KENNESAW STATE (25-24, 10-8) at GEORGIA SOUTHERN (19-24, 5-15)
Date: Wednesday,
April 24
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Statesboro, Ga.
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KSU Notes
LEADING OFF
» The Kennesaw State softball team opens its final week of the regular season with a midweek matchup against in-state rivals Georgia Southern Wednesday. The Owls look to gain some momentum before they head into their final ASUN series of the year at Lipscomb after going 1-2 against North Alabama this past weekend.
» The Owls are currently in fourth place in the ASUN standings, one of four teams in the league with 10 or more wins in conference play. Liberty leads the league with a 15-3 record followed by FGCU who sits in second at 11-3 ahead of this weekend's opponent Lipscomb who is currently 10-4 in ASUN action.
GAME DAY STORYLINES
» The Owls and Eagles square off for the first time since the 2016 season Wednesday. KSU looks to break the cycle and earn only their second mid-week victory of the season, going 1-6 on the year.
» Senior right-hander Hailey Andrews will most likely rest for the game after coming off 19 innings of work against North Alabama over the weekend. She pitched two complete games against the Lions, marking her ninth complete game in the last 10 appearances. With 24 complete games on the year, Andrews has set the Division I single-season record.
» A Bridgeville, Del., native, Andrews currently leads the league in wins (17), innings pitched (192.2), complete games (24) and total strikeouts (207). She has logged five or more strikeouts in five straight appearances, becoming just the fifth Owl in KSU history to toss over 200 strikeouts in a single-season.
» Despite missing the third game in the UNA series, Kira Czyrklis went off against the Lions finishing 4-of-5 at the plate. During the two-game span, she recorded one run scored, two RBIs, a double, a triple and two walks drawn. Czyrklis has now recorded 11 multi-hit games on the year, leading the team with a .457 on-base percentage, placing her third in the ASUN. She also leads the team with a .356 batting average to rank eighth 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 fourth for doubles and third for triples.
» As a team, the Owls rank second in the league with 351 hits on the year, one of three teams in the conference with over 300 total hits. KSU is also second for doubles (66), on-base percentage (.360) and slugging percentage (.408) and third for RBIs (181).
» Maddie Roth continues to be a big factor in KSU's production, currently ranked among the ASUN's top-10 for doubles (2nd), hits (4th), RBIs (5th) and runs scored (T-7th).
» Hannah Thomason became the KSU career leader for stolen bases over the weekend, going a perfect 2-for-2 in swiped bags to give her 81 stolen bases in her career. Taylor Denton (2014-17) is the only other Owl to record over 80 stolen bases in her career.
» Freshman Taylor Cates blasted her second career home run against North Alabama to give the Owls 28 total bombs on the year. That mark is good enough to lead the conference while tied for ninth on the KSU single-season record list.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN SCOUTING REPORT
» The Eagles are looking to bounce back Wednesday after being swept by Texas State in their last outing, dropping five of their last six games for a 19-24 record.
» Georgia Southern's Hannah Farrell leads the squad and ranks second in the Sun Belt with a .403 batting average, hitting 12 doubles on the year.
» On the mound, the Eagles have a six-person rotation. Rylee Waldrep leads the team with 94.2 innings pitched, while Ashleigh Morton has a team-high 7-6 record.
» With a 2-2 record on the year, freshman Shelby Barfield leads the Eagles and ranks second in the Sun Belt with a 1.94 ERA.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
» The Owls remain one of the top hitting teams in the ASUN, leading the league in homeruns while ranked second for total hits, on-base percentage, doubles and slugging percentage. KSU is also ranked third for runs scored and RBIs.
» Senior Maddie Roth is a major factor in KSU's production, ranked fourth in the conference with 50 total hits. Roth is also second in the league with 14 doubles while ranked fifth for RBIs (29), seventh for runs scored (31), 13th for on-base percentage (.411) and 15th for batting average (.321).
» Roth finished the weekend series against UNA 3-for-11 with four RBIs to give her nine multi-RBI games this season.
» Lexi Solorzano and Jessie Mullen are both ranked among the league's top-5 for home runs this season with Solorzano in fourth 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 16 players in the conference to register over 20 RBIs so far this year.
» Kira Czyrklis has registered a hit or a walk in all but eight games this year with her .457 on-base percentage currently ranked third in the league while her .356 batting average ranks eighth. Czyrklis finished the past weekend 4-of-5 at the plate, nearly hitting for the cycle in Saturday's doubleheader opener with a double and a triple.
» Redshirt freshman Christen Florence got back on the plus side after recently snapping her 11-game hitting streak at North Florida. Since then, she has recorded at least one hit in six of the last eight games. After hitting only .182 after her first 11 appearances, she has since raised her season batting average to .366.
» Brea Dickey and Hannah Thomason have been the bane of opposing catchers, leading the Owls with 20 and 19 stolen bases, respectively. Dickey and Thomason rank third and fourth, respectively, in the ASUN for stolen bases. Combined, the two have only been caught stealing five times out of a total 44 attempts.
IN THE CIRCLE
» Senior Hailey Andrews is tied for first in the ASUN with 17 wins on the year. She also leads the league in complete games with 24, six more than the next closest player. That mark is the current DI single-season record while tied for eighth on the all-time KSU single-season record list.
» With 207 strikeouts on the year, Andrews 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.
» The Bridgeville, Del., native has thrown at least five strikeouts in five straight appearances to rank fifth on the KSU single-season record list. She is just the fourth Owl in program history to log over 200 strikeouts in a single-season.
» Andrews has not allowed more than one earned run in 12 straight appearances. After entering March with a 3.73 ERA, she has since worked that mark down to 1.89, good enough for sixth in the ASUN.
» Andrews ranks among the ASUN's top-10 in innings pitched (1st), games started (1st), strikeouts per seven innings (3rd).
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
» After going 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts against UNA, redshirt junior Hannah Thomason is now the KSU record holder for career stolen bases. She has 19 stolen bases this year to give her 81 career swiped bags. Taylor Denton (2014-17) is the only other Owl in program history to record over 80 stolen bases in a single-season.
» Junior Olivia Gocke is also making a run up the career stolen base list. She is 9-for-11 this season and ranks sixth all-time with 47 career thefts.
» Jessie Mullen set the single-season record for sacrifice hits in KSU'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 have turned 15 double plays on the year, placing them in third in the conference.
» Shortstop Jessie Mullen is seventh in the league with 80 total assists while ranked sixth with 11 double plays turned this year. Maddie Roth is tied for third, helping complete 13 of KSU's 15 double plays.
POSTSEASON PLAY
» With one 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.
LOOKING AHEAD
» Following Wednesday's game, the Owls close out the regular season in Nashville Saturday and Sunday.
» KSU squares off against Lipscomb in a doubleheader beginning Saturday at 5 p.m., followed by a Sunday finale at 2 p.m.
