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Raking At Bailey Park: 10/7/2011

Abbey Meixel Gives Her Time to Those in Need in Dominican Republic

For college softball players, fall is a time to learn and grow, and develop and enhance skills and understanding that you may not have had beforehand. In most cases, those experiences occur on the softball field, but for Owls junior pitcher Abbey Meixel, it meant taking a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with her fiancé, Brad, and his family two weeks back to help re-build a family home that was destroyed in a recent flood.

Her first time out of the country, Meixel, who hails from nearby Canton, Ga., was glad to be able to help a family in need and saw a part of the world she had never before experienced. Staying in the coastal town of Sosua, where many local residents live in tin huts and few own cars, Meixel took note of how happy everyone seemed to be and how grateful they
“I was feeling so horrible, walking around and looking at everyone living in tin houses, but they are grateful for their family and what they do have,” said Meixel. “Just to see all of the people, and how happy they were with what they had, it just grabs your insides and shakes you. It makes you think twice about complaining about what we have here, and it put everything I do, in life and on the softball field, into perspective.”

While Meixel’s church group of 17 people spent their days helping a displaced pastor and his family move one step closer to moving back into their house, they also had some time to bond with the people of Sosua, mainly eating together and taking part in bible study with them. While sharing meals consisting mainly of the local fare of choice, in this case native vegetables such as yucca and plantains, is something Meixel will  remember, it was at a baseball field at the local church where the Owls junior made her biggest impression. In a country where baseball is king and softball has not yet caught on with the same fervor, not many females take part in competition on the diamond, and Meixel’s skill came as a pleasant surprise to many of those around her.

“Some of the guys on the trip were high school age and brought their baseball mits. I didn’t even think to bring any softball equipment, as that was the last thing on my mind,” Meixel laughed. “I threw one pitch while we were just messing around, and it was like Sammy Sosa had just showed up at the field. Several of the guys went inside and brought people out and kept asking me to throw again, because they couldn’t believe what they had seen. The next day, when I got to the church, the kids were all going, ‘There’s the baseball girl! There’s the baseball girl!’”

Still recovering from an injury, Meixel hasn’t yet fully participated in fall practice, but has had the chance to throw a bullpen session and is excited to get back to 100 percent as soon as she can. While she hasn’t played as much softball as she would have liked to during the fall, between her injury and missing a week of practice to go on the mission, she has still used the month of September to her advantage.

“Abbey came in during the summer and asked for permission to miss the week to go on this trip, and I was glad to oblige,” Owls head softball coach Scott Whitlock said prior to the trip. “It’s a great thing that she’s doing there, helping people in need.”


Seeing-Eye Singles:

*With the first weekend of fall games in the books, Whitlock was able to take a closer look at how some of his newcomers have responded to game action. One player who caught his eye was freshman outfielder Natalie Rhodes.

“Natalie did a great job in the leadoff spot this past weekend, and we’re going to continue to work under the premise that she will be able to help us from that spot,” Whitlock said. “She’s a good bunter, and can also turn on it and hit it when she needs to.”

**Owls junior Ashlee Burkett caught in both games this past weekend, and her coach was thrilled at the effort and performance he saw back there from the converted infielder.

“Ashlee did a very good job behind the plate, both with her athleticism and her quickness, as well as how she handled the pitchers,” Whitlock commented. “I knew it was her first time back there in a long time because I’m her coach, but if you were sitting in the stands you wouldn’t have realized that that hasn’t been her primary position.”
Burkett started in 53 games in 2011, splitting her time between first and third base.

***Despite playing games this past weekend, Whitlock stressed the overall importance of fall being a five-week learning and evaluation period, and to not necessarily put too much weight on the two weeks in which they play actual competition.

“The fall is about us, it’s about improving week to week, and it’s not about how we play our opponents, so it would be unfair to expect a bigger jump in performance from weeks four to five, for example, than weeks one to two. What we want to assess is where we are at the end of this weekend compared to where we were when we started several weeks ago.”

