KENNESAW STATE (24-21, 9-6) vs GEORGIA STATE (6-37, 4-14)
Date: Wednesday,
April 17
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bailey Park
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KSU Notes
LEADING OFF
» The Kennesaw State softball team opens its final homestand of the season Wednesday, hosting Georgia State at 6 p.m. to complete the year's home-and-home series. The Owls won the previous meeting this season, downing the Panthers 9-0 in five innings at the Robert E. Heck Softball Complex.
» The Owls remain in fourth in the ASUN standings after winning their third straight conference series this past weekend at Stetson. Liberty leads the league with a 12-3 record followed by FGCU who sits at 9-3 after sweeping Jacksonville this past weekend.
» KSU looks to protect the nest Wednesday, holding a 15-10 overall record at Bailey Park this year. The Owls have won at least 15 games on their home field in seven straight seasons. Wednesday's game also marks Student Appreciation Night! The KSU athletic department will have free BBQ for all KSU students while supplies last.
GAME DAY STORYLINES
» The Owls welcome Georgia State Wednesday looking for their sixth straight win over the Panthers. KSU has had the better of Georgia State recently, with its current five-game winning streak erasing a seven-game losing streak from mid-2014 to early 2017.
» Senior right-hander
Hailey Andrews is coming off yet another weekend in which she pitched three straight complete games. She has pitched eight straight complete games for the Owls, going 6-2 in that span. The Bridgeville, Del., native currently leads the league in innings pitched (173.2), complete games (22), total strikeouts (185) and wins (16). After her performance this past weekend, Andrews was named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week for the second time this year.
»
Kira Czyrklis kept her on-base streak intact over the weekend, logging a hit in each of the three games at Stetson to extend her streak to 11 straight games. Czyrklis leads the Owls and ranks eighth in the ASUN with a .344 batting average. Her .444 on-base percentage ranks third in the conference. The senior is one of six players in the ASUN to hit multiple doubles, triples and home runs this season, ranked tied for fifth for doubles and triples while tied for 24th for home runs.
» As a team, the Owls are third in the ASUN with a .279 batting average. KSU leads the league with 330 hits on the year, one of three teams in the conference with over 300 total hits. The Owls also lead the league in home runs (27) while ranked second for doubles (63), RBIs (171) and slugging percentage (.413).
»
Maddie Roth is a big factor in KSU's production, currently ranked among the ASUN's top-10 for doubles (2nd), hits (T-2nd), RBIs (T-5th) and runs scored (T-5th).
» Freshman
Katie Greep is coming off arguably one of her best series of the year at Stetson, finishing 4-of-8 at the plate over the three-game span. Greep notched one run scored during Sunday's series finale while hitting an RBI double in the top of the seventh to add some insurance for the Owls. The double was her fifth of the season.
»
Hannah Thomason went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts at Stetson. The redshirt junior needs only two more swiped bags to set the KSU all-time career record.
GEORGIA STATE SCOUTING REPORT
» The Panthers enter Wednesday's game with a 6-37 overall record, recently snapping a 12-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against South Alabama.
» Redshirt sophomore Caitlin Ray leads the team hitting .295 at the plate. Her 12 doubles on the year leads the Sun Belt.
» On the mound, the Panthers have four-person rotation that they cycle through. Mallory arson leads the team with 1 4.83 ERA while Savannah Freeman, Amanda Chance and Emily Soles all have at least 30 appearances. Soles leads the squad with 49 strikeouts.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
» The Owls remain one of the top hitting teams in the ASUN, leading the league in total hits and homeruns while ranked second for on-base percentage, doubles and RBIs. KSU is also ranked third for batting average and runs scored.
» Senior
Maddie Roth is a major factor in KSU's production, ranked tied for second in the conference with 46 total hits. Roth is also second in the league with 13 doubles while ranked fifth for RBIs (25) and runs scored (30), ninth for on-base percentage (.422) and 14th for batting average (.324).
»
Lexi Solorzano and
Jessie Mullen are both ranked among the league's top-5 for home runs this season with Solorzano tied for third with eight and Mullen tied for fifth with six.
» Roth, Solorzano and
Jade Lee all rank among the league's top-15 for RBIs, three of the 14 players in the conference to register over 20 RBIs so far this year.
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Kira Czyrklis currently leads the team with an 11-game reached base streak. Her .444 on-base percentage ranks third in the league while her .344 batting average ranks eighth.
