Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The offense lit up the scoreboard to close out the opening weekend for the Kennesaw State softball team in an 11-3 rout of in-state foe Mercer Saturday night.
KSU finished the 2022 JoAnne Graf Classic with a 2-2 record. The Owls fell to the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles 11-0 in the first game Saturday afternoon.

Game One vs. No. 4 Florida State (L, 11-0 / five innings)
FSU came out of the first inning holding a 1-0 lead over KSU and did not look back. The Seminole pitching staff faced only 10 Owl batters in the first three innings with Cheyanne Sales being the only one to break through with a base hit.
The Seminoles would break the game open in the bottom of the fourth, scoring nine runs on 10 hits and put the game out of reach with an 11-0 run-rule finish. Melanie Bennett was credited with the loss, her first of the season.

Notes:
>> This marked the fewest hits recorded by the Owls since March 24, 2021 against Tennessee (1).
>> Ty Hardeman recorded the first stolen base of her KSU career.
>> Kiera Cooper starts the 2022 season with at least one hit in each game.

Game Two vs. Mercer (W, 11-3 / six innings)
Taylor Cates got after the Bears' pitching staff early, sending a two-run shot over the fence to score freshman Ty Hardeman who had just recorded the first hit of her KSU career.
Mercer would respond the next inning, plating three runs to pull in front 3-2. The Bears' lead would not last after Kiera Cooper hit the first homer of her Owl career to even the game at 3-3.
Cates continued her great start to the season and led off the third inning with a single followed by a stolen base. Two batters later, Brinaya Bailey would hit a single to send Cates across home plate and get her fourth RBI of 2022 to make it 4-3 in favor of the Owls.
After scoreless fourth and fifth innings for both squads, the Owls' offense came alive in the bottom of the sixth.
Bella Galloway got the scoring started with a double to right center, sending Katie Greep and Kiera Cooper home. She would eventually find her own way across the plate along with Mary Greg Anderson after a three-run homer from Hardeman to push the lead out to 9-3.
Cates then recorded her third hit of the night with a double to right-center, followed by a two-run home run from Cheyanne Sales, her first of the season.
The Sales homer ended the game via run rule with an 11-3 final. Laura Bishop was credited with the win and Emily Perrin earned the save.

Notes:
>> Kiera Cooper hit the first home run of her KSU career, extending her hitting streak to four games. She leads the team with a .545 batting average this season.
>> Freshmen Ty Hardeman, Isabella Galloway and Madison Miller recorded the first hits of their KSU careers during this game. Hardeman and Galloway each had an extra-base hit and two hits each.
>> Taylor Cates' two-run homer added to her team-leading total of five RBIs so far in 2022. She is now batting .562 this season.
>> Laura Bishop earned the win in her first start in an Owl uniform after pitching 5.0 innings with four strikeouts and only two earned runs.
>> Emily Perrin earned the first save of her KSU career.
>> As a team, the Owls had a season-high 14 hits and it was the first time this season the Owls out-hit the opposing team.

On Deck
KSU welcomes fans to Bailey Park for the home opener of the 2022 season on Friday, Feb. 18 for a doubleheader against the Samford Bulldogs.
Both games will be streamed on the KSU Owl Network YouTube channel and admission is free. A limited number of 2022 softball schedule posters will be given to fans at the gates prior to first pitch.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State softball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsSB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.