****In their seventh season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Owls will be looking at a revamped conference, with a few potentially significant adjustments. First and foremost, with the departure of Campbell to the Big South, that leaves the league with 10 teams, cutting down the conference schedule from 20 games in past season to 18 beginning in 2012. Second, Florida Gulf Coast will be eligible for the postseason for the first time after completing their re-classification to NCAA Division I this summer. FGCU will provide another hurdle to teams trying to make it into the six-team A-Sun Championship. The Eagles went 14-6 last season to finish third in the regular season standings, and have finished third or higher in each of their first four seasons in the A-Sun. Despite the changes, the goals for the Owls have not changed.

"Obviously, with just 18 games on your conference slate instead of 20, we now have to find two more games to fill that void," Whitlock commented. "Our focus, being in the A-Sun, will still be on that conference schedule. While it only makes up about a third of our schedule, finishing high in the league standings and putting us in position to win the conference tournament is what we need to be concentrating on as the season progresses."

A Look towards 2012
The Black and Gold open up Bailey Park for the first time on Wednesday evening, Mar. 7, when they begin their Atlantic Sun Conference schedule with a doubleheader against Florida Gulf Coast beginning at 5 p.m.

Raking At Bailey Park: 9/29/2011

One-On-One With Leigh Wintter

The Owls latest addition to their staff is Leigh Wintter, a former standout player, first at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw and Marshall University, and most recently an assistant coach at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Ga. RBP sat down with Wintter this week to learn a little more about the Owls new assistant coach.

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue coaching?
I always knew I wanted to be involved with sports after I was done playing. After I finished my career at Marshall in 2006, I started out as a graduate assistant there in the office of the Exercise Science, Sports and Recreation department. Taking that year off from softball, I had a lot of free time and I was always finding myself at the field helping out with the team. At one point a student manager asked me, ‘why aren’t you coaching?’ It was something that made me think, and I decided that that was what I wanted to try. I spoke to my former head coach, and he said they would do what they could to get me more involved the following year, and sure enough, they made me a volunteer assistant coach for the 2008 season.

What will be some of the challenges for you coaching at the Division I level for the first time?
When it comes down to it, softball is softball, fundamentals are fundamentals. The biggest thing for me joining a new staff will be adjusting to our staff’s philosophy and focusing on the needs of our particular team, as any new assistant coach has to do.

Recruiting is the same anywhere you go, you’re trying to find solid talent and players that will fit the program. Similar to that, budgets are budgets, and so forth. The biggest difference is that everything here is done on a grander scale, which requires a lot more attention to detail and preciseness.

You were a star player coming out of North Cobb High School right here in Kennesaw. Word has it Coach Whitlock recruited you to play here?
I never took an official visit here, but I did talk with Coach Whitlock beginning the summer after my junior year. At that point, I had already decided that I wanted to go away to school, so when Coach Whitlock started talking to me, it really made me think, because I knew the program fairly well and I really liked it. My dad made me a chart that had the pros and cons of each option, going away to school or playing here, and I decided that it was important for me to have that going away to college experience.

Coach Whitlock was very understanding when I informed him of my decision, he told me I needed to do what made me happy, and wished me well.

How did you re-connect with Coach Whitlock after your playing days?
When I was finished graduate school at Marshall and began coaching at Reinhardt (In Waleska, Ga.), I saw Coach Whitlock out on the recruiting trail, and it was like we had just talked yesterday, even though it had really been six years. We’ve always had a great relationship, and now I’m very fortunate and very glad to be on his staff.

What catches your eye about Kennesaw State now, as opposed to when you were growing up?
Just how much the campus has grown since I was in high school.  I remember before this facility was built, when it was just a softball field, so it’s amazing to be back here and see what they’ve done, it’s incredible. Not just the softball program, but the entire university is so much bigger, and there are so many more students walking around campus than from what I remember. It’s really great to see.

How will being a local product help you in terms of recruiting in this area?
I think having grown up around here will be a plus for me on the recruiting trail, there are a good number of coaches at the high school level when I was playing prep softball who are still around, but there are plenty of new contacts for me to make, some of whom I have met since I started coaching at Reinhardt.

