Chattanooga Challenge
Date: Feb. 15-17
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tournament Schedule | KSU Notes » The Kennesaw State softball team continues early-season tournament action this weekend when it travels to Tennessee to compete in the Chattanooga Challenge.
» The Owls (1-4) open against Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. on Friday and will return to action later in the day to face Toledo at 4 p.m.
» Saturday's action features KSU taking on Dayton at 11 a.m. and meeting host Chattanooga at 4 p.m. The Owls will close out play against Indiana State Sunday at 10 a.m.
» Live stats for all games can be accessed via KSUOwls.com.
 
GAME DAY STORYLINES
» Kennesaw State entered the 2019 season under first-year head coach Tripp MacKay, who took over the reign from Pete D'Amour who left to take the head coaching position at Virginia Tech. The Owls' rookie head coach comes to Kennesaw after spending the previous two seasons at the University of Texas where he helped the Longhorns to a 66-52 record and a pair of NCAA Regional appearances.
» Prior to his stint in Austin, MacKay served nine seasons at the University of Oklahoma and was instrumental in helping the Sooners advance to postseason play each year and make three Women's College World Series appearances.
» The Owls reached new heights in 2018 season as they posted a 39-17 overall record, including a 14-3 mark in ASUN Conference play. KSU captured the outright regular-season and conference tournament titles and advanced to NCAA Division I Regional play for the first time in program history.
» For the first time since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 2006, the Owls appeared in the national rankings. Kennesaw State received 21 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll to finish the year ranked No. 27.
» Kennesaw State also had a strong show in the RPI Rankings, finishing the year at No. 43.
» The Owls return 16 letter winners, including five starters from a year ago and have added seven newcomers to the roster. Highlighting the list of returners are seniors Maddie Roth (NFCA Third Team All-American), Kira Czyrklis (First Team All-ASUN), junior Olivia Gocke (Second Team All-ASUN) and sophomore Lexi Solorzano (ASUN All-Freshman).

TENNESSEE TECH SCOUTING REPORT
The Golden Eagles are 2-2 after opening the season at the Black & Gold Invitational hosted by Southern Mississippi. After dropping its first two games to Central Arkansas (4-1) and Southern Mississippi (8-6), Tennessee Tech rebounded to defeat Jackson State (7-3) and Houston Baptist (7-6). The Golden Eagles are batting .216 as team and are led by junior pitcher/first baseman Kayla Hughes, who is batting .462 with four RBIs. She also leads the club in the circle, posting a 1-0 record, 2.00 ERA and one complete game.
 
SERIES VERSUS TENNESSEE TECH
Friday's game marks the 21st meeting between the two programs and Kennesaw State leads the series, 11-9. The Owls captured the last meeting, posting a 3-0 victory in 2017.
 
TOLEDO SCOUTING REPORT
The Rockets enter the weekend 1-4 after competing in the UNI Tournament. Toledo's lone win came in its final game as it defeated Saint Louis, 4-0. The Rockets' losses came to UNI (5-0), Drake (7-0, 11-10) and Southeast Missouri (7-5). Toledo is batting .234 as a team and is led by sophomore infielder Brittney Davis who is batting .600. Sophomore Erin Hunt is pacing the Rockets in the circle, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.53 ERA.
 
SERIES VERSUS TOLEDO
Friday's game will mark the sixth meeting between the Owls and Rockets, and Toledo leads the series, 5-0. The two teams last met during the 2014 season, and the Rockets posted a 10-5 victory.
 
DAYTON SCOUTING REPORT
The Flyers are 3-2 on the season following play in the Charleston Southern Willie Jewel Invitational. After opening with a 9-1 loss to Charleston Southern, Dayton defeated Maryland Eastern Shore (14-0) and South Dakota (4-3). The Flyers split their final two contests, falling to South Dakota (18-0) and defeating Charleston Southern (3-2). Dayton is batting .266 as a team and is led by junior infielder Ellie Ziegler who is batting .357. Senior pitcher Jessica Gilliam has made four appearances, including one start, and is 1-1 with a 0.00 ERA. 
 
SERIES VERSUS DAYTON
Kennesaw State and Dayton have met one previous time and the Owls recorded a 12-6 victory in 2017.
 
CHATTANOOGA SCOUTING REPORT
The Mocs opened the season with a 5-0 mark while competing at the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Tournament. Chattanooga are batting is batting .350 as a team and is led by junior outfielder Aly Walker who is batting .529 with seven runs scored, four doubles and six RBIs. Freshman pitcher Mariah Ramirez is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three appearances.
 
SERIES VERSUS CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs and Owls met for the first time last Sunday and Chattanooga recorded a 15-4 victory.
 
