By Mason Wittner, Staff Writer
Sophomore second baseman Lauren Bennett notched a two-out RBI single through the right side to cap off a three-run bottom of the seventh as Kennesaw State knocked off No. 5 Kentucky, 9-8, in walk off fashion at Bailey Park Saturday.
“Outside of the Division II Championships that Scott won, this has got to be one of the biggest games in Kennesaw history,” KSU interim head coach Tory Acheson said. “So I’m very proud to be part of it and to see these kids beat a nationally ranked top-10 team on our home field was a pretty special thing.”
Down to their last two outs, the Owls (5-2) trailed the Wildcats 8-6 with runners on the corners when freshman Noelle Winkles stepped to the plate.
Winkles skipped a two-RBI single down the right field line and advanced to third on a fielding error, tying the game 8-8. After a strikeout, Bennett had the opportunity to pick up the 15th hit of the day for Owls and submit her name in the KSU history books.
“I know it sounds kind of cliché to talk about the process, but one of the things that we’re really trying to focus on is making sure that we do the things that good teams do,” Acheson said. “Tonight we did some of those at very important times. If they show the kind of fight and never-say-die attitude they did tonight, I think we can play with almost anybody in the country.”
Junior Morgan Sikes (2-1) picked up the win pitching just two-thirds of the seventh inning. Senior Paige Mathews started on the rubber for Owls and pitched five innings while giving up five hits and two earned runs.
KSU struck first blood as sophomore Courtney Sutter and junior Hillary Kartman hit an RBI single and two-RBI double, respectively, to give the Owls a 3-0 advantage after the first inning.
Bennett extended the lead to 4-0 on a solo home run to left center in the bottom of the fourth.
The Wildcats (6-2) ended the shutout in the top of the fifth with an RBI single and a run off a wild pitch to cut their deficit in half, 4-2.
Kentucky junior Nikki Sagermann belted a two-run blast over the right center wall to tie the game 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning.
KSU senior Natalie Rhodes reclaimed the lead for the Owls with an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore Taylor Denton brought Rhodes home on an RBI single to give the Owls a 6-4 lead heading to the seventh inning.
The Wildcats used a pair of two-run moonshots from juniors Ansley Smith and Sagermann to give them an 8-6 edge heading the final half-inning.
“This team is one of the most tight-nit, close teams I’ve ever been around,” Acheson said. “And this is my 34th year of coaching. I’m sure there were little nagging doubts when we didn’t put them away, but I think in every season there are situations like this where you face true adversity and you have an opportunity to learn from it and rise above it. Obviously, that last inning was that golden opportunity. It was very exciting.”
The win wrapped up the Phyllis Rafter Memorial Invitational with the Owls finishing 2-1. Following a 4-0 shutout Friday at the hands of IUPIU (4-3), KSU responded Saturday afternoon with a 5-1 victory over Morehead State (2-4).
KSU will travel to Greenville, North Carolina to play in the Pirate Invitational Feb. 20-22 which begins a 13-game road trip for the Owls, with a possibility of more pending on bracket-style tournaments. The team returns to Bailey Park March 10 for a double-header against Belmont.
