LOUISVILLE, KY. – The Kennesaw State softball (19-30, 10-11 ASUN Conference) offense brought the fireworks Sunday to complete a series sweep of the Bellarmine Knights (4-42, 1-20 ASUN) in a 7-1 victory in game three.
Taylor Cates led the offensive production with a 3-for-3 day at the plate with a homer and a walk. She hit a two-run homer in the fourth as part of a five-run inning for Kennesaw State.
Kiera Cooper also posted a fantastic day against the Knights pitching, going 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI.
Starter
Melanie Bennett (10-11) pitched the first three innings allowing only two hits and zero earned runs while striking out four.
Bennett broke the KSU DI career record for most innings pitched with 589.1. The win marked her 55th as an Owl, tying Amanda Henderson for third on the KSU DI career list.
Kennesaw State has now won four consecutive games, its longest streak this season.
The first three batters for the Owls reached base in the first, including an infield single from
Madison Miller. With the bases loaded,
Brinaya Bailey put the ball in play to score
Stella Henry and put the Owls up 1-0.
Miller found her way home on a flyout from
Kiera Cooper later in the inning extending the KSU lead to 2-0 after the first.
Catcher
Stacey Deputy recorded her 16th runner caught stealing this season in the bottom of the first. She leads the conference and is inside the top five in the country in the category in 2023.
After two scoreless innings,
Stella Henry tripled to left to score Deputy and Cooper to give KSU a 4-0 lead. The triple extended her reached-base streak to a 2023 team-high 15 games.
In the next at-bat, Miller reached on a fielding error that score Henry.
With Miller on first, Cates launched her second homer in as many days to put the Owls up 7-0.
Bellarmine scored one in the bottom of the frame to cut the lead to six, 7-1.
Lindsey Kyte entered in relief in the fourth and allowed only one run with two hits.
Freshman
Evan Fuller recorded her first collegiate hit as a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth.
Kyte recorded two of the final three outs via strikeout to earn the sweep for Kennesaw State, 7-1.
The win marked the Owls' second ASUN series sweep of the year. KSU is now 8-0 all-time against Bellarmine.
KSU is now 14-0 under head coach
Tripp MacKay when tallying nine hits in a game.
ON DECK
Kennesaw State returns home for a three-game series against FGCU starting Saturday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m.
Fans can catch the action on the KSU Owl Network and admission is free to 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.
