Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF)
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State softball team opened the I-75 Challenge with a doubleheader sweep of East Tennessee State and Georgia State Friday afternoon.
Taylor Cates led the charge with five hits, seven RBI and three home runs between the two games.
Faith Alexander made her season debut against ETSU and had four runs in the two games.
Cheyanne Sales extended her hitting streak to a team-best nine games, the longest of her career.
Game One vs. ETSU (W, 8-0 | six innings)
The Owls' offense got started early in this doubleheader, with Cates hitting a solo homer in the first inning to give the Owls the lead.
The scoring onslaught continued in the third and fourth innings and the Owls got out to a 5-0 lead. The fifth run would come off a bases-loaded walk of
Cheyanne Sales to plate
Ty Hardeman.
KSU would add on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to increase the Owl lead to 7-0. The ETSU pitcher walked freshman
Caroline Shumeyko with the bases loaded again to secure the run-rule victory for the Owls, 8-0.
Melanie Bennett dominated on the mound, pitching 6.0 innings only allowing one hit and four strikeouts. She was credited with the win, her second of the season.
Notes:
>> This marked the 10th game of Bennett's career where she allowed only one hit or less.
>> Alexander, Shumeyko and
Pacy Villa made their 2022 season debuts against the Bucs.
>> Laura Bishop notched the first hit of her KSU career with a double in the bottom of the second.
Game Two vs. Georgia State (W, 8-6)
The second game of the doubleheader was a back-and-forth thriller against the Panthers. GSU got ahead early with a 3-0 lead right out of the gate in the top of first.
The Owls got on the board in the second cutting the lead to 3-1. The lead would be neutralized after a two-run blast from Cates in the bottom of the third.
Georgia State answered and took the lead 4-3 in the top half of the fourth but the Owls responded again after a sacrifice fly from Cates scored Alexander to tie it.
A two-run sixth from the Panthers created a 6-4 lead that held up until the bottom of the seventh.
Down two, the Owls rallied after hits from Cates and
Brinaya Bailey combined with a defensive error from Georgia State and tied the game at six runs apiece.
Cates would become the heroine in the bottom of the ninth, launching a two-run blast scoring
Katie Greep and sealing the Friday sweep for the Owls.
Emily Perrin finished the final four innings for KSU allowing only four hits and was credited with the win, her first of the season.
Notes:
>> Cates secured the first multi-homer game of her KSU career.
>> This marked
Emily Perrin's third-straight appearance in the circle allowing no earned runs.
>> Perrin also earned the first win of her KSU career.
>> Sales increased her hitting streak to nine games, best on the team and the longest of her career.
On Deck
The I-75 Challenge continues at Bailey Park on Saturday, Feb. 26 for a doubleheader against Penn State. First pitch of game one is set for 2:00 p.m.
Admission is free and fans can catch the Owls in action on the KSU Owl Network YouTube channel.
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.
