Kennesaw State (5-9) at Georgia Tech (8-6)
Date: Feb. 27
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
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LEADING OFF 
» The Kennesaw State softball team plays its first mid-week game of the season Wednesday when it travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech at Mewborn Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
» The first of two match-ups between the Owls (5-9) and Yellow Jackets (8-6) will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and can be accessed through KSUOwls.com. Live stats will also be available at KSUOwls.com.
» The Georgia Tech contest marks the end of 10 straight road games for Kennesaw State. The Owls are 4-5 on the road this year and have won four of their last six games away from Bailey Park.
» Georgia Tech represents one of two teams on the Owls' schedule from the state of Georgia. The Yellow Jackets will visit Bailey Park on April 10 for Lexi's Day. KSU will also play a home-and-home series with Georgia State. 
 
GAME DAY STORYLINES         
» The Owls are coming off a 3-2 performance at the Houston Challenge over the weekend. KSU opened with a 12-8 victory over Northern Illinois before posting a pair of wins over Incarnate Word. Kennesaw State dropped its final two games to host Houston.
» Kennesaw State is looking to post back-to-back wins over Georgia Tech for the first time since the final meeting of the 2013 season and initial encounter in 2014. The Owls defeated the Yellow Jackets, 1-0, in 10 innings in Kennesaw on April 11, 2018.
» Kennesaw State is in its first season under the direction of first-year head coach Tripp MacKay. MacKay 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 ROSTER
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).
 
GEORGIA TECH SCOUTING REPORT
The Yellow Jackets are 8-6 on the season and coming off a 3-2 performance at the Mississippi State Tournament. Georgia Tech won its last two games, defeating Southeastern Louisiana (4-2) and the host Bulldogs (6-4). The Yellow Jackets have a .303 team batting average and 4.51 ERA. Georgia Tech has six players batting .300 or better and are led by sophomore Breanna Roper, who is batting .480 and a team-high 17 RBIs. Amber Johns (4-4, 3.33) and Morgan Bruce (3-1, 3.59) lead the Yellow Jackets in the circle. 
 
SERIES VERSUS GEORGIA TECH
Wednesday's contest will mark the 26th meeting between Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 17-8. The two teams split their season series a year ago with Georgia Tech posting a 9-0 victory in Atlanta before the Owls recorded a 1-0, 10-inning win in Kennesaw.
 
SENIOR JESSIE MULLEN HONORED
Senior shortstop Jessie Mullen was honored on Feb. 15 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 lead the ASUN Conference in home runs (13) and walks (52), and is tied for first in RBIs (59).
» Senior Kira Czyrklis leads KSU and ranks 10th in the ASUN with a .355 average and is tied for fifth in the ASUN with two home runs.
» Sophomore Lexi Solorzano leads the ASUN Conference with a career-high six home runs. She has homered in six of her last nine games and is tied for seventh nationally.
» Solorzano has reached base safely in 10 straight games and had a team-high seven-game hitting streak earlier this season. She also leads the Owls and is fifth in the ASUN Conference with a .732 slugging percentage.
» Senior Maddie Roth, who ranks second on the Owls with a .333 average, leads KSU with four multiple-hit games and is tied for sixth in hits with 14.
» Junior Jade Lee has returned to the lineup following an early-season injury, and is batting .467 (7-for-15) with a run scored, two doubles and five RBIs in her last five games.
» Junior Olivia Gocke is coming off a strong performance at the Houston Challenge after batting .500 (4-for-8) with five runs scored in five games. She also was 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.
 
IN THE CIRCLE
» Junior Abby Deane leads KSU with three wins and ranks second on the club with 29 2/3 innings and 21 strikeouts.
» Senior Hailey Andrews leads the Owls innings pitched (39), strikeouts (32) and complete games (4).
 
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
» Redshirt junior Hannah Thomason is nearing the Kennesaw State NCAA Division I record for career stolen bases. She has three stolen bases and ranks second all-time with 65 stolen bases. Taylor Denton (2014-17) is the career record-holder with 80.
» Junior Olivia Gocke is also making a run up the career stolen base list. She is 4-for-5 this season ranks eighth all-time with 42 career thefts.
 
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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