INDIANA STATE SCOUTING REPORT
The Sycamores swept a pair of games at Stetson last weekend, defeating the Hatters 6-4 and 10-2. Indiana State is batting .328 as a team and is paced by Becky Malchow, who went 3-for-5 in the opening two games. Tessa Sims and Arielle Blakenship each earned victories while working in the circle.
 
SERIES VERSUS INDIANA STATE
Kennesaw State and Indiana State have met one previous time and the Owls recorded a 1-0 victory in 2009.

SENIOR JESSIE MULLEN HONORED
Senior shortstop Jessie Mullen will be honored Friday night in Fort Walton Beach, Florida as the 2019 All Sports Association of Northwest Florida Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Mullen prepped at Niceville High School in Niceville, Florida.
 
OFFENISVE OUTPUT
» The Owls posted a .298 average during the season's opening weekend.
» Senior Kira Czyrklis led KSU, batting .500 (7-for-14) with a run scored, three doubles, a triple and three RBIs.
» Senior Maddie Roth posted a .471 average (8-for-17) with four runs scored, a home run and three RBIs.
» Redshirt junior Hannah Thomason had a productive opening weekend, batting .375 (6-for-16) with three runs scored, a triple and two stolen bases.
» Czyrklis is tied for third in the ASUN in average, second in slugging percentage (.857), tied for fourth in on-base percentage (.529) and tied for first in doubles.
 
IN THE CIRCLE
» Junior Abby Deane picked up the Owls' lone win last weekend.
» Deane leads KSU with 11 strikeouts in a team-high tying 11.1 innings.
 
KSU PICKED THIRD
IN PRESEASON POLL
Kennesaw State, which begins the season as the reigning ASUN Conference regular-season and conference tournament champion, was voted to finish third by the league's coaches after receiving one first-place vote and 47 points. ASUN newcomer Liberty earned the poll's top spot, garnering five first-place votes and 61 points. FGCU was picked second after receiving two first-place votes and 56 points.
 
ASUN Preseason Rankings

Rank	Team (First Place Votes)	Votes
1.	Liberty (5)	61
2.	FGCU (2)	56
3.	Kennesaw State (1)	47
4.	Lipscomb	44
5.	North Florida	24
6.	Jacksonville	22
7.	North Alabama	20
8.	Stetson	14

 
THREE OWLS EARN PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Kennesaw State softball team had three individuals named to the 2019 ASUN Conference Preseason All-Conference team following a vote of the conference coaches.
 
Seniors Kira Czyrklis and Maddie Roth were selected at the outfield and utility positions, respectively, while sophomore catcher Lexi Solorzano was a unanimous pick.
 
KSU VERSUS TOP 75 RPI TEAMS
Kennesaw State, which held a Top 50 RPI ranking for most of the 2018 season, fared well against teams appearing in the RPI's top 75. The Owls recorded an 11-9 mark against nine teams - No. 8 Georgia (0-1), No. 18 Hofstra (0-1), No. 20 Auburn (0-2), No. 29 Liberty (1-1), No. 39 FGCU (3-1), No. 54 Lipscomb (2-0), No. 61 USC Upstate (3-1), No. 62 DePaul (0-2) and No. 65 Georgia State (2-0).
 
ASUN NO. 6 IN RPI RANKINGS
The ASUN Conference was one of the top conferences in the country during the 2018 season, ranking sixth in the final 2018 RPI rankings. The ASUN ranked behind only the SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, American Athletic Conference and ACC.
 
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Junior utility Maddie Roth became the first Kennesaw State Division I softball player to earn garner All-American honors when she was named to the third team by the NFCA. Roth, who also was also an NFCA All-South Region first team selection, concluded the year with a .377 average, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI.
 
OWLS RETURN FOUR ASUN CONFERENCE HONOREES
Kennesaw State returns four players who earned ASUN Conference honors following the 2018 season.
 
Seniors Kira Czyrklis (OF, First Team) and Maddie Roth (UT, Second Team), junior Olivia Gocke (OF, Second) and sophomore Lexi Solorzano (C, Freshman Team) highlight the cast of returning players.
 
Roth (Most Valuable Player), Czyrklis and Solorzano were also named the ASUN Championship All-Tournament team.
 
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE
The Owls' 55-game schedule includes 29 opponents, 20 of which finished the 2018 season with winning records, and 15 clubs that won 30 or game games.
 
The Kennesaw State home schedule includes 28 games, including visits from Ohio (Feb. 9), Hofstra (Mar. 1), Fordham (Mar. 3), Liberty (Mar. 15-16) and North Alabama (Apr. 19-20). All five teams advanced to NCAA postseason play last season, with North Alabama advancing at the NCAA Division II level.

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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