ORLANDO, Fla. – An offensive clinic and shutdown defense led Kennesaw State softball (7-13) to an 8-0 run-rule victory in five innings against North Dakota (2-19) Friday at the UCF Softball Complex.
Starter
Laura Bishop (1-2) pitched all five innings allowing only five hits and zero earned runs for her first win of the season and second of her KSU career.
Graduate
Faith Alexander headlined the Owl offense, drawing three walks with two runs and two RBI, including a game-sealing double in the bottom of the fifth.
Alexander led off the bottom of the first with a walk and stole second during
Stella Henry's at-bat for the second-consecutive game.
After a flyout from
Taylor Cates moved Alexander to third,
Brinaya Bailey singled up the middle to bring her home and give KSU a 1-0 lead in the first frame.
The Fighting Hawks tried to get on the board in the top of the second with bases loaded and only one out but were stymied by Bishop and the KSU defense.
The Kennesaw State offense caught fire in the bottom of the inning, starting with a leadoff walk by
Stacey Deputy.
Bishop doubled in the next at-bat, putting two in scoring position for
Madison Miller. The Owl left fielder singled to get another run across for KSU.
Sophomore
Ty Hardeman bunt singled following Miller's at-bat to load the bases for Alexander, who drew her second walk of the game to put the Owls up 3-0.
Back-to-back singles from
Stella Henry and Cates added three more, giving the Black and Gold a 6-0 advantage with no outs.
During Bailey's succeeding at-bat, Henry scored on a Cates stolen base attempt to push the lead out to 7-0.
After scoreless third and fourth innings from both teams, Miller notched an infield single to leadoff the KSU half of the fifth.
Two at-bats later, Alexander returned to the plate and delivered a double down the left field line to score Miller and give Kennesaw State an 8-0 run-rule victory.
GAME NOTES
>> Alexander's leadoff single extended her reached-base streak to five games.
>> Alexander is the first Owl to draw three walks in a game since
Bella Galloway on Mar. 9, 2022 at Sam Houston.
>> Bailey's first-inning RBI brought her season total to a team-leading 10 RBI.
>> The Owls batted around in the bottom of the second, the first time in a single inning since Feb. 10 against Tennessee Tech – also in the second inning.
>> Henry's second-inning single extended her reached-base streak to a 2023 team-high eight games. Cates is right behind the Owl freshman with a streak of seven games.
>> Kennesaw State improved 5-0 this season when multiple players have multiple hits in the same game.
ON DECK
The Owls and Fighting Hawks have a rematch set for Saturday, Mar. 11 at 12:30 p.m. KSU meets RV UCF at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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.
