The softball team stayed strong last week, defeating Georgia State 8-0 on Wednesday, March 14, before taking two of three from the University of South Carolina Upstate over the weekend.
A combination of shutout pitching from sophomore Alley Cutting along with a trio of home runs from Maddie Roth, Kira Czyrklis and Raleigh Williams proved to be too much for the Panthers in an 8-0 home win for the Owls Wednesday night.
The game’s tone was set early with Cutting allowing only one hit while the offense produced four runs of their own in the first inning. Roth took advantage of two previous singles by batting them in while she later scored on a double from Patrica Awald, who herself would score later in the inning for the team’s fourth run.
Following a pair of of hitless innings from Cutting, the Owls struck again on a home run from Roth in her first at bat of the third inning.
The Panthers nearly clawed back into the game in the fifth inning when they were set up with the bases loaded and only one out, but Cutting kept a cool head to keep GSU scoreless.
KSU closed out the game in the sixth with a pair of home runs from Czyrklis and Williams, after which the game was called on a mercy-run rule.
The Owls then won two of three weekend games against the Spartans in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In Saturday’s games, the Owls opened with a 2-1 victory. Awald’s solo home run in the fourth inning proved to be the difference as a late comeback bid by the Spartans was stopped short at just one run. Cutting put in another quality performance from the mound, pitching a complete game for her sixth win.
Later that day, the only run of the second game came on a wild pitch as the Spartans won 1-0. The Owls’ bats couldn’t crack the code of opposing pitcher Erin Hill, only producing two hits. Despite a solid overall pitching performance, only giving up two hits, Abigail Green lost her start.
Sunday’s game saw another tight affair as the Owls turned the tables to win 1-0. Much like the previous game, an error proved to be the difference in the game. Olivia Tamewitz scored on an error by the Spartan’s shortstop after a sharp ground ball by Noelle Winkles. Green and Cutting combined for a dominant pitching performance, totaling seven strikeouts
Up next, the Owls take on Liberty University at home for a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 21.
