The softball team was victorious in all three of its weekend matches at home, defeating Dartmouth University and the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday and then the University of Akron on Sunday.
Starting off the weekend, the Owls split the two games they played on Friday, losing to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro 6-5 in extra innings and defeating Dartmouth 9-0.
After alternating between wins and losses for the past few weeks, the Owls sought some consistency over the weekend and certainly found it it.
KSU had no trouble picking up where it left off against Dartmouth on Friday, defeating the team again on Saturday 9-5. The Owls scored six runs early on and never looked back. In the first inning, freshman Olivia Tamewitz, junior Noelle Winkles and redshirt sophomore Jessie Mullen scored two-run home runs each.
Dartmouth responded by scoring three runs of its own in the top of the second inning. The Owls extended their lead on a two-run single hit by redshirt senior Chandler Griffin in the bottom half.
All the runs scored in the game by the Owls came in the first two innings, which were all the runs they needed to win the game. Sophomore pitcher Jenna Kniss earned her first win of the season after pitching five innings in relief and not allowing an earned run.
Later that evening, Owls handily defeated UAB 8-1 after establishing an early lead. In the second inning, freshman Beth McCulley hit an RBI double to bring in the opening run of the game, and Tamewitz hit a two-run single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Tamewitz continued her excellent hitting in the fourth inning, hitting a bases-clearing triple to make the score 6-0. The Owls finished off their scoring with RBI singles from redshirt freshman Katey Lynch and senior Taylor Denton. Pitcher Alley Cutting earned her sixth win of the season, throwing a complete game and not allowing an earned run.
On Sunday, the Owls hosted the University of Akron Zips, beating them 8-4. KSU scored four runs in the first inning, through an RBI single by Lynch, a two-run double by Winkles and a RBI single by redshirt junior Lauren Bennett.
The Zips attempted a comeback, narrowing the lead to 4-3 by the fourth inning, but the Owls responded with a four more runs in the next two innings. Tamewitz drove in a run on a single, Hannah Thomason hit a two-run triple, and she later scored on a fielding error. Pitcher Logan Viers earned her fifth win of the season, giving up just one earned run.
With the wins over the weekend, the Owls have now won four straight games and have a 14-5 overall record. The team next plays a doubleheader against Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, March 8.
