I-75 Challenge
Dates: March 1-3
March 1: Hofstra (DH); 2 P.M. | Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2
March 2: Western Carolina (DH); 2 p.m. | Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Watch
March 3: Fordham; Noon | Live Stats | Watch
Location: Bailey Park
KSU Notes

LEADING OFF 
» After playing 10 straight games on the road, the Kennesaw State softball team will return home this weekend to host the I-75 Challenge beginning Friday at Bailey Park.
» The Owls (5-10) will open play with a doubleheader against Hofstra (1-7) beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday. The weekend continues with a Saturday doubleheader against Western Carolina starting at 2 p.m. and concludes with noon contest versus Fordham on Sunday.
» Live stats for all five games will be available through KSUOwls.com and Saturday and Sunday's contests will be video streamed live at Facebook.com/KennesawStateOwls and YouTube, respectively.
 
GAME DAY STORYLINES         
» The Owls are coming off a 6-3 loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday. Senior Maddie Roth scored twice and sophomore Lexi Solorzano had a pair of RBIs.
» This weekend's I-75 Challenge marks a stretch where Kennesaw State will play 19 of its next 24 games - all during the month of March - at Bailey Park. The Owls will also be at home every weekend during the month.
» 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).
 
HOFSTRA SCOUTING REPORT
The Pride begins the weekend with a 1-7 mark and is coming off a 1-4 performance at the Mardi Gras Invitational, with its lone win an 8-2 victory over Nicholls State. Hofstra is batting .206 as a team and has 10.83 ERA. The Pride has three players batting .300 or better and is led by freshman Kasey Collins, who is batting .385. 
 
SERIES VERSUS HOFSTRA
The Pride and Owls have met one previous time and Hofstra defeated KSU 8-0 in the 2018 season opener.
 
WESTERN CAROLINA SCOUTING REPORT
The Catamounts open the weekend with a 4-3 record and are coming off a doubleheader sweep at North Carolina Central on Tuesday. Prior to playing Kennesaw State on Saturday, Western Carolina will visit Georgia State on Friday. The Catamounts are batting .234 as a team and have a 5.36 collective ERA. Freshman infielder Myra Twitty leads Western Carolina with a .375 average. Kayla Brewer and Kinsey Liscio have each record two wins to pace the Catamounts in the circle.
 
SERIES VERSUS WESTERN CAROLINA
Kennesaw State and Western Carolina have two previous times and the Owls won both meetings, including a 6-0 victory in 2010.
 
FORDHAM SCOUTING REPORT
The Rams are 5-8 on the season and lost their final four games at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic I on Orlando. Prior to visiting Bailey Park on Sunday, Fordham will play doubleheaders at Georgia Tech and Georgia State. The Rams have four players batting .300 or better and are led by senior outfielder Chelsea Skrepenak, who tops the club with a .439 average, 16 runs scored and 18 hits. Madie Aughinbaugh and Anne Marie Prentiss lead Fordham's pitching staff with two wins each.
 
SERIES VERSUS FORHAM
Kennesaw State and Fordham have met one previous time and the Owls recorded an 8-2 victory in 2012.
 
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), walks (57) and RBIs (62).
» Senior Kira Czyrklis leads KSU 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 10 games and is tied for eighth nationally.  The Owls' catcher also is second in the conference with 11 RBIs and tied for sixth in runs scored (11).
» Solorzano has reached base safely in 11 straight games and had a team-high seven-game hitting streak earlier this season. She also leads the Owls and is third in the ASUN Conference with a .705 slugging percentage.
» Senior Maddie Roth, who ranks second on the Owls with a .333 average, is 10th in the conference in batting. She leads KSU with four multiple-hit games and is tied for fifth in the ASUN with 15 hits.
» Junior Jade Lee has returned to the lineup following an early-season injury, and is batting .421 (8-for-19) with a run scored, three doubles and five RBIs in her last six games.
 
 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 (45), strikeouts (39) and complete games (5).
 
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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