Kennesaw State’s softball team dropped three games before winning one over the weekend as they played in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a series that began on Friday, Feb. 15.
Playing two games on Friday, before playing two more on Saturday, the Owls lost their first three games by a combined four runs.
An extra-innings loss began the series for KSU, as they fell 6-5 to Tennessee Tech in eight innings.
Senior Kira Czyrklis and sophomore Lexi Solorzano hit home runs in the first inning to put the Owls in front 3-0. After KSU extended the lead to 4-0, the Golden Eagles scored three runs in the fourth inning, partially caused by a fielding error by KSU.
Solorzano batted in a run with a double in the fifth inning to make it 5-3, but the Owls gave up that lead when Tennesee Tech hit a home run and two sacrifice fly outs to finish the game.
Later on Friday, the Owls faced off against Toledo, where KSU once again got out to a lead before relinquishing it late.
Solorzano hit her second home run of the series in the third inning, followed by another solo home run by redshirt senior Jessie Mullen. Junior Brea Dickey doubled in a third run of the inning to give KSU a 3-0 lead.
The Rockets made a comeback in the fifth inning, hitting a grand slam that would eventually stick as the final score of 4-3.
On Saturday, the Owls began the day with a near comeback that fell two runs short in a 10-8 defeat to Dayton.
The Flyers got out to a fast start, scoring five runs in the first inning through a combination of errors and pitching mistakes by KSU. After Dayton scored another run in the second inning, junior Olivia Gocke batted in the first run for the Owls.
KSU continued to fight back in the fifth inning, hitting a pair of home runs in response to a three-run home run by Dayton, making the score 9-4.
The late comeback for the Owls began in the sixth inning as freshman Taylor Cates hit an RBI single and sophomore Raleigh Williams hit a two-run double.
Solorzano hit her third home run of the weekend in the seventh inning, but the Owls could not put any more points on the board.
After three tough losses, the Owls won their only game of the series against host team Chattanooga 7-0.
Solorzano capped off her successful weekend with her fourth home run of the series in the second inning. She later scored the third run of the game on an RBI single by Mullen.
The Owls finished off the game with four runs in the fifth inning, two of which came on a two-run double from Cates.
Next, the softball team will travel to Houston, Texas, to play in a five-game weekend series beginning on Friday, Feb. 22.