» Redshirt freshman
Christen Florence got back on the plus side after recently snapping her 11-game hitting streak at North Florida. She wrapped up the weekend at Stetson with one hit and one RBI in each of the final two games. After hitting only .182 after her first 11 appearances, she has since raised her season batting average to .397. In the past 10 games Florence has recorded three doubles, five RBIs and four runs scored.
»
Jade Lee and
Brea Dickey are the only other Owls, besides Florence, to record at least 10 hits over the last 10 games.
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Brea Dickey has been on fire as of late with six runs scored, five RBIs, five stolen bases, a double and a triple in the last 10 games.
IN THE CIRCLE
» Senior
Hailey Andrews owns sole possession of first in the ASUN with 16 wins on the year, going 7-2 over her last nine appearances. She also leads the league in complete games with 22, five more than the next closest player. That mark is currently tied for 10th on the KSU single-season record list.
» Andrews' 185 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 now ranks ninth on the KSU single-season record list, needing just 15 more strikeouts to become the fourth Owl in program history to log 200 strikeouts in a single-season.
» Andrews has not allowed more than one earned run in nine straight appearances. After entering March with a 3.73 ERA, she has since worked that mark down to 2.02, good enough for sixth in the ASUN.
» 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 (6th).
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
» After going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts at Stetson, redshirt junior
Hannah Thomason needs just two more swiped bags to set the KSU record for career stolen bases. She has 17 stolen bases this year and ranks second all-time with 79 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 7-for-8 this season and ranks sixth all-time with 45 career thefts.
»
Jessie Mullen set the single-season record for sacrifice hits in KUS's last outing at Stetson, laying down her 11th sac bunt of the year. With 14 sacrifices in her career, she needs just five more to tie the KSU DI career record.
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.
» The Owls turned two double plays during their series at Stetson to give them 15 on the year, putting them in a tie for second in the conference.
» Shortstop
Jessie Mullen is eighth in the league with 75 total assists while ranked sixth with 11 double plays turned this year.
Maddie Roth is tied for second, helping complete 13 of KSU's 15 double plays.
A WEEK TO REMEMBER
» Senior
Hailey Andrews has been named the ASUN Pitcher of the Week in two of the last three weeks, earning the award for the first times in her career.
» Andrews' first accolade came on Apr. 1 after posting a 3-1 record, 2.00 ERA and three complete games. She struck out 33 batters in 21 innings of work, including a career-high 15 in the series opener versus Jacksonville. The Kennesaw State senior, who averaged 11.0 strikeouts per seven innings pitched, opened the week with eight strikeouts in six innings versus No. 12 Auburn on Wednesday. In three games versus Jacksonville, Andrews worked 15 innings, allowed nine hits, two runs, walked three and struck out 25, finishing the weekend with a 3-0 record and 0.93 ERA.
» She received her second accolade on Apr. 15 after a 2-1 weekend at Stetson in which she allowed only two earned runs for a 0.70 ERA. Andrews pitched three straight complete games in DeLand, recording 13 strikeouts over her 20 innings of work and taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning during Sunday's series finale.
» Junior
Hannah Thomason is the only other Owl to earn a weekly award so far this year after being named the ASUN Player of the Week on March 11. She was honored for the second time in her career. Thomason was a catalyst at the top of the lineup in helping the Owls to a 7-0 record during the week. She batted .421 (8-for-19) with nine runs scored, a double, triple and two RBIs while posting a .579 slugging percentage and a .577 on-base percentage. Combined with seven walks, Thomason reached base in 15 of 26 plate appearances. She also stole four bases, hit safely in six of seven games and reached base and scored a run in each game.
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.
PROTECTING THE NEST
» After spending nearly the entire month of March at home, the Owls close out the year with only five games at Bailey Park in April, playing 29 of its 53 games this year on their home field.
» With 15 wins at Bailey Park so far this year, KSU is one of two teams in the ASUN, the other being Liberty, with 15 or more home victories.
» The Owls have recorded at least 15 home wins in seven straight seasons, and have finished with a winning home record every year since 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD
» After Wednesday's game against Georgia State, the Owls will host North Alabama for their final home series of the season.
» KSU opens the three-game series with a doubleheader Friday beginning at 1 p.m., before taking on the Lions for Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m.
