STATESBORO, Ga. – Another masterful performance from freshman pitcher
Kenley Hilleary led Kennesaw State softball (6-13) to a 5-0 defeat of Georgia Southern (10-11) Tuesday at Eagle Field.
Hilleary (2-3) pitched 5.0 innings allowing only four hits and zero earned runs. She struck out half of the batters she faced, recording 10 in the contest. The freshman had two strikeouts every inning in the circle Tuesday.
The Owl offense returned to form against the Eagles with seven of the nine starters recording a hit.
Ty Hardeman went 2-for-3 with one run scored while
Taylor Cates launched her first homer of 2023 and the 42nd of her KSU career.
Kennesaw State batted .300 against Georgia Southern Tuesday, including 5-for-12 with two outs and four hits with runners in scoring position.
Hilleary set the tone in the bottom of the first, striking out two of the first three Eagle batters faced.
After two scoreless innings by both squads,
Brinaya Bailey singled in the third with two outs to score
Faith Alexander to give KSU a 1-0 lead.
The defensive stalemate picked back up in Statesboro with scoreless fourth and fifth innings.
Melanie Bennett entered in relief for Hilleary in the sixth inning and pitched the final 2.0 frames with three strikeouts of her own allowing no hits or runs. Bennett earned the save, her first of 2023 and eighth of her KSU career.
The Kennesaw, Ga. native is the first Owl to earn a save this season.
In the seventh inning, Caroline Shumeyko and Hardeman each recorded singles and advanced to third and second, respectively.
With the duo in scoring position, freshman Stella Henry extended her reached-base streak to a KSU season-high seven games with a single of her own, scoring Shumeyko and extending the Owl lead to 2-0.
In the next at-bat, Cates sent a home run to deep center on a 0-0 pitch to score Hardeman and Henry putting Kennesaw State up 5-0.
Bennett sat down the Eagle lineup in order in the bottom of the seventh to collect the save and seal the win for Hilleary and the Owls.
GAME NOTES
>> Hilleary has 35 strikeouts in her last four appearances in the circle and has 10 strikeouts or more in three of the four.
>> All five Owl runs were scored with two outs at the time of the at-bats.
>> Hilleary and Bennett forced the Eagles to bat .160 on the afternoon including 0-for-7 with two outs, 1-for-10 with runners on-base and 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
>> Hardeman's multi-hit game was the eighth of her KSU career and second of 2023.
>> Cates is two home runs away from tying Sharon Swanson for second on the KSU Division I career home run list and third all-time.
>> The Owls improve to 18-11 all-time against Georgia Southern and 2-1 against teams from Georgia this season.
ON DECK
Kennesaw State continues its road trip Friday, Mar. 10 for the UCF Round Robin. The Owls are set to face North Dakota, UCF and Toledo in the three-day tournament in Orlando, Fla.
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.
