HOMEWOOD, Ala. – A 13-inning, almost four-hour slugfest saw Kennesaw State softball (16-30, 7-11 ASUN Conference) surpass Samford (20-28, 9-6 Southern Conference) 8-4 Wednesday inside the Samford Softball Stadium.
Kenley Hilleary (6-9) entered in the fourth and struck out a career-high 15 in relief during 10 innings allowing only four hits and one earned run. The freshman pitched a whopping 101 strikes on 142 pitches.
She became the first Owl pitcher since Hailey Andrews (Mar. 30, 2019 vs. Jacksonville) to throw 15 strikeouts in a single game.
Wednesday's contest marked the second meeting between the two this season, with both games needing extra innings to be decided. KSU won 1-0 in a nine-inning game on Feb. 28.
Freshman
Stella Henry started the game with a walk to extend her reached-base streak to a 2023 team-high 12 games.
Henry found her way home on an RBI single to center field by first baseman
Laura Bishop to give KSU a 1-0 lead.
Samford added three in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-1 lead.
Kiera Cooper's second double of the game in the top of the fourth set up catcher
Stacey Deputy who launched a no-doubter to deep left to even the game at three runs apiece.
Henry extended her hit streak to a team-high seven games with a single later in the frame.
Deputy recorded her 15th caught stealing on an incredible throw to end the bottom of the fifth and prevent a Bulldog runner from getting in scoring position.
With the game on the line, Hilleary struck out two in the bottom of the seventh to send the teams into extra innings.
The freshman again slammed the door on Samford in the bottom of the eighth, securing the final out via strikeout to strand two Bulldog runners in scoring position.
With bases loaded in the top of the 12th inning, Bishop drew a walk to score Henry from third and put the Owls in front, 4-3.
Starter
Lindsey Kyte, Hilleary and the Owl defense posted 11 consecutive shutout frames until Samford evened the game at four in the bottom of the 12th.
The Owls retook the lead 5-4 after a single up the middle from Henry scored
Caroline Shumeyko in the top of the 13th.
Taylor Cates added another run with a hot shot to left to score Hardeman. A wild pitch plated Henry to increase the Owl lead to 7-4. Cates came home on a deep infield groundout from Bishop to extend the advantage further to 8-4.
Hilleary secured the final three outs to earn the victory, the sixth of her KSU career.
The game was the longest in Samford softball history.
ON DECK
The Owls' road trip continues with the final away series of 2023 against the Bellarmine Knights beginning Friday, Apr. 28 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
All three games of the series will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Admission is free for all 2023 KSU softball home contests.
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.
