Junior Logan Viers was admittedly suffering with back soreness prior to Sunday’s meeting with Alabama A&M in the finale of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey Memorial Tournament.
Viers’ health proved to have no impact on her arm, however, as she threw 64 pitches en route to a perfect game and a six-inning, 8-0 win over the Bulldogs.
“In the third or fourth inning, I realized it [was a possibility,]” Viers said of her perfect game. “Nobody in the dugout wants to say anything, and everyone is like ‘Oh, don’t say anything. We don’t want to mess it up.’ We had some really clutch plays and it was really a whole team effort. I couldn’t have done it without the other girls.”
Viers (5-0) became just the sixth pitcher in program history to complete a perfect game, the first since 2008.
Redshirt-junior Courtney Sutter homered to right field to give the Owls a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Owls (10-1) first challenge defensively came in the fourth inning as Alabama A&M’s Imani Largin lead off the inning with a hit up the middle, however it was fielded by freshman shortstop Anastasia Villanueva who threw her out at first.
Following four innings of gridlock, KSU took pressure off of Viers with a six-run fifth inning. Sophomore Noelle Winkles hit a one-out home run to right field to give the Owls a 2-0 lead. Senior Missy Perkowski notched an RBI single, followed shortly by an RBI double from senior Hillary Kartman, putting the Owls up 5-0. Senior Rachel Dennis capped off the scoring in the fifth with a two RBI single up the middle, extending KSU’s advantage to 7-0.
The Owls suffered another defensive scare in the top of the sixth inning with one out as Lauren Walker lined a shot to dead center, but Winkles made the catch to preserve perfection for Viers.
In the bottom of the sixth, Perkowski singled to center field and scored Winkles to enforce the eight-run mercy rule and end the game.
“I have to give our kids a ton of credit,” KSU head coach Tory Acheson said. “They came out today and really played the game the right way. Defensively, we made a couple of big plays to support Logan, and Logan pitched great. I’ve been coaching for 32 years and that’s the first perfect game I’ve ever had somebody throw for me.”
The win capped a perfect weekend for KSU in the tournament as the Owls defeated Western Michigan on Friday, 2-1, Tennessee-Martin on Saturday afternoon, 7-6 and Alabama A&M Saturday evening, 8-7.
Viers appeared in all four games, pitching 17.2 innings and allowing five earned runs on 11 hits. Additionally, she recorded 20 strikeouts, bringing her total to a team-high 43 in 37 2/3 innings pitched. Senior Morgan Sikes (3-0) picked up a win against Western Michigan, pitching three scoreless innings while only surrendering four hits. Redshirt-senior Monica Vickery allowed one earned run in three innings pitched in a winning effort against UT Martin.
The Owls took an early lead against Western Michigan as redshirt-junior Chandler Griffin grounded out to second base, scoring Kartman to put the Owls up 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning. The Mustangs tied the game, 1-1, on an Erin Binkowski solo home run in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, junior Taylor Denton drew a walk and stole second base before scoring on a Sutter RBI single through the right side.
KSU struck first once again on Saturday in their meeting with UT Martin as Perkowski reached base on a fielding error and later scored on a passed ball. In the next at-bat, Sutter homered to right center to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
The Skyhawks scored an unearned run in the top of the third inning. UT Martin’s Aeron Smith parked a three-run home run in the fourth, giving the Skyhawks a 4-2 advantage.
An RBI double to center field from Veringa pulled the Owls within a run in the fourth inning, but the Skyhawks extended their lead to 5-3 on an RBI single from Alli Fulcher in the top of the fifth.
After adding a run in the bottom of the sixth, the Owls tied the game in the seventh on senior Kara Chambers’ RBI double down the left field line, forcing extra innings. KSU surrendered a run in the top of the eighth inning, but Kartman tied the game on an RBI single to center field. On the ensuing pitch, Veringa hit a walk-off single to right field, driving in Sutter for the winning run.
In Saturday evening’s game against Alabama A&M, the Bulldogs scored on a fielding error, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Owls answered in the bottom of the inning, plating a pair of runs on a walk and sacrifice fly, respectively.
KSU added a pair of runs in the third inning and produced three runs in the fourth inning, extending its lead to 7-2.
Trailing 8-2 in the seventh inning, Alabama A&M put together a five-run rally to pull the Bulldogs within 8-7. With a runner on second base with only one out, Viers came in as a relief pitcher and forced the final two outs for the win.
The Owls will travel down I-75 South on Wednesday, March 2, to take on Georgia State at 6:00 p.m.