You were an All Mid-American Conference selection in 2005, your junior year. What will be your advice to 2011 All Atlantic Sun Conference selections Sharon Swanson, Jessica Cross, Ashlee Burkett and Sara Sikes when it comes to building on that past success?
It just means you need to work that much harder, because the players in the conference know your particular strengths and weakness. It will be important for our players who have had success to not only continue to excel at what they have been good at, but to work on what they have struggled with. My situation was a little unique, as when I made all-conference in 2005 it was our final season in the MAC before we move over to Conference USA, so it was a whole new set of players. That being said, teams in that conference already knew about us when we got there, at the Division I level you’re going to be recognized around the country.

Obviously, making the NCAA Tournament is a goal for every coach around the country, but for you, in particular, it would help you settle some unfinished business of sorts during your playing days.
Right, while I was at Marshall, we were regular season conference champions twice, and conference tournament runner-ups three times. We were right on the cusp all of those times and weren’t able to break through. Being here now, I want to help the players achieve that goal, which I know is what they want as well.

Tell us a little bit about joining the coaching staff so close to the start of the fall schedule
(First games are Friday, Sep. 30).
It’s a little tougher coming in when the team has practiced for a few weeks. It’s a learning process both for me and the players, so we can get used to one another. Getting out there for games so quickly really is a good a thing though, because just a week into it, I can see what they have out on the field, not just from a practice standpoint, but from a perspective of what they can do in competition, and it will give me an opportunity to evaluate them pretty quickly and figure out what we’ll work on with each player going into the off season. They have all been very receptive to me so far.

Seeing-Eye Singles:

*Coach Whitlock on fall games, and how they might differ a little bit from the regular season contests in the spring:
“Things are completely different between the fall and spring when it comes to preparing for games. Simply put, the fall is about assessing, the spring is about winning. There are some players who we are completely comfortable with in terms of where they stand in our lineup, and there will also be a lot of questions that are answered during these games. The difference between practice and games is that now our players will be under fire, and that’s where we see where we’re at as a team.”

**Following a freshman season in which she pitched much better than her 5-9 record may indicate, Whitlock is excited about the prospects of Amanda Henderson heading into fall action.

“Amanda has that year of college experience under her belt now, and she is doing a lot better at hitting her spots now on a consistent basis. Last year, she got into trouble when she wasn’t locating the ball where she should, if she can do that more consistently, she will cause hitters a lot of problems. “

***Saturday at Bailey Park will be a special day, as the program is expecting a slew of former Owls to return to campus for Alumni Day. Prior to the Owls doubleheader against Middle Georgia, the alumni will take part in a split-squad game before their annual luncheon. Having his former players come back is one of the thing Whitlock treasures every year.

“It’s always great when your family comes home. Alumni Day is my second favorite day of the year, behind only Senior Day, when we get to properly thank the players for going through what they went through here during their careers as college athletes. Everyone who plays for me is like family, and when you family comes home, it’s just special. Also, it gives our former student-athletes a chance to see what we have now within the program that they didn’t have when they were here, and to see the leaps and bounds in which we’ve grown.”

****For the second time in three seasons, the Black and Gold will be hosting two early-season tournaments, first the KSU Classic, Feb. 11-12, and then the Phyllis Rafter Memorial, Feb. 24-26, both at the Twin Creeks Softball Complex in nearby Woodstock. According to Whitlock, playing host, while a lot of work, provides more benefits than it does hassles.

“Obviously, as coaches and administrators, we’re not only focused on our team, we also want to make sure we’re good hosts and taking care of the teams who traveled to play here,” Whitlock commented. “For our players, though, they get to sleep in their own beds, and they are just participating on the field, keeping them from traveling is nothing but positive. We’re lucky in the fact that we’re located in the south, which means the weather is a little more mild in the winter, so we like to be able to accommodate teams from up north when we can.”

A Look towards 2012
The Owls travel South during the second week of March 9-11 to compete in the University of South Florida’s Under Armour Invitational.

