The Owls earned their first three victories of the season at home this weekend.
After dropping all of their first five contests, Owls softball bounced back at its home opening tournament this weekend at Bailey Park.
After its home opener set for Wednesday night against Georgia Tech was postponed due to inclement weather, Kennesaw State opened its home season on Friday.
The opening game on Friday afternoon against Northern Kentucky resulted in a close 5-3 victory for the Owls.
The game was tied 2-2 until the fifth inning, when Briana Bumbalough’s RBI single gave the Owls a 3-2 lead, their first lead of the game since it was 1-0 in the first inning.Ty Hardeman’s single provided KSU some insurance, extending the lead to 5-2.
The Owls continued their momentum later that night, with an 8-3 win over Morehead State.
The Eagles began the game scoring three unanswered runs until KSU came right back with three runs of their own in the third inning, tying the game at 3-3.
With momentum on their side, the Owls never looked back.
KSU finished the game scoring two two-run home runs, hit by Hardeman and Lexie Shaver, ensuring that its lead was safe.
Unfortunately, this success couldn’t be carried over into Saturday’s action.
The Owls began their day facing a red hot Creighton offense, who had already put up 10 runs early Saturday morning. The Blue Jays did the same against KSU, defeating the Owls 10-8.
Creighton set the tone with a five-run first inning and added one more in the second. The Owls responded, scoring four runs in the third and making the score a much more manageable 6-4.
Creighton managed to take a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh before KSU made the final score a little closer with Hardeman’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
Saturday’s nightcap was a low scoring battle which led to the Owls losing 4-2 to Morehead State.
KSU started the game off strong, with RBI doubles from JoJo Johnson and Emma Brinkman, giving the Owls a 2-0 lead in the second. After this, however, the Owls were unable to find any offense and the Eagles scored four unanswered runs to finish the game.
After these disappointing results, KSU was looking to come in to Sunday’s matchup and end the tournament on a positive note. They did just that with a dominant 9-3 win against Northern Kentucky.
The Norse scored immediately in the first, but the Owls were able to respond in the third inning with two runs of their own to take a 2-1 lead. They instantly stretched the lead out, exploding in the fourth for five runs, making it a 7-1 ballgame. Both teams scored twice more in the sixth.
With Sunday’s result, KSU finished 3-2 in the tournament and improved to a 3-7 record on the season.
The Owls will look to carry this momentum into Atlanta on Tuesday when they take on Georgia State.
