KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls throttled their competition in a pair of wins against Rhode Island and Marshall Saturday at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament at Bailey Park. KSU moved to 11-1 on the season and matched its best 12-game start since 2004.
Game One
The Owls earned their 10th win of the season over the University of Rhode Island Rams. The game concluded with an 8-0 run-rule win in the sixth inning.
The Owls started out strong with Abby Deane allowing no hits for the Rams in the top of the first inning. In the bottom half, Christen Florence hit an RBI double to score Hannah Thomason . Later, Jade Lee hit an RBI double to score Florence.
The streak continued into the second inning with Brea Dickey's RBI triple to center field scoring Faith Alexander. Florence then hit her second RBI double of the day. Cheyanne Sales later slammed her second home run of the season on a two-run shot.
To start the fourth, Florence hit a single to right center and was followed by Sales with an RBI double.
The Rams got their first hit in the top of the fifth after the Owls' pitcher, Abby Deane, kept them off the bases majority of the game.
In the bottom of the sixth, Raleigh Williams hit a single to left field then advanced to second on a hit by Andrea Summey. Katie Greep ended the game with a walk-off RBI double that scored Williams as the final run of the game.
Game Two
The Kennesaw State Owls came out on top, 10-6, against Marshall in their intense third game of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament, Saturday, Feb. 22 at Bailey Park.
The Thundering Herd (7-4) scored three in the top of the first on a homer to take an early lead against KSU.
The Owls (11-1) quickly responded in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Christen Florence, scoring Brea Dickey.
That was followed with an RBI from Jade Lee to plate Florence.
In the third, pitcher Melanie Bennett had a three-up and three-down, and the Owls would capitalize in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout by Cheyanne Sales to tie the game.
The Owls took their first lead of the night after an RBI single from Lexi Solorzano later in the inning.
Marshall brought the game back to a tie in the fourth inning and later earned the team a one-run advantage.
However, the Owls came back with a three-run triple from Taylor Cates that scored Kate Greep, Lee, and Andrea Summey to give the Owls a 7-5 lead. Taylor Cates scored to complete the outburst off an RBI single from Williams.
Jade Lee made history when she hit KSU's third triple of the night in the sixth inning. It set a KSU Division 1 single-game record.
Bennett, a freshmen, threw her first career complete game with seven hits, six runs, three earned and a season-high 10 strikeouts. She pounded the zone with 93 strikes out of her 121 pitches.
Up next, Kennesaw State will finish the 2020 Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament against Marshall and East Tennessee State University Sunday, Feb. 23.