Owls Schedule:
Friday, Mar. 9: 4:15 p.m.-Long Island; 6:30 p.m.- Fordham
Saturday, Mar. 10: 4:15 p.m.- Miami, Ohio; 6:30 p.m.- Syracuse
Sunday, Mar. 11: 11:15 a.m.- Toledo


Raking At Bailey Park: 9/22/2011

Saunders, Van Auken, Join Owls After Solid Junior College Careers

KENNESAW, Ga. – The fall roster for the Kennesaw State Owls softball team features eight players who joined the program this August. For most of them, it means a first foray into the world of college softball, and everything that comes with the adjustment of playing at a level much higher than they are accustomed to. For junior college transfers Jamie Saunders and Carly Van Auken, however, it means bringing their experience that they have gained from other collegiate programs here to Kennesaw, where they can make an immediate impact with the Black and Gold.

Saunders, a junior, and Van Auken, a sophomore, both had their share of success at the high school level, with Saunders being named the Georgia Class 4A Player of the Year in 2008 and Van Auken earning All-Pinellas County honors four years a row in the softball hotbed of south Florida. For both of them, however, instead of jumping straight to the NCAA Division I level, they decided that the best decision for

them was to take a detour to junior college, Van Auken at the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, and Saunders at nearby Georgia Perimeter College in Covington.

“I was injured a lot towards the end of my high school career, so it was harder to get the exposure that I wanted, and so this seemed to be the best option,” Van Auken, an infielder, said. “I’m a lot less nervous than I think I would have been had I been coming straight from high school to a Division I program. Playing in junior college in Florida is very competitive, a lot of my teammates there could definitely play at this level, but it is a little closer in level to high school, so the jump wasn’t quite as big.”

Saunders spent two years at Georgia Perimeter, and collected some impressive numbers as an infielder. When all was said and done, she batted .388 during her junior college career while helping her squad to a 57-26 record at that. While a lot of players spend just one year at the “JUCO” level before moving on to a four-year institution, Saunders puts a lot of value on the two years she played after high school before coming to Kennesaw State.

“That second year of junior college was extremely valuable for me, because it allowed me to get a lot more exposure with Division I programs, especially since I was learning to play another infield position during my sophomore season,” Saunders commented. “As I started to look at places, all signs began to point to Kennesaw State, and now here I am."

One of the biggest questions an outsider may have about a transfer from a junior college is what kind of adjustment they have to make when it comes to the level of talent they will be playing with and competing against. Owls head coach Scott Whitlock looks at players from two-year institutions as an asset, and knows that they have played softball at a higher level than many newcomers to the program.

“We treat our incoming junior college players as if they’re players with collegiate experience, which they are,” he said.  “We bring in players like Jamie and Carly because we think they can contribute right away, and that’s in large part because they do have that experience under their belt.”

For Van Auken, who played her high school ball for her father, Calvin, the plan was originally to stay for two years at State College of Florida and then look for a spot at a four-year school. Following her dad’s guidance, however, led her to where she is right now in suburban Atlanta.

“On my dad’s advice, I was taking some visits to some schools this past summer, just so I had a feeling for what I wanted to do at the end of my sophomore year,” she commented. “When I got here, and I saw the campus and met the coaching staff, it made an immediate impression on me, and I just realized that this was where I wanted to be and that there was no reason for me to wait another year.”

Should the duo have any questions about what it is like to transition from junior college to the Division I level, they need to look no further than their teammate, senior Lindsay Vollmer. Vollmer played two years at Paradise Valley Community College in Arizona before joining the Owls for the 2011 season.

“If I could give them any advice, it would be to stick it out, even if it gets tough in the beginning,” Vollmer said. “The transition was tougher for me, because I was further from home, being from Arizona, but as I got to know my teammates better, things went a lot smoother, and I began to adjust to the level of play a little bit better.”

To this point, Saunders and Van Auken have had no trouble becoming a part of the Kennesaw State family.

“What strikes me is how team-oriented the program is here, everyone is very close,” Saunders said. “I already knew a lot of the players before I got here, so that definitely helped, but everyone has really helped us feel welcome right away.”

“In junior college, most of us grew up pretty close by, so we went home a lot, which is a lot different from here,” Van Auken added. “Here, we all do things together on weekends, and when you combine that with our bond that comes from being fellow softball players, this immediately felt like a family for me.”

