March 14, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State softball team hosts the final of three home tournaments when play begins this weekend in the Owl Classic. KSU will welcome Alabama State, Birmingham-Southern, Coastal Carolina, Kent State and Manhattan for the two-day event at Bailey Park.

Play begins at on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. with Alabama State taking on Kent State. The Owls will play its first game of the day at 5:00 p.m. against Coastal Carolina, before closing day one with a showdown with Manhattan.

Kennesaw State (20-6) comes into the weekend after splitting a doubleheader with Georgia Tech on Wednesday. Senior Brittany Matthews (13-2) was tagged for eight runs as she suffered her first loss in almost a month as the Jackets took game one, 8-0, in five innings. The Owls responded in game two, behind a complete game effort from senior Angela Lopez (4-3) and two RBI by freshman Corri Connally to salvage the split with a 6-3 decision.

Alabama State is off to a 4-11 start and has lost its last three. The Hornets gave up 18 runs to Grambling and 13 runs apiece to Southern University and Texas Southern last weekend at the SWAC Round-Up in Shreveport, La. Tiffany Wells has led the ASU offense as the junior has a team-best .445 batting average, while junior Ja'Vonna Grimsley boasts a team-high 17 RBI.

Birmingham-Southern enters with a record of 13-8 after sweeping Huntingdon on Sunday afternoon. Senior Lindsay Creighton leads the Panthers offense, hitting .453 with six doubles and 17 RBI. Senior pitcher Betheny Reynoldson has a team-best 1.53 ERA with 129 strikeouts and 15 walks in 73.0 innings of work.

The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina (6-18) snapped a 12-game losing streak by earning a split with USC Upstate on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore pitcher Ashley Frederick threw 10.0 strong innings without allowing an earned run, but still took the loss as the Spartans earned a 1-0 victory in ten. The Chanticleers answered in game two, as sophomore Alicia Irwin smacked two homeruns to propel Coastal to a 6-5 win. Junior Verity Long-Droppert paces the offense with 22 hits, three doubles, two longballs and 10 total RBI.

Kent State has been away from the field for two weeks, but brings a five-game winning streak in this weekend's competition. The Golden Flashes (9-5), who have yet to play a home contest this season, were supposed to have played in Georgia Tech' Buzz Classic last weekend, but unplayable field conditions canceled the entire tournament. Lauren Brocklehurst paces Kent State as the sophomore is hitting at a .400 clip, securing 12 hits in just 30 at-bats. Jessica Toocheck has driven in a team-high 14 runs, while Jessica Carmichael has brought in 10.

Manhattan (1-1) has played just two games thus far, coming off a split with Army to open the season on Monday. Freshman Jaci Rahey homered in the fourth and on top of a Lady Jaspers three run fifth inning to take a 4-3 game-one win. In the second game, Manhattan's offense was sparked by a 3-for-4 performance from outfielder Kristina Walraven but fell to the Black Knights, 6-3.

After this weekend's play, the Owls will open Atlantic Sun Conference play with a doubleheader next Friday at USC Upstate.