Tournament Central

LEADING OFF
* The Kennesaw State softball team (9-8) is back in action this weekend when it hosts the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament beginning Friday at Bailey Park. The Owls open against Belmont at 5 p.m. All games involving KSU will be streamed live on YouTube. Sunday's tournament finale between the Owls and Mercer will be broadcast on ESPN3.
* The five-team tournament field includes Belmont, Bucknell, Fort Wayne, Kennesaw State and Mercer, and runs through Sunday. Admission to all games in free.
* Kennesaw State is coming off a doubleheader sweep of UAB on Wednesday, winning by scores of 4-2 and 11-3.

THIS WEEKEND'S SCHEDULE

Friday, March 9
12 p.m.	IPFW vs. Mercer
2:30 p.m.	Belmont vs. Mercer
5 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. Belmont
7:30 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. IPFW
Saturday, March 10
10 a.m.	Mercer vs. Belmont
12:30 p.m.	IPFW vs. Belmont
3 p.m.	Mercer vs. IPFW
5:30 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. Bucknell (DH)
Sunday, March 11
10 a.m.	Bucknell vs. IPFW
12:30 p.m.	Belmont vs. Bucknell
3 p.m.	Kennesaw State vs. Mercer (ESPN3)

 
SCOUTING BELMONT
The Bruins are 12-3 on the season and have won five in a row, including a 3-0 victory at Chattanooga on Wednesday. Belmont is batting .314 as a team and has eight players batting .300 or better. Junior outfielder Taylor Hargrove leads the team with a .435 average, while senior infielder Jess Andree is batting .365 and tops the club with three home runs and is tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs. The Bruins have posted a 1.36 team ERA in the circle and are paced by sophomore Brooklin Lee, who has a 7-1 record, 1.04 ERA, eight complete games and 77 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings while making nine starts.

SERIES VERSUS BELMONT
Friday's opener will mark the 19th meeting between the Owls and Bruins, and Kennesaw State leads the all-time series, 14-4. The two teams met in Nashville last season and Kennesaw State swept a doubleheader, defeating Belmont, 5-4 and 7-1.
 
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
The Bison begin the week with a 7-7 record and went  3-1 at the Towson Invite over the weekend. Bucknell is batting .226 as a team and is led by freshman catcher Taylor Wolfgang who leads the club with a .314 average. The Bison have recorded a 2.76 team ERA and are led in the circle by sophomore Reanne Geffert, who has compiled a 3-2 mark and 2.35 ERA in seven appearances.
 
SERIES VERSUS BUCKNELL
Saturday's doubleheader will mark the first meetings between the Bison and Owls.
 
SCOUTING FORT WAYNE
The Mastodons are 8-13 on the season and coming off a 4-2 loss at Jacksonville State on Wednesday. Fort Wayne is batting .219 as a team and is led offensively by sophomore Maria Palmegiani, who has a .258 average. The Mastodons have registered a 3.43 team ERA. Bailey Benefiel has registered a 6-3 mark and 1.82 ERA to lead the staff.
 
SERIES VERSUS FORT WAYNE
Friday's contest will mark the first meeting between Kennesaw State and Fort Wayne.
 
SCOUTING MERCER
The Bears are 15-6 following an 8-0 loss to Jacksonville on Wednesday. Mercer is batting .288 as a team and has five players batting .300 or better. Freshman Laurenne Sanchez leads the Bears with a .355 average, while senior Caroline Taylor is batting .308 and tops the club with six home runs and 20 RBIs. Mercer has produced a 2.56 team ERA and is led by Stella Preston (4-1, 2.31) and Megan Bilgri (5-3, 2.55).
 
SERIES VERSUS MERCER
Sunday's contest will mark the 33rd meeting between Kennesaw State and Mercer, and the Owls lead the all-time series, 21-11. The two programs will meet for the first time since the 2014 ASUN Conference Championship when the Bears recorded a 5-4 first-round victory.
 
IN THE BATTER'S BOX
* The Owls are batting .291 as a team and averaging 4.5 runs a game. In posting a 5-2 record over its last seven games, Kennesaw State is batting .326 and scoring 5.7 runs a contest.
* Five different players have hit home runs, including freshman Patricia Awald and senior Noelle Winkles, who have three apiece.
* KSU has totaled 42 extra base hits, including 27 doubles. Sophomore Olivia Tamewitz leads the club with five doubles, while Awald and junior Jessie Mullen have four each.
* Tamewitz and Awald are working on team-high 10-game hitting streaks, during which time both players are batting .500. Tamewitz is 18-for-36 with six runs scored and eight stolen bases, while Awald is 14-for-29 with nine runs scored, three home runs and 11 RBIs.
* Overall, Tamewitz, who collected a career-high four hits in the second game of a doubleheader against UAB on Wednesday, leads the Owls with a .456 average (26-for-57), 10 stolen bases and seven multiple-hit games. She has also reached base in a season-high 12 straight games.
* Awald ranks second on the team with a .432 average (19-for-44) and tops the club in runs scored (12), home runs (3), RBIs (16) and slugging percentage (.727).
* Mullen and junior Hannah Thomason have hit well over their last seven games. Mullen is batting .400 (8-for-20) with seven runs scored, a double, home run and four RBIs, while Thomason is batting at a .368 clip (7-for-19) with five runs scored, and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases.

IN THE CIRCLE
* The Owls have a 2.80 team ERA, are yielding a .256 opponents' batting average and have nine complete games.
* Senior Abigail Green tops the team in wins with a 3-3 record, while posting a 4.38 ERA and a team-leading 33 strikeouts in 32 innings.
* Sophomore Abby Deane is 2-1 with a team-best 1.83 ERA in six appearances.
* Sophomore Alley Cutting is 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA. She turned in a pair of solid relief efforts during a doubleheader sweep of UAB on Wednesday. Cutting worked 3 2/3 hitless innings, striking out six and picking up a save and win.
* Junior Hailey Andrews is 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA in five appearances. She has struck out 21 in 20 1/3 innings.
 
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

2017 REVIEW
* Under first-year head coach Pete D'Amour, who took the reins on Sept. 16, 2016, Kennesaw State posted a 40-20 record and advanced to the postseason 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.

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.
 
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 this weekend's action, Kennesaw State will return to Bailey Park on Wednesday to Georgia State at 6 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.
   
 
 

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