Seeing-Eye Singles:

*Aside from fundamentals, it has been really important for the coaching staff during this early juncture in the season to simulate game-time situations as opposed to just going through drills. For Whitlock, the idea is more about mentally preparing his players for big moments during the season.

“We want our players to play under stress, not necessarily pressure. Pressure is something you apply, while stress is something that you feel. It’s always different when there are people in the stands, but we do all we can to simulate situations that are as much like games as possible.

**With the Owls being just several practices away from their first weekend of fall competition, it is the focus of the program to take those individual skills that they have been working on and translating them into skills that will work within the team concept. “We’re emphasizing team defense and working as a ball club, the fundamental things like working as a team out on the field, being smart on the base paths and doing well with our bunt coverage," Whitlock said. "This fall, more than anything, we want to make sure that we are in a position in the spring where the only team we’re not trying to beat is ourselves.”

The Black and Gold take on Georgia State and Young Harris at Bailey Park on Friday, Sep. 30, beginning at 3 p.m., and will face Middle Georgia in a doubleheader on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 2 p.m., following the annual Alumni Game and Circle of Honor ceremony.

***New to the Owls pitching staff is freshman Monica Vickery, out of Rossville, Ga., who brings with her to Kennesaw an impressive resume that includes First Team All-Georgia honors during her junior and senior years of high school. Oftentimes for a freshman pitcher, it can be tough adjusting to the bigger distance between the pitcher’s circle and home plate, as high school ball just changed to college length from a shorter 40 feet during the fall of 2010. Vickery, however, has had significant experience at the new standard length.

“Monica has pitched at 43 feet over the last two summers as well as during her senior season of high school, so that won’t be much of an adjustment for her,” Whitlock said. “For Monica, as it has been for all of our freshman pitchers in the past, the emphasis for the fall will be on location and on spinning the ball, as well as making sure she understands the difference in the quality of competition from high school. You have to condition yourself as a new college pitcher to understand that every batter is good and can hurt us. It’s something we’re constantly teaching and reminding our young pitchers of, and that includes Amanda Henderson, our sophomore pitcher.”

****One player that has been absent from practice this week is junior pitcher Abbey Meixel, who is in the Dominican Republic on a mission project with her church.

“Abbey came in during the summer and asked for permission to miss this week, and I was glad to oblige. It’s a great thing that she’s doing there, helping people in need. She’s currently dealing with an injury that she has developed, so we’ll see how she is doing when she gets back,” Whitlock commented.

*****Burkett has been recovering from an injury throughout the fall, and while she hasn’t been able to compete yet, she has been participating every day in various running and throwing activities.

“Ashlee is like a caged animal, she has been driving me crazy every day wanting to get back out there,” Whitlock laughed. “She’s been working very hard to get back out on the field and have full capability. Ashlee really wants to be able to help the team and we’re hopeful that will be happening soon.”

******When the Owls host the KSU Classic at Twin Creeks Park in Woodstock the weekend of Feb. 11-12, they face an interesting situation in their opening game, when they face Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer, in a, follow us here, non-conference game. While it is fairly common for teams from the same conference to play in the same events early in the season, they almost never face one another. Due to some unforeseen scheduling issues, the Owls and Bears meeting on the field became almost unavoidable.

“I called (new Mercer head coach) James DeFeo and said, ‘hey, we can either play each other in the first game of the season, or we can each play three games that weekend instead of four,’ and so here we are,” Whitlock said. “We play each other in conference play the last weekend of the season, and I can tell you from experience, a team you play in February is never the same team that you play in April.”

A Look towards 2012
The Black and Gold return to Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock for a third time in early 2012, this time not as hosts, but as participants in the 2012 Buzz Classic, hosted by Georgia Tech, Mar. 2-4.

Teams Participating: Georgia Tech, Kennesaw St., Kentucky, Winthrop, Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-Martin, North Carolina-Greensboro, Elon, Jacksonville St., Western Kentucky, Alabama St., Furman, Rhode Island, Western Carolina, Morehead St., Southeastern Louisiana, Georgia St.

Owls Schedule:
Friday, Mar. 2: Kentucky- 12 p.m.; Elon- 5 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 3: Western Kentucky- 11 a.m.; Alabama St.- 1 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 4: Georgia Tech- 12 p.m.

