ORLANDO, Fla. – Another stellar day at the plate for Kennesaw State softball (8-14) led a comeback victory over North Dakota (2-21) as it split two games at the UCF Round Robin Saturday inside the UCF Softball Complex.
KSU overcame a three-run deficit in game one to defeat North Dakota 7-3 in game one but were unable to top RV UCF (13-13) in game two, 11-5.
Freshman pitcher
Kenley Hilleary shined in the circle once again, delivering her third-straight 10-strikeout game against the Fighting Hawks.
Ty Hardeman went 4-for-7 at the plate Saturday with three runs scored.
Taylor Cates was 3-for-7 with one run scored, three RBI and two doubles.
GAME ONE vs. North Dakota (W, 7-3)
The Fighting Hawks scored in each of the first two innings to take an early 3-0 lead.
Freshman
Stella Henry notched infield singles in each of her first two at-bats for the first multi-hit game of her Owl career.
Laura Bishop continued her hot start to the weekend with an RBI single to center field, scoring
Caroline Shumeyko and cutting KSU's deficit to 3-1 in the top of the fourth.
In the top of the next inning,
Faith Alexander doubled to score Hardeman from first to make it a one-score game, 3-2.
With two outs in the top of the sixth,
Kiera Cooper doubled to left to score Cates and even the score at three runs apiece.
After Bishop drew a walk,
Stacey Deputy reached on a fielding error that scored two more runs to give the Owls their first lead at 5-3.
Hilleary entered the game in the second inning and once again dominated in the circle, recording at least two strikeouts every inning in the circle against the Fighting Hawks.
Hardeman led off the seventh inning with an infield single and came around to score along with Henry on a single by
Brinaya Bailey to extend the KSU advantage to 7-3.
Hilleary pitched 5.2 innings of relief allowing only five hits and zero earned runs with a career-high 12 strikeouts to earn the win.
GAME ONE NOTES
>> Hardeman recorded her third-straight multi-hit game, the longest streak of her KSU career.
>> Henry's infield single in the first inning extended her reached-base streak to a 2023 team-high nine games.
>> Cates extended her hitting streak to five games, tying Henry for the longest-such streak by an Owl in 2023.
>> KSU improved to 6-0 this season when multiple Owls have multiple hits in the same game.
>> With the win, Kennesaw State is 11-0 under head coach
Tripp MacKay when recording nine hits in a game.
GAME TWO at RV UCF (L, 5-11)
Alexander started the game on the right note with a leadoff single. She crossed home two at-bats later on a deep double to right field by Cates to put KSU up 1-0.
UCF answered with five runs between the first and second innings to take a 5-1 lead.
The Owls responded in the top of the fourth starting with a leadoff single from Hardeman followed by a drawn walk from Alexander.
With the duo in scoring position, Cates struck again with a double to left center that scored both and cut the deficit to 5-3.
The Knights added three in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead out to five again, 8-3.
Kennesaw State's offense continued the scoring with an RBI single from Hardeman in the top of the fifth that scored Deputy and
Mary Greg Anderson, cutting the UCF lead back down to three at 8-5.
The home team scored three more in the bottom of the fifth to go up by six, 11-5. UCF kept the Owls scoreless to seal the victory.
Melanie Bennett (3-3) pitched one inning and was credited with the loss.
GAME TWO NOTES
>> Cates' hitting streak extended to a KSU season-high six games.
>> Alexander's reached-base streak extended to seven games.
>> Hardeman recorded her fourth-consecutive multi-hit game, extending the longest streak of her KSU career.
ON DECK
Kennesaw State's run in the UCF Round Robin concludes Sunday, Mar. 12 against Toledo at 11:00 a.m. and a rematch against RV UCF at 1:00 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.
