The Kennesaw State softball team defeated USC Upstate 8-4 on May 12 to win their first Atlantic Sun Conference Championship and earn their first qualification to the NCAA Championships at the Division I level.
In the ASUN Championship game, Olivia Tamewitz and Patricia Awald led the team with two hits and one RBI each. After a four-run second inning, the Owls carried their lead to an 8-4 victory over the Spartans.
With the win, the Owls capitalized on their excellent regular season and took part in the NCAA regional round, which was held in Tallahassee, Florida.
“This is a special group of ladies. They bought into what the coaching staff has been trying to do from day one,” said head coach Pete D’Amour. “We don’t talk about it much, but our two goals for the year are to win the conference and go to regionals. The players believed they could do it, and they never quit.”
The Owls exited the tournament much earlier than they would have wanted with a first-round loss to Auburn and an elimination-game loss to Jacksonville State.
The Owls came up short against Auburn 5-2 in the first round of the tournament on May 15. Awald and Alexa Solorzano led the Owls with one hit and one RBI each. The game was tied 2-2 going into the sixth inning when Auburn scored three runs to secure the victory.
“It was a good game. In regionals, there really are no blowouts, so it comes down to mistakes here and there and a key hit, and I think Auburn did a good job of that so hats off to them,” D’Amour said. “Our kids competed, and I told everybody that we would, so I’m proud of them.”
The Owls were knocked out of the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Jacksonville State on May 19. Noelle Winkles and Joirea Dumas led the team with one hit and one RBI each.
The game was tied 3-3 after the seventh inning and went into extra innings. In the 10th inning, JSU scored two runs and shut the Owls out from then on to win the game.
“To say I am proud of this year’s team would be a complete understatement,” D’Amour said. “They are tough, competitive kids who came together to do something that had never been done before. I am honored to coach all of them.”
Despite the two losses to finish the season, the softball team has plenty to be proud of. The Owls finished with a final record of 39-17, and D’Amour left the Owls after two seasons with a total of 79 wins. This season, Maddie Roth became the first player in the team’s NCAA Division I history to earn All-American honors while she and Alley Cutting made the All-South region team.
The vast team improvements overseen by D’Amour have stabilized the culture of KSU softball after a tumultuous period, but his departure marks the third coaching change in just five seasons.