Raking At Bailey Park: 9/15/2011

Sharon Swanson Ready to Take Her Game to the Next Level Once Again in 2012

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls softball squad returns 13 players from their 2011 squad, including four of whom earned All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors. Of all of them, none had a more decorated season than junior Sharon Swanson, who had a breakout year offensively.

Following a solid freshman campaign in 2010 that saw her rank third on the Owls in batting average (.291) and RBI (24) on her way to being named to the A-Sun All-Freshman squad, the Canton, Ga., native took her game to a whole new level during her sophomore season. On top of leading the A-Sun in home runs with 14 and finishing second in RBI (49) and fourth in batting average (.358) and being named to the All A-Sun First Team, Swanson was recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, earning a spot on the All-South Region Second Team, becoming just the second Owl to garner all-region recognition at the NCAA Division I level after

teammate Jessica Cross did so during her freshman year in 2008.

“It was exciting to get an all-region honor last season, especially since that is a pre-cursor to All-American recognition,” Swanson said. “To know that I was looked at on that level was great. My goal is to build on that and hopefully get to that next level and be in the mix for an All-American spot, but it will be dependent on me continuing to work hard and helping our team win.”

The attention that came with her success was a season-long experience for Swanson, starting in late February, when her grand slam against Georgia Tech was all the offense the Black and Gold needed to win the ball game, 4-1, at Bailey Park. On top of that being the icing on the cake of a terrific week that saw her go 10-for-15 at the plate, being named the A-Sun Player of the Week and an “Other Top Performer” by the NFCA, the four-bagger took on a life of its own, being named a Capital One Cup Impact Performance by ESPN.

“I didn’t even know that it had happened. I was eating dinner with my parents and somebody texted me to tell me that I was on TV,” she said. “It was really cool to get that kind of national attention, even if only for a day. More importantly, that moment helped our team win, which was great for us to beat a team of that caliber.”

While all of the attention and praise is always a positive thing on its face, the potential downside is that opposing teams are aware of her talent, and will be more focused on her once spring rolls around. For Swanson, that is a challenge that she has navigated her way around in the past, and she will use the fall to get even better and fix whatever flaws she does have in her game.

“In high school I wasn’t pitched to a lot during my junior and senior years, so I’ll have to take the same approach as I did then, and capitalize when pitchers make mistakes. It will be a battle all year, but I’m used to that and understand that it comes with success,” she said. “Fall ball is all about getting better from the previous year. It’s about working as a team and figuring us out as a group. Individually, the coaching staff and I are working on some pitches that I’ve had trouble hitting in the past, and other little things that I’d like to improve upon personally from an offensive standpoint. I think even the best players in the world have a lot they can improve upon. All of my coaches, from Coach Whitlock and Coach (Wes) Holly to Sarah Lockett when she was here have helped me accomplish things I didn’t know I was capable of accomplishing.”

Perhaps most importantly for Swanson now, she is one of the upperclassmen on the team, and can take on more of a leadership role, which is something she has been more accustomed to throughout the course of her career. During her high school years, Swanson and fellow Owl Abbey Meixel, who played at nearby Cherokee High School for former Owl All-American Tonya Carlisle, were used to being looked to for guidance by their teammates. The presence of veterans such as Swanson and Meixel will be important to a squad that features nine players that will dress for the Owls for the first time, including six true freshmen.

“It seems like just yesterday, Ashlee (Burkett), Jensen (Hackett), Abbey and I we were the ones simply following directions from our upperclassmen and not doing a whole lot of speaking up, and now we’re the ones who are expected to lead. Abbey (Meixel) and I, we’re very much in a comfortable situation because we’ve always been the leader types, not necessarily vocally but just the way we are on the field.”

Seeing-Eye Singles:

*Two players who have not been as active this fall are senior Jessica Cross and junior Ashlee Burkett, who are still re-habbing from injuries. “We know their skill set and their value to the team due to the work they have put in with us over the last several years, so we’re able to bring them along at a much better pace,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said of the two, who were both named to the All-Atlantic Sun Conference Second Team last season. “We could have them ready for the end of September if we needed to, but we’re comfortable letting them get back to full health and having them 100% come February.”

