Abbey Mixon and Amanda Henderson both pitched complete games, and the Owls offense was on fire as KSU swept a double header against the Belmont Bruins at Bailey Park in Kennesaw to keep pace atop the Atlantic Sun Conference standings and clinch a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship tournament.
“We got some excellent pitching from Abbey and Amanda. They gave us a chance to win all four games, and in three out of four games we did enough to get it done,” said head coach Scott Whitlock. “The team is playing exceptionally well right now, swinging the bat pretty good, playing great defense, and getting outstanding pitching, and when those things happen you’ve got a chance to win.”
KSU (28-21, 12-4 A-Sun) managed to shutout the Bruins (5-9, 11-32 A-Sun) 8-0 in game one and 9-0 in game two, continuing a trend of domination by the Owls that has plagued Belmont through the course of the head-to-head series.
With two outs in the first inning of game one, consecutive walks to Bianca Durant and Lindsay Vollmer were followed by a single to left field by Kaylee Williams to load the bags. With Brittany Moore at the plate, a wild pitch by the Bruins allowed Durant to come home for the first run of the game.
KSU would do most of the damage in the next frame, as Jessica Cross hit a double down the left field line to bring two more Owls home to the plate. Sharon Swanson would follow with a double of her own to score Cross and give the Owls a 4-0 lead after two innings of play.
Cross and Swanson would finish with solid days at the plate for the Black and Gold, as the number one and two hitters finished 2-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively.
KSU would finish off Belmont in just the fifth inning, as another three run frame gave them an 8-0 lead, ending the game prematurely. The Owls hung 10 hits against Belmont, while Mixon allowed just two in five innings of work.
Mixon’s final line for game one included eight strikeouts in 77 pitches. The complete game earned her a 7-5 record on year.
The story would not take a turn in game two, as KSU continued to pile on from the mound. Amanda Henderson (13-7) also pitched a complete game for the Owls, finishing with three allowed hits, six strikeouts and just two base-on-balls through 88 pitches.
Offensively, another three run inning would put the Bruins in a hole. In the bottom of the first KSU registered four singles as Cross, Swanson, Vollmer and Jamie Saunders all reached the bag, helping the Owls to an early 3-0 lead.
With the score at 5-0 in the sixth inning, KSU would skunk the Bruins for the second time of the day to complete the sweep, as Jessia Cross jacked a grand slam to straightaway center.
With the pair of victories, the Owls have impressively shutout Belmont in five of the last six meetings.
After a tough start to the season in a number of invitational style contests in the non-conference slate, the Owls have recovered and now are poised to finish atop the standings in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Florida Gulf Coast, who split the season series with the Owls, 0-2 and 3-1, in early march, currently holds first place in the conference with a 12-4 record (32-22 overall).
Both FGCU and KSU have two remaining conference games left in the regular season. The Eagles will host North Florida (27-24, 7-9 A-Sun) for a final series, while KSU will end its regular season against its division rival in the Mercer Bears (24-24, 5-11 A-Sun) at Bailey Park on Saturday at 2 p.m.
USC Upstate is also eligible to take the regular season title. The Spartans own the best overall record in the league by far with an outstanding 35-9 mark. USC Upstate (8-4 A-Sun) still has four conference games left to play.
Aside from the heated conference tilts to finish the year, KSU will head east to Athens on Wednesday to face the No. 12 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Saturday at Bailey Park in Kennesaw will be Senior Day for the Owls, as well as Fan Appreciation Day, with prizes slated to get handed out throughout the day.
“It’s big for so many reasons,” said Whitlock about Senior Day. “Number one, it’s Senior Day. We’re going to recognize four very special people in our program. Jessica Cross, Brittany Moore, Amanda Burns and Lindsay Vollmer. Secondly, we are playing our arch rival Mercer, who would like nothing more than to come up here and beat us. And thirdly, and more significantly, if we win both of those games , we will have a share of the conference championship.”
