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DeLAND, Fla. – A four-run second inning sparked the Kennesaw State softball team to an 8-4 victory over USC Upstate and the ASUN Conference Championship title Sunday at Patricia Wilson Field on the campus of Stetson University.

The Owls (39-15) secured the conference's automatic berth to the Division I Softball Championship, the first in program history. The championship provides for a field of 64 teams to compete in the national tournament. Of the 64 teams, 32 will receive automatic qualification with the best remaining 32 receiving at-large bids from the Division I Softball Committee. Sixteen teams will be seeded and each of the seeded teams will be placed at one of the regional sites. The entire tournament field will be announced Sunday on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. (ET).
 
"This is a special group of ladies. They bought in to what the coaching staff has been trying to do from day one," head coach Pete D'Amour said. "We don't talk about it much, but our two goals for the year are to win the conference and go to (NCAA) regionals. The players believed they could do it and they never quit."
 
Regionals for the NCAA Division I Softball Championship will be held May 18-20 on 16 campus sites. At each site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted and the 16 winning teams advanced to the Super Regionals, scheduled for May 24-27 on campus sites.
 
At each site, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each site advance to the NCAA Women's College World Series (May 31-June 5/6) at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City, Okla.
 
In Sunday's ASUN Championship final, the Owls got the offense going early, scoring four runs in the second inning, highlighted by an opposite-field leadoff home run by Patricia Awald. All-tournament selection Alexa Solorzano also had a two-run single in the inning as KSU took advantage of four hits and two errors.
 
Kennesaw State extended its lead to 5-0 in the third when Jessie Mullen executed a squeeze play that scored tournament Most Valuable Player Maddie Roth from third base.
 
"This team has so many good hitters and great pitching. I am really proud of this team," Roth said. "We definitely gelled and came together. It means a lot to be here, it means to the world to be a part of this team and I thank my coaches every day."
 
USC Upstate scored twice in the top of the fourth on back-to-back home runs to lead off the inning against Abigail Green, cutting KSU's lead to 5-2.
 
The Owls maintained a three-run lead until the sixth inning when the Spartans (35-19) came through with a two-out double to make it a one-run game at 5-4.
 
Seizing the moment, the Owls rallied for three runs in the bottom half the sixth to take an 8-4 lead. Kennesaw State capitalized on three hits and an error to provide some separation. Jessie Mullen opened the frame with a double down the right field line and Andrea Summey followed with a bunt double to put runners at second and third with no outs.
 
Following a pinch-hit sacrifice fly by Joirea Dumas, Olivia Tamewitz followed with a bunt double to drive in Summey and came around to score on the play when a throw to second base went into center field.
 
Cutting (17-8), the ASUN Conference's Pitcher of the Year, capped off 3 2/3 innings of relief by retiring USC Upstate in order in the seventh to preserve the victory en route to earning all-tournament team honors.
 
"This weekend was a grind. We played a very underrated Jacksonville team, FGCU has a had a great year, and USC Upstate has been at the top of the ASUN for years," D'Amour said. "The thing about these three games was someone new stepped up and delivered each game. It was a total team effort this week."
 
Tamewitz, Awald and Summey had two hits apiece to lead an 11-hit Owls' attack. Tamewitz and Summey also scored two runs apiece.
 
"This is the first time KSU has ever made a Division I NCAA regional," D'Amour said. "I don't say it often enough, but I am just so proud and extremely happy for our young ladies. I can't say enough good things about them."
 
NOTES

• Kennesaw State captured its first ASUN Tournament title and earned its initial NCAA Division I Softball Championship appearance.
• The win moved the Owls to 33-7 over their last 40 games.
• Alley Cutting, Kira Czyrklis, Maddie Roth and Alexa Solorzano were named to the all-tournament team, with Roth being tabbed Most Valuable Player.
• Seven of the nine batters in KSU's starting lineup hit .300 or better over the three games, with the Owls batting .400 as a team.
• Freshman Patricia Awald led Kennesaw State with a .556 average (5-for-9), while Slorzano (6-for-12) and Olivia Tamewitz (5-for-10) hit .500.
• Sophomore Alley Cutting earned the win in all three games, working 14 2/3 innings and striking out nine.

 
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.