 
 
UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's game at Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State returns to Bailey Park on Friday to host Detroit in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.

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. You can also follow head coach Pete D'Amour at @KSUSBCoach.
 
To learn more about The Owls Fund visit www.ksuowls.com/theowlsfund.