Kennesaw State went 3-0 in the KSU Kickoff Classic with wins over Murray State, 7-0, and North Carolina Central, 3-2, on Friday, followed by a 4-2 victory over East Tennessee State on Sunday.
The Owls (3-0) were scheduled to play two games against Loyola University Chicago during the tournament, however the games were canceled due to inclement weather.
KSU’s pitching staff, headlined by Logan Viers, Morgan Sikes and Monica Vickery, allowed just four earned runs through three games while striking out 17 batters.
“I really feel good about [our] pitching,” Kennesaw State head coach Tory Acheson said. “Our pitchers have done a great job all three games. The staff approach we’re going to be using all year, this is just a perfect example. All those kids are coming in in different spots and really making a difference.”
The Owls opened the season with a route of Murray State on Friday.
In the first at-bat of the game, junior Taylor Denton advanced to first base on a hit-by-pitch. Denton stole second base and later advanced to third on a wild pitch before senior Missy Perkowski singled to bring her home and give the Owls a 1-0 lead.
Things were eerily similar for the Owls in the bottom of the second inning as redshirt-sophomore Lauren Bennett reached base on a hit-by-pitch, stole second base, and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bennett scored on a fielding error to extend KSU’s lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, senior Megan Veringa launched a three-run homerun to right-centerfield, giving the Owls an insurmountable 5-0 lead. The Owls added their final runs on RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings respectively.
In stark contract of the season opener, KSU’s second of two games on Friday forced the Owls to rely on late-game heroics for the victory.
NCC struck first when Jenny Tracy notched an RBI double in the top of the third inning to put the Eagles up 1-0. KSU answered in the bottom of the inning as redshirt-junior Courtney Sutter led off with a home run over the left-center wall to tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the fifth inning, NCC’s Danyelle Noland stole home to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Denton knotted the game at 2-runs-apiece in the bottom of the sixth inning when she advanced home on a throwing error.
Knotted up in the bottom of seventh inning, Sutter connected on a pitch and lined it back to right-centerfield for a triple, advancing home on a throwing error for the walk-off run.
The Owls faced trouble early on in the Sunday finale as ETSU loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the first inning. Emilie Hensley connected on a pitch and drove it to deep centerfield, but KSU’s Noelle Winkles caught the fly-out on the warning track to prevent the damage.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Bucs found themselves in a bases-loaded jam but managed to escape unscathed.
Veringa broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single to shallow right field, giving the Owls a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, senior Rachel Dennis drew a walk to bring a run home before Bennett notched an RBI single to give the Owls a 4-0 lead through four innings of play.
The Bucs got on the scoreboard with a pair of solo homeruns in the fourth and seventh innings respectively.
“I’m very pleased to be sitting here 3-0,” Acheson said. “And to have had a couple of pretty good tests in a couple games that will give us a chance to learn some things.”
The Owls will return to action on Friday, Feb. 19 against Rutgers at 12:30 p.m. in their first of four games in the Rafter Memorial Tournament.