**After opening up fall ball with lots of drills and skill work, the team will begin their Inter-squad match-ups for the first time next week.

“We look at basic things during our inter-squads. We want to make sure that our pitchers are throwing well, and we also want to make sure that at this early juncture our hitters are going up there and having an at-bat, not just stepping to the plate and swinging away,” Whitlock said. “That’s something I always want to instill in our players right away, to go up there and have a plan.”

***Each fall, all basic aspects of the game are covered by the coaching staff to shake off the rust that the summer brings. One of the areas the Owls coaching staff will be paying special attention to will be the finer points of bunting.

“Bunting is not as good as it used to be all over the game of softball, but we certainly struggled a bit with it last season, and I think it’s important that we emphasize it a little bit more this fall,” Whitlock said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure everyone in our lineup is proficient in bunting.”

The Owls fared relatively well in the bunting category statistically in 2011, ranking tied for third in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 45 sacrifice bunts.

****The Black and Gold held open tryouts on Sep. 6 and 7, and found themselves another member of their squad in freshman catcher Emilee Manning. Manning hails from LaGrange, Ga., and played her prep softball at LaGrange High School, where she started behind the plate for three season.

“Emilee walked into my office and asked for a tryout, and now here she is as a part of our squad. She’ll be a good resource for us as a catcher, someone who has a lot of work to do and can be a project for us,” Whitlock said. “She gives us depth at the catching position, which is important for our roster, and will help us keep our pitchers prepared. It was impressive to watch how she handled the pitchers during her tryout .”

*****Junior Sharon Swanson and sophomore transfer Carly Van Auken have been doing a lot of work in the middle infield during the opening weeks of fall practice.

“Sharon and Carly are both extremely hard workers and good athletes who play well in that part of the infield,” Whitlock commented on the duo. “They are two players who are accustomed to winning, as well.”

****** Saturday, Oct. 1 will be Alumni Day at Bailey Park, with a large number of former Owl softball players coming back to play in the official Alumni Game and to celebrate the newest members of Kennesaw State Softball's Circle of Honor. The 2011 honorees will be former players Jen Hunt (2003-06) and Cambria McKay (2002-06), as well as the late Phyllis Rafter, who will be inducted for her contributions to the program over the course of nearly two decades.

A Look towards 2012
The Black and Gold will host the Fourth Annual Phyllis Rafter Memorial at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock, Ga., Feb. 24-26.

Teams Participating: Kennesaw State, Alabama State, Bradley, Central Arkansas, Campbell, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State, Indiana, Robert Morris, Southeastern Louisiana

Owls Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 24: Alabama State- 1 p.m.; Indiana- 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25: Robert Morris- 1 p.m.; Central Arkansas- 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26: Eastern Kentucky- 1 p.m.


Raking At Bailey Park: 9/8/2011

Jensen Hackett Once Again Switching Positions For Good of the Team

KENNESAW, Ga. - Owls junior Jensen Hackett has been a stalwart in the Owls lineup throughout her time with the program, having started 97 of a possible 108 games over the past two seasons. While she has been out on the field with regularity, where she could be found on the field differed greatly from 2010 to 2011.

All 42 of her starts during her freshman campaign came in center field, as she had predominantly been an outfielder during her high school years in Ringgold, Ga., and expected to be out there when she arrived at Kennesaw State. When a need arose for a middle infielder following fall ball last season, however, it was Hackett who was selected for the job, and she responded admirably, starting all 55 games in 2011 and splitting her time between second base and shortstop, dramatically improving her performance at the plate to the tune of a .294 batting average in the process.

So, after finally adjusting to life in the dirt, what was her reward? A trip back to the outfield, where she will begin to compete for one of the three spots available this fall. With more options in the infield heading into 2012, Hackett will be back where she began her collegiate softball journey.

“The intent since I got here was to play in the outfield, but there was a need last season for someone to move to the infield, and only a couple of us had infield experience,” said Hackett, whose sister, Jordan, also played for the Owls from 2008-10. “I had played some infield during my junior and senior years of high school, so I was able to make the switch. This year, we have some newcomers who play infield, so they’re going to move me back to where it was originally intended for me to play.”

