By: Richard Martin
GAME 1 BOX | GAME 2 BOX
KENNNESAW, Ga. – The Owls extended their win streak to seven with wins over Marshall and ETSU to close out the 2020 Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament.
GAME 1
The Owls used a three-run first to cruise by Marshall in the Sunday opener, 5-1.
KSU wasted no time putting a dent on the scoreboard. The Owls scored three of a trio of Marshall pitchers.
Cheyanne Sales delivered the first run of the game off an RBI single with the bags full. Two batters later, Lexi Solozano knocked an RBI single to left field. The Owls finished the scoring with a bases-loaded RBI single by
Katie Greep.
Marshall answered with a bases-loaded RBI single from Mya Stevenson in the next half inning, but starter
Peyton Elzey left the bases full with her first strikeout to limit the comeback.
The Owls added a run in the third when
Jade Lee laced her second triple of the season and scored on a Solorzano sac fly to deep center.
Melanie Bennett entered in relief of Elzey to begin the fourth. Elzey scattered seven hits over three innings with just one earned run. She issued two walks and had two strikeouts. She earned the win to move to 3-0.
Bennett lasted four frames for her first save as an Owl. She allowed three hits and struck out three without walking a Marshall batter.
KSU gained another run in the fifth on a pinch-hit bases-loaded RBI walk to Kyle Vannavong.
GAME 2
The Owls knocked off East Tennessee State 11-3 in six innings to close out the 2020 Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament.
Runs came early and often for the Owls, as a three RBI triple by
Cheyanne Sales saw KSU gain an early 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning. Sales would later come around to score on a sac fly by
Jade Lee, extending the lead to 4-0.
The Bucs answered in the top of the second with a sacrifice of their own, cutting the lead down to three.
In the bottom of the second,
Christen Florence would extend the Owl lead back to four with an RBI single.
ETSU would not go away quietly, as the Bucs would draw closer with a two RBI double in the top of the third inning to cut the Owl lead to 5-3.
After a solid start by
Kristen Davis,
Lindsey Kyte came out of the pen and struck out the first batter she faced in the top of the fifth inning.
Florence and Lee began the bottom of the fifth reaching on two beautiful bunts, and Florence would end up scoring on an RBI single by
Lexi Solorzano.
Taylor Cates brought a couple of Owls back to the nest with a two RBI single of her own, padding the KSU cushion by five.
Pacy Villa got in on the action, as she grounded into a fielder's choice, giving the Owls their second four run inning of the contest and put the Owls up 9-3.
Another bunt by
Brea Dickey brought Cates home to score, giving the Owls a 10-3 lead after five.
Kyte held the Bucs scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, and after hits from Cates and Lee to start the bottom of the sixth,
Raleigh Williams hit a walk off RBI single to give the Owls the 11-3 victory.
Davis earned the win for the Owls, her second of the season, after going 4.2 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, walking three batters and tossing three strikeouts. Kyte finished the game going 1.1 innings, allowing zero hits, zero runs and striking out three Buccaneer batters.
Notable Stats
- 13-1 is the Owls best start ever in the D1 era, and the team's best start since 2004, when the Owls began the season 38-0
- The Owls have now won 12 straight games at the Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament. The last loss was to Rutgers in 2018
- The two wins over Marshall this weekend were the first wins over a Conference USA team since the 2017 National Invitational Softball Championship when KSU defeated Western Kentucky
- The Owls outscored their opponents 42-10 this weekend at the Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament
NEXT UP
The Owls will travel down I-75 this Wednesday, Feb. 26, for a midweek matchup with rival Georgia Tech. First pitch is set for 5:00 PM and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
