By: Michael Pitts
2023 Schedule
Kennesaw State (2-1, 0-0 ASUN) at the Troy Invitational hosted by Troy
Location: Troy Softball Complex – Troy, Ala.
Friday, Feb. 17 @ 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – vs. Murray State – Watch Live | Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 17 @ 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT – at Troy – Watch Live | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 18 @ 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT – vs. Murray State – Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 18 @ 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT – at Troy – Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 19 @ 1:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. CT – at Troy – Watch Live | Live Stats
Game Notes
Leading Off
Another weekend tournament in the state of Alabama is on deck for the Kennesaw State softball team with contests against Murray State (2-3) and host school Troy (2-2).
Head coach Tripp MacKay leads the Owls with 99 career wins, seeking to become the second head coach in program history to surpass the triple-digit win total.
Senior Pacy Villa and junior Kiera Cooper top the Owls offensively thus far in 2023, combining for 10 hits in 19 at-bats with nine RBI. Cooper launched the Owls' first homer of the season in KSU's 7-0 win over Mercer Wednesday.
Freshman catcher Stacey Deputy has thrived at the plate to start her collegiate career, going 4-for-8 with five runs scored and four RBI.
Melanie Bennett (1-0) secured her 400th career strikeout in relief against Mercer, following a shutdown four-inning performance from Lindsey Kyte (1-1).
KSU faces both squads once per day Feb. 17-18 then ends the weekend against the Trojans on Feb. 19.
Friday and Sunday's games will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Making History
Cates' return to the Owls for 2023 is headlined by her chase of multiple KSU career records. Entering this season, she is staring down the Owl benchmark slugging percentage of .679 (Cates' current mark: .638). Her career home run total is only 17 away from tying Cambria McKay's mark of 58. The Canton, Ga. native also needs only one sacrifice fly to set the new KSU career record of eight.
A New Staff
MacKay added two new assistants to his staff over the summer, Peejay Brun and Brea Dickey. Brun brings over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to Kennesaw State, having most recently been the head coach of UT Arlington. Dickey makes her return to KSU as one of the most decorated softball players in program history as a career .364 hitter with 135 hits and a .953 OPS. They join MacKay and volunteer assistant/pitching coach Crystal Hampton.
Shining in the ASUN
Cates was the only member of the team to be named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team this season. A season ago, she finished tied for the conference lead in homers (19) and slugging percentage (.857), as well as second in average (.390) and seventh in RBI (48).
The Owls were picked to finish third in the conference behind 2022 champion Liberty and Central Arkansas. KSU travels to Lynchburg, Va. for a three-game set with the Flames March 31-Apr. 2.
On Deck
The road trip continues for Kennesaw State with a drive down I-75 to square off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 5:00 p.m.
KSU returns to Bailey Park on Tuesday, Feb. 28 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.
