By: Ryan Henry
Kennesaw State (7-28, 3-12 CUSA) at #10 Tennessee (32-6, 9-6 SEC)
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. | Sherri Parker Lee Stadium
Wednesday, April 8, 6:00 p.m.
KSU Game Notes
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KENNESAW, Ga. – After taking a trip down to South Beach, Kennesaw State softball will travel to SEC country to face No. 10 Tennessee.
Macie Howes homered in the first two contests to extend her on-base streak to 19 games. Unfortunately that streak was snapped on Sunday after an 0-for-3 day. She had the longest on-base streak of anyone in CUSA this season.
Freshman
Rylee Limberger has been on a roll. She's currently riding a nine-game on-base streak and tallied a hit in all three games against FIU.
This is the fourth time the Owls will be playing a ranked SEC team this season. They are 0-3 in the previous three contests.
Scouting Tennessee
The Lady Vols are 32-6 with a 13-3 home record. They are coming off a weekend series against No. 25 South Carolina, taking two games.
Pitching has been the calling card for Tennessee this season, as it boasts the best ERA in the entire country at 1.11, 44 points better than second-best team. It also has the lowest WHIP (0.76), fifth-most strikeouts (286) and ninth-best K/BB ratio (3.45). It's a three-person rotation as Erin Nuwer, Sage Mardjetko and Karlyn Pickens have all thrown 65+ innings. All three are top 10 in DI in ERA and hits per seven innings with Nuwer and Pickens leading the country in that category.
Four players sport a batting average above .300. Sophia Knight is the table setter, leading the team with a .433 average and 12 stolen bases. The power comes from multiple players as five different Lady Vols have 6+ homers with Ella Dodge having a team-best 38 RBI.
Series History
Tennessee leads the all-time series 6-0, winning four of those contests in Knoxville. The last time these teams played was in 2024, where the Lady Vols won at Bailey Park.
Not in Her Howes
Macie Howes has been the engine for the Owls this season. After becoming the first player since 2021 to homer in three-straight games back on Feb. 25, she homered in three-straight contests again from March 29-April 3. Her 19-game on-base streak was snapped on Sunday, which was the longest among CUSA players and 6th-longest among all mid-major players. Defensively, she's top 15 in the entire country with 11 runners caught stealing. Howes ranks in the top five in CUSA in batting average (.429), OBP (.496), OPS (1.296) and RBI (37) while being ninth in hits (45).
Gore Sure
After a stellar freshman season in 2025,
Ana Gore has found her groove in conference play. In the month of March, she's batted .392 (20-for-51) with 11 RBI. She homered in back-to-back plate appearances in the Owls' win over Sam Houston on March 21. She followed that performance with a 3-for-3 day with two doubles and two RBI. In CUSA games, she fifth in batting average (.440) and slugging percentage (.760).
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
The outfield of
Ana Gore (LF),
Ava Brooke Strickland (CF) and
Alora Bevily (RF) has started every game this season. The trio is the only one in Conference USA to have started every game in the outfield. Gore has elevated her game in conference play, posting a triple slash of .440/.482/.760 with eight extra-base hits. Bevily has been a table setter, batting .336 in the leadoff spot with 11 multi-hit games. Strickland has set single-game highs in hits (3) and runs (3) while boasting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
Greatest Hits
KSU made history against Furman (2/21), recording a DI-record 20 hits in its 16-7 victory.
Alora Bevily and
Hannah Harvey led the way with four hits each, becoming the first Owls to record four hits since 2024.
Ana Gore and
Macie Howes both had three RBI as Gore is the first player in program history to record two sacrifice flies in the same game. The Black and Gold also swiped five bags in the contest.
The Champions Fund
The Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching, travel and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition, wellness and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund here and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.
