A come-from-behind performance against Michigan State University earned the softball team its seventh straight victory on Friday, March 10.
Senior Courtney Sutter hit a two-run single to drive in senior Taylor Denton and sophomore Hannah Thomason for the winning runs, marking the third time in the game the Owls had come back from a deficit to tie or take the lead.
Thomason had a career-high four hits in the game, including one that set her up to score the game-winning run. In addition to Thomason’s big day, five other players had multiple hits, helping the Owls collect a total of 16 hits in the game.
After going down 3-0 early, Kennesaw got right back in it with a timely two-run single by Thomason in the second inning, followed by a solo home run by Noelle Winkles in the third to tie.
The Owls responded even stronger in the fourth inning after giving up a run, scoring three runs on three hits by Olivia Tamewitz, Katey Lynch, and Sutter to make it 6-4. MSU didn’t give up, taking the lead in the fifth inning on a pair of two-run home runs to lead the game 8-6.
With their backs against the wall on multiple occasions in the game, the Owls fought hard every time, especially with the game on the line in the seventh inning. Denton opened the final frame with a walk, followed by a single by Thomason. After one out, Lynch hit an infield single to load the bases, setting up Sutter for her game-winning hit out to left-center field.
This win improved the Owls’ record to 17-5 on the year, which is the best 22-game start to a season since 2013. This is also the longest winning streak since that year as well. To tack on another individual achievement, freshman pitcher Alley Cutting won her eighth game of the season after throwing a complete game.
The Owls will round out their non-conference schedule at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday against Southeast Missouri State University.
