KENNESAW STATE (22-19, 7-5) vs GEORGIA TECH (23-19, 5-7)
Date: Wednesday,
April 10
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Bailey Park
Lexi's Day: Details |
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KSU Notes
LEADING OFF
» The Kennesaw State softball team returns to Bailey Park Wednesday evening for the annual Lexi's Day game against Georgia Tech at 6 p.m.
» In what has become a beloved tradition, the Owls, the Yellow Jackets, the Alexis Kaiser Foundation and KSU's SAAC have partnered together on Lexi's Day to enrich the lives of local children (and their families) by raising both funds for, and awareness of, the numerous children in metro-Atlanta that live with neuromuscular ailments. This year's event is going to be very special as the Owls will celebrate the event's namesake - Lexi Kaiser – for the first time since the inaugural Lexi's Game in 2007 by throwing her a pre-game Sweet Sixteen Birthday Celebration.
» Fans attending the game will have the opportunity to support Lexi's Day by purchasing a $10 ticket for a pregame dinner provided by the Marietta Fish Market. Cash, as well as checks made out to the Kennesaw State Athletic Association, will be accepted. The seafood will be served at 5 p.m. in the Teasley Suite of the Bobbie Bailey Building, and will be limited to the first 150 people who purchase a $10 dinner ticket. There will also be a limited number of commemorative t-shirts available to purchase for $10.
GAME DAY STORYLINES
» The Owls look to split the season series against the Yellow Jackets Wednesday after dropping the earlier meeting against Georgia Tech, 6-3, in Atlanta over a month ago.
» Senior right-hander Hailey Andrews is coming off three straight complete game performances at North Florida in which she allowed only one earned run in each game. 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. Andrews leads the conference in innings pitched (153.2), complete games (19), total strikeouts (172) and wins (14).
» Jade Lee had arguably one of her best series of the season at UNF, finishing 5-of-9 at the plate over the three-game span with one double, one RBI and one run scored. Currently hitting .340 for the year, Lee moved into 12th overall in the league, the second of three Owls to rank among the top-15 in the conference. Kira Czyrklis ranks 10th hitting .353 and Maddie Roth is 14th with a .328 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 drew five walks over KSU's recent series, moving into sixth in the conference with a .452 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 first for triples and tied for 24th for home runs.
» As a team, the Owls hold the top spot in the ASUN with a .285 batting average. KSU is the only team in the league with over 300 hits on the year, leading the conference in home runs (27) while ranked second for doubles (69), triples (7) and RBIs (167).
GEORGIA TECH SCOUTING REPORT
» The Yellow Jackets and Owls meet for the second time this year Wednesday evening to complete the home-and-home series. GT won the earlier meeting this year, 6-3. Since that meeting, Georgia Tech has gone 14-13, after being swept by Iowa State in its last series, for a 23-19 overall record.
» GT ranks first in the ACC for doubles (77) and third for RBIs (225), one of three teams in the ACC with over 200 RBIs.
» At the plate, the Yellow Jackets are led by Breanna Roper who ranks 10th in the league with a .401 batting average while leading the conference with 14 doubles.
» Junior Morgan Bruce is GT's go-to pitcher with 12 wins on the year, logging 108 strikeouts for a 3.57 ERA.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
» The Owls enter the mid-week showdown leading the league in batting average, total hits, homeruns and slugging percentage while ranked second for 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, 19th in the NCAA, with 13 doubles while ranked fifth for RBIs (25), fourth for runs scored (30) and 14th for batting average (.328).
» 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 12 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 one hit in the last six 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-30 at the plate for a .433 batting average. After hitting only .182 after her first 11 appearances, she has since raised her season batting average to .426. In the past 10 games Florence has recorded three doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored.
» Brea Dickey and Lee are the only other Owls to record at least 10 hits over the last 10 games.
» At UNF, 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
» After pitching three complete games over the weekend, senior Hailey Andrews took sole possession of first in the ASUN with 14 wins on the year. 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 Wednesday's game 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 have a perfect fielding percentage.
» Shortstop Jessie Mullen is ninth in the league with 67 total assists while ranked eighth with nine double plays turned this year. Maddie Roth is tied for fifth, helping complete 10 of KSU's 11 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 .196 runners caught stealing percentage.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
» 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 as an assistant 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.
A WEEK TO REMEMBER
» Senior Hailey Andrews earned her first career ASUN Pitcher of the Week award on April 1. Andrews posted 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.
» 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.
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 Baliey Park so far this year, KSU is one of two teams in the ASUN, the other being Liberty, with 13 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
» Following Wednesday's game, the Owls get back on the road for a three-game series at Stetson.
» KSU opens the series with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., followed by the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
