David Almeda, Staff Wirter
Riding a four game winning streak, Kennesaw State’s softball team ran into a buzzsaw in their first taste of Atlantic Sun play this season, suffering a three game sweep to USC Upstate at Bailey Park Saturday and Sunday.
“First off, we have to tip our hat to Upstate,” KSU interim head coach Tory Acheson said to KSUOwls.com. “They came in here with a really good plan and they took care of business. That is a very strong team that played very well and unfortunately we did not have a great weekend.”
Nothing seemed to go right for the Owls (15-9) in their three-game set, beginning in game one. Down 9-1, KSU was able to get a short rally going in their half of the fourth, scoring two runs on a Taylor Denton fielder’s choice and an RBI groundout from Natalie Rhodes.
However, the Owls allowed seven runs in the next frame and eventually took a 16-3 loss in a shortened five-inning affair. During every inning, KSU could not keep the Spartans from scoring. The starting pitcher, Morgan Sikes, took the loss.
“We did not make good quality pitches,” Acheson said. “They started to gain that momentum and they just started swinging free and easy. We just didn’t hit our spots as much as we needed to.”
Things did not get better for the Owls for the next day’s doubleheader. In game one KSU was down 4-1 in the third when Megan Veringa hit an RBI single to score Lauren Bennett and cut the deficit to two. A grand slam from Upstate in the top of the final inning put the Owls’ closest chance for a win away as they ended game one with a 8-2 defeat. Veringa finished the game with a 3-for-5 performance with two RBIs.
During game two, the Spartans’ hot bats continued, connecting on their second grand slam of the day to help themselves to a 7-0 lead. KSU scored their only run in the fifth inning of a shortened six inning game when Rhodes reached on a throwing error, scoring Bennett. The Owls took their third straight loss, 10-1, opening conference play on a sour note.
KSU will look to bounce back when they take on Furman in a doubleheader March 18 before visiting A-Sun opponent North Florida this weekend.
