KENNESAW STATE (22-20, 7-5) at STETSON (14-22, 3-6)
Date: Saturday and Sunday,
April 13-14
Time: Saturday: 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m.
Location: Patricia Wilson Field
Game 1: Live Stats |
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Game 2: Live Stats |
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Game 3:
Live Stats |
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KSU Notes
LEADING OFF
» The Kennesaw State softball team returns to Florida this weekend to square off with Stetson in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday followed by the series finale Sunday afternoon.
» The Owls look to remain in contention for a top-two seed and a first-round bye in the ASUN Championship Tournament with some key wins this weekend. KSU is currently in fourth place in the conference standings behind Lipscomb and FGCU who are tied with a 6-3 league record. Liberty leads the pack with a 9-3 conference record.
» All three of the weekend's games will be broadcasted live on ESPN+ with live stats available on the Stetson athletics webpage, gohatters.com.
GAME DAY STORYLINES
» The Owls head into the weekend looking to win their third straight ASUN series, having won three of their four conference series so far this year, including a sweep of Jacksonville.
» Senior right-hander
Hailey Andrews did not see any action during KSU's mid-week game against Georgia Tech, resting her arm after three straight complete game performances at North Florida this past weekend. Andrews has been wheeling and dealing as of late allowing no more than one earned run in six straight games. After entering March with a 3.73 ERA, she has since worked that mark down to 2.19, good enough for seventh in the ASUN. The Bridgeville, Del., native currently leads the league in innings pitched (153.2), complete games (19), total strikeouts (172) and wins (14).
»
Jade Lee extended her team-best hitting streak to seven games after notching a single in Wednesday's game. Lee is hitting .455 over the current seven-game span, logging two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored. Currently hitting .340 for the year, Lee moved into 11th overall in the league, the second of three Owls to rank among the top-15 in the conference.
Kira Czyrklis ranks 10th hitting .345 and
Maddie Roth is 15th with a .321 batting average.
»
Maddie Roth currently ranks among the ASUN's top-10 for doubles (2nd), hits (3rd), RBIs (5th) and runs scored (T-4th).
» Catcher
Kira Czyrklis has drawn six walks over the last four games, tying the single-game record with three in the Owls' series opener at Jacksonville. She currently ranks sixth in the conference with a .449 on-base percentage. The senior is one of six players in the ASUN to hit multiple doubles, triples and home runs this season, ranked tied for fourth for doubles, tied for second for triples and tied for 24th for home runs.
» As a team, the Owls are second in the ASUN with a .283 batting average. KSU leads the league with 312 hits on the year, one of two teams in the conference with over 300 total hits. The Owls lead the league in home runs (27) while ranked second for doubles (62), triples (7) and RBIs (167).
STETSON SCOUTING REPORT
» The Hatters welcome KSU to DeLand with a 14-22 overall record, going 3-6 in ASUN play. Stetson suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of Liberty this past weekend in Lynchburg.
» KSU is 23-14 all-time against Stetson, having won eight of the last 10 meetings.
» One of the league's preeminent base-runners, Stetson ranks third in the conference with 58 swiped bags on the year. Both Riley Russell (2nd) and Elizabeth Jackson (T-6th) rank among the ASUN's top-10 for stolen bases.
» Stetson is led by the outfielder duo of Danielle Diaz and Elizabeth Jackson who rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the conference for batting average.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
» The Owls return to conference play leading the league in total hits, homeruns and slugging percentage while ranked second for batting average, doubles, RBIs and runs scored.
» Senior
Maddie Roth is a major factor in KSU's production, ranked third in the conference for total hits with 43. Roth is also second in the league, 21st in the NCAA, with 13 doubles while ranked fifth for RBIs (25), fourth for runs scored (30) and 15th for batting average (.321).
»
Lexi Solorzano and
Jessie Mullen are both ranked among the league's top-5 for home runs this season with Solorzano tied for second with eight and Mullen tied for fifth with six.
» Roth, Solorzano and
Jade Lee all rank among the league's top-10 for RBIs, three of the 13 players in the conference to register over 20 RBIs so far this year.
» After her two multi-hit games at North Florida, Lee is now tied with Roth for a team-best 11 multi-hit games. Lee currently has the longest active hitting streak for the Owls with a hit in the last seven games.
» Redshirt freshman
Christen Florence recently snapped her 11-game hitting streak at North Florida. In the past 10 games she has gone 13-for-28 at the plate for a .464 batting average. After hitting only .182 after her first 11 appearances, she has since raised her season batting average to .438. In the past 10 games Florence has recorded three doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored.
»
Jade Lee is the only other Owl to record at least 10 hits over the last 10 games.
» At UNF,
Brea Dickey logged a stolen base in two out of three games to move into fifth overall in the ASUN with 15 total stolen bases.
Hannah Thomason is right behind her in a tie for sixth with 14 on the year.
IN THE CIRCLE
» Senior
Hailey Andrews owns sole possession of first in the ASUN with 14 wins on the year, going 5-1 over the Owls' last two series. She also leads the league in complete games with 19, four more than the next closest player.
» Andrews 172 strikeouts on the year leads the conference and ranks 13th in the NCAA. She has logged double-digit Ks in five games this year, including a career-high 15 in the series-opener against Jacksonville. Andrews needs just 11 more strikeouts to tie Kelly Rafter (1196) for 10th on the KSU single-season record list.
» The Bridgeville, Del., native has not allowed more than one earned run in six straight appearances.
» Andrews heads into the weekend series among the ASUN's top-10 in innings pitched (1st), games started (1st), strikeouts per seven innings (3rd) and ERA (7th).
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
» Redshirt junior
Hannah Thomason is nearing the Kennesaw State NCAA Division I record for career stolen bases. She has 14 stolen bases this year and ranks second all-time with 76 career 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 6-for-7 this season and ranks tied for sixth all-time with 44 career thefts.
PLAYING THE FIELD
»
Hailey Andrews,
Kira Czyrklis and
Olivia Gocke all have a perfect fielding percentage on the year, with Czyrklis being one of two players in the ASUN to log over 100 putouts and maintain a perfect fielding percentage.
» Shortstop
Jessie Mullen is tied for eighth in the league with 69 total assists while ranked eighth with nine double plays turned this year.
Maddie Roth is tied for fifth, helping complete 10 of KSU's 12 double plays on the year.
» As a team, the Owls lead the league with nine runners caught stealing, holding the top-spot in the conference with a .191 runners caught stealing percentage.
POSTSEASON PLAY
» With three conference series left to play this year, the defending ASUN Tournament Champions look to lock up their spot in the postseason tournament for the 10th straight season.
» Last year's ASUN Tournament Championship marked the first in program history for the Owls, defeating USC Upstate 8-4 in the final. KSU earned its first ever NCAA postseason bid, falling to Auburn and Jacksonville State in the Tallahassee Regional.
» KSU has reached the ASUN Tournament every year since becoming postseason eligible in 2010.
» The Owls are 12-16 overall in the ASUN Tournament, earning a top-two seed and a first-round bye the last two seasons.
KSU PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
» Kennesaw State, which began the 2019 season as the reigning ASUN regular-season and conference tournament champions, 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.
Elevating The Standard
» The Owls reached new heights in the 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 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.
LOOKING AHEAD
» After this weekend's series, the Owls return to Kennesaw to open their final homestand of the season.
» KSU opens the four-game slate with a midweek matchup against Georgia State Wednesday (Apr. 17) at 6 p.m., before hosting North Alabama Friday and Saturday.
