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KENNESAW, Ga. – Stellar defense and a second-half offensive surge drove the Kennesaw State softball team (2-1) to a 7-0 dismantling of the Mercer Bears (1-3) Wednesday night.
 
The win marked the Owls' fourth-straight home victory and improved their all-time home record against Mercer to 16-0.
 
Junior Kiera Cooper led the way for KSU offensively, sending her sixth career home run into orbit during the fifth inning. The homer marked the first for KSU this season.
 
Starter Lindsey Kyte (1-1) pitched 4.0 innings only allowing two hits with 14 batters faced.

Pitcher Melanie Bennett entered in relief for the final two innings and surpassed 400 career strikeouts, becoming the first Owl in a decade to accomplish the feat. She had three total punchouts on the night.

A defensive stalemate headlined the first three innings of the contest with each squad managing only one hit apiece.

With two in scoring position and one out in the fourth, Kyte and the KSU defense slammed the door on the Bears' best scoring opportunity of the night with two huge outs to keep the game scoreless.

Sophomore Ty Hardeman notched the first Owl run of the game in the bottom half of the inning, sending Pacy Villa home. Hardeman finished 1-for-2 on the evening.

Boasting a 1-0 lead in the fifth, freshman Stacey Deputy continued the electric start to her KSU career, sending a hot shot to third and scoring Taylor Cates from second.

With Deputy on and one out, Cooper crushed a ball to deep left center to give the Owls a 4-0 advantage.

The sixth inning proved to be equally as challenging for the Bears after back-to-back fielding errors scored Hardeman and Madison Miller. Cates then scored again on a groundout by Brinaya Bailey, placing KSU up by seven.

Mercer only managed one hit with Bennett in the circle in the final two innings as Kennesaw State cruised to a 7-0 victory.
 
GAME NOTES
>> Bennett became the eighth Owl to eclipse 400 career strikeouts and the fourth in KSU's Division I era (since 2006).
>> Deputy has a hit in each of her first three collegiate games.
>> Villa extended her reached base streak to 10 games and her hitting streak to nine games dating back to last season.
>> Cates has now played in 140 consecutive games for Kennesaw State, 14 away from breaking the KSU Division I record.
>> The Owls have now won seven consecutive regular season home games inside Bailey Park.
>> Head coach Tripp MacKay now has 99 career wins, one away from becoming the second head coach in KSU history with triple-digit wins (Scott Whitlock).
>> Kennesaw State is now 24-11 all-time against Mercer, winning each of the last three.
 
ON DECK
A quick turnaround for Kennesaw State is ahead as the Owls travel to Troy, Ala. for the Troy Invitational Feb. 17-19. The Black and Gold are set to face Murray State and Troy for five games across the three days.
KSU returns to Bailey Park on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 5:00 p.m. against Samford.
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.