TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Grit and determination propelled Kennesaw State softball (4-10) to a marquee 5-3 upset of No. 11/7 Alabama (11-3) Sunday afternoon inside Rhoads Stadium.
KSU went wire-to-wire in the final game of the Bama Bash, never trailing at any point in the contest. The Owls were the only team to defeat the Crimson Tide at their home tournament this weekend.
The toppling of the Tide was headlined by freshman pitcher
Kenley Hilleary (1-2) who pitched all seven innings with four strikeouts and only four hits allowed. The upset marked her first-ever collegiate victory as a starter.
Offensively the Owls were led by
Kiera Cooper who hit 2-for-2 with one walk and one hit-by-pitch that included two RBI.
Sophomore
Caroline Shumeyko also delivered for KSU, lauching her first career homer in the top of the sixth.
The Black and Gold struck first with
Faith Alexander crossing home on a groundout by
Brinaya Bailey in the first inning. In the next at-bat, Cooper singled to shallow center field to send
Stacey Deputy home, giving KSU a 2-0 lead.
Taylor Cates kept the scoring going two innings later with her team-leading third double of 2023, allowing Alexander to score once again.
The reliable Cooper stepped up the plate two at-bats later to bring Cates home and extend the Owl advantage to 4-0.
KSU's 4-0 lead was the most the Crimson Tide have trailed by at any point this season that has included four games against ranked opponents.
Alabama scored their first run on a sacrifice fly to cut KSU's lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Shumeyko's solo homer in the top of the sixth put the Owls back up by four, 5-1.
The No. 11/7 Crimson Tide did not go down without a fight, sending a two-run homer over the left-field fence to cut their deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Hilleary was stoic in the circle in the bottom of the seventh, sitting down the Tide's three, four and five slot hitters in order to seal Kennesaw State's upset over Alabama. It was the only 1-2-3 frame for the Owl defense Sunday.
The freshman Hilleary's four-hit complete game win ended the Crimson Tide's eight-game winning streak and snapped KSU's five-game losing skid. This was only Alabama's second loss at home this season.
The victory marked Alabama's third loss of 2023, their last coming at the hands of now-No. 1 UCLA who also defeated the Tide 5-3.
GAME NOTES
>> KSU's win over the Crimson Tide marks the second-ever win for an ASUN softball squad over Alabama in history.
>> The victory was
Tripp MacKay's first over a ranked team as head coach of Kennesaw State and the first for the program since a 9-8 win over No. 5/6 Kentucky on Feb. 14, 2015.
>> The Owls secured their first win over a Power Five team since defeating the Auburn Tigers in the 2021 NCAA Regional.
>> Hilleary's stat line at the Bama Bash this weekend: 17.0 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, four earned runs, 15 strikeouts, 302 pitches with 72 batters faced.
>> Alexander and
Madison Miller also posted multi-hit games – the second-career multi-hit game for Miller.
ON DECK
The Owls return home on Tuesday, Feb. 28 for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch against the Samford Bulldogs inside Bailey Park.
Admission is free to all 2023 KSU softball home games and fans can catch the action on KSU Owl Network.
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.
