March 27, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State softball team will play host to a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheaders this weekend at Bailey Park. The Owls will welcome the Jacksonville Dolphins on Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., before squaring off with North Florida on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both series will be available on A-Sun TV.

The Owls (23-9, 1-1 A-Sun) come into the weekend after splitting a doubleheader with the University of Albany on Tuesday afternoon. Freshmen Corri Connally and Jessica Cross each had two hits and drove in a run to help the Owls to a 3-0 victory in the first game, but Leah McIntosh was lights out in game two and threw the first-ever no-hitter by an opponent on the KSU campus as the Great Danes salvaged the split with a 1-0 decision.

Senior Brittany Matthews was strong yet again inside the circle in the opener, going the distance to notch her 15th complete game of the year. The Brooks, Ga., product allowed four hits and fanned seven UAlbany batters to up her league-leading strikeout total to 178.

The Black and Gold had few opportunities in the nightcap thanks to McIntosh recording a season-best 12 strikeouts. The Owls best chance to score came in the sixth inning when Jamie KeKaualua led off the frame with a full-count walk. Hollie Huffman was next up and reached on a fielder's choice and then advanced to second when McIntosh's throw pulled second baseman, Michelle Connors, off the bag.

But Kennesaw State was unable to do anything with the opportunity as Malcom and Cross each struck out to end the inning and for all intensive purposes, the game.

Jacksonville brings an overall record of 15-24 and a mark of 2-4 in the conference into Friday's showdown. The Dolphins are coming off a split of their own, with Canisius, on Tuesday. JU dropped game one, 2-0, before receiving a walk-off single by Jillian Mirante to take the second, 3-2.

Shortstop Katie Kelly has paced the Dolphins at the plate with a .333 batting average and a team-high 37 hits and 18 RBI. Outfielder Kelly McKeon is close behind with a .292 average, while Mirante has only been thrown out once on the basepaths (20-of-21).

Shannon Jensen has been the workhorse of the JU pitching staff, going 7-9 with a 2.38 ERA in 109 innings of work. The right-hander has 49 strikeouts in addition to four saves to her credit.

The Owls swept Jacksonville last season, earning a pair of shutouts (7-0, 4-0), to take a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.

Long-time foe, North Florida (27-15, 4-2) begins the weekend with its first-ever trip to East Tennessee State before making the journey to Bailey Park. Pitchers Devyn Findley and Tori Ahern combined to allow only one run in a doubleheader sweep of Florida A&M at the Lady Rattler Softball Complex in Tallahassee on Wednesday afternoon.

Findley opened the day with a four-hit shutout, striking out a career-high 12 batters in a 6-0 UNF shutout, while Ahern followed her with a performance that saw her strike out seven in leading the Lady Ospreys to a 6-1 victory. Ashley Battaglia led the offensive attack, pounding out four of North Florida's 21 hits in the twinbill.

The Lady Ospreys have three players batting over .300, led by Heather Hide (.350). Hide has hit a team-high 13 doubles, one off the conference lead. Gwen Williams is having a strong senior campaign, batting .323 with 36 RBI, while Battaglia rounds out the trio with a .322 average and 26 RBI.

Findley is off to another great start inside the circle for UNF. Last season's A-Sun Freshman of the Year has lived up to the billing in 2008 and leads the Lady Ospreys' hurlers with a record of 15-7 and a 1.54 ERA. Findley has thrown 149.2 innings and is second behind Matthews in the league with 158 strikeouts.

KSU and UNF are no strangers to one another having met 36 times previous to Sunday. The Owls own a 27-9 advantage and have won six straight in the series, including a 4-0 and 2-1 decision last season.

After Sunday's showdown, the Owls will hit the road for six straight games, beginning with a short trip to Georgia State on Tuesday, April 1.