In addition to her past experience as an infielder, it has been Hackett’s willingness to accept whatever defensive role she has been asked to play that has made her a prime candidate to change positions if necessary.

“It is a compliment to Jensen’s team-first mentality and unselfishness, but it is also a compliment to her skill,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock commented. “There aren’t many players that can play in the dirt and the grass, and her willingness and ability to do so have helped us out tremendously.”

Despite being back in her perceived comfort zone, like anything else that someone hasn’t done for a year, there were some immediate adjustments Hackett had to make to re-acclimate herself to the outfield.

“I have always been more comfortable out there. I don’t have to think as much since it’s more natural for me, but surprisingly, the first few days out here have been a little tougher than I thought, since it has been an entire year since I’ve played in the outfield,” Hackett said. “The footwork is obviously a little different, and it took some reps to get back into my rhythm, but I was able to get used to it again before too long.”

It is easy to assume that going back to her original position will be a smoother process than Hackett’s initial transition to the infield last year. If that proves to be the case, it certainly won’t hurt that she will have the entire fall to get used to the outfield again. Last season, when she made the switch to the middle infield, it came at the end of the fall, after games and scrimmages were over, leaving Hackett to work with her teammates and coaches in the indoor practice facility throughout the winter in preparation for the season. This time around, she will be able to prepare for her role for the upcoming season with actual game situations.

“Our first game of 2011 against Central Arkansas was the first time I was actually out at second base. We did the best we could simulating real situations with ground balls and such indoors, but there really is no substitute for being out on an actual field. This fall will be very valuable for me in that respect, since I really will get some solid time to prepare on the field of play.”

Seeing-Eye Singles:
*One of the things that has stood out to Whitlock during the first week of fall practice has been the performance of his seven newcomers. The group is a diverse one, featuring five freshmen (Kierra Coln, Olivia Rutledge, Natalie Rhodes, Kaylee Williams, Monica Vickery) and two junior college transfers (Carly Van Auken and Jamie Saunders), with three pegged as outfielders, three as infielders, and Vickery as a pitcher.

“As a group, the skill level is very good, and their softball IQ is very high. They know how to play the game and go about playing the game,” Whitlock said. “So far, they have been very quick to pick up on how we do things here, and have done their best to do what we have asked them to do. I’m very pleased with the attitude they have had to this point.”

**With the addition of three outfielders from the 2011 recruiting class, plus Hackett's return to the outfield grass, there is suddenly quite a battle for playing time out there, with six Owls looking to prove themselves during the fall. As Coach Whitlock puts it, everyone is coming in with the opportunity to do just that.

“We have six outfielders. We’re going to have all of them play all three positions, and practice at all three positions every day. Our goal is to find a combination that we are comfortable with, and I’m confident we have the talent here to get that done.”

***In addition to their time on the field, the Owls will be spending a significant amount of time in the weight room, as they will take part in a rigorous strength and conditioning program throughout the year. In the fall, much of the emphasis is on strength and agility.

“During this time of year, we have been working on hip strength, power, core strength and stability, as well as doing preventative exercises and drills to reduce the risk of injury,” said Kennesaw State Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Joe Pitts. “After the fall season, we will work on a variety of aspects of their athleticism. They are a hard working, competitive group that has been a pleasure to train.”

****Whitlock has been working diligently to fill the program’s vacant assistant coaching position, and is hoping to have somebody named by the week of Sep. 20. Sarah Lockett, a three-year member of the Owls coaching staff, departed this summer to take the head coaching position at Embry-Riddle in Florida.

A Look towards 2012
The Owls kick off the 2012 season when they host the KSU Classic at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock, Ga., Feb. 11-12.
Teams participating: Kennesaw State, Southern Illinois, Austin Peay, Mercer, Miami (Ohio), Western Carolina

Owls schedule (UPDATED 9/20): 
Saturday, Feb. 11- 1 p.m.: Mercer; 3:30 p.m.: Southern Illinois
Sunday, Feb. 12- 1 p.m.: Miami (Ohio); 3:30 p.m.: Austin Peay