The women’s softball team hosted the Owl Challenge this year, and they showed everyone just whose house this is. In case you haven’t been paying attention to just how well the team has been doing, they are 19-5 coming out of the tournament. This year’s team is not even halfway done with the season and they already have almost as many wins as they did for the entirety of the previous season.
The Owl Challenge featured Michigan State, ETSU, Tennessee Tech, and KSU. All of the teams played by their own style, and they each had different things that they did well. The Owls seemed very deliberate and focused throughout the games. While other teams were being loud and screaming their heads off in the dugout, the Owls were quiet and showing their actions on the field.
Kennesaw State’s first game was against Michigan State; this team has a similar record to KSU, so nobody knew what to expect. The two teams scored runs back and forth, and at the beginning of the 4th inning of play the game was tied. Then, the Owls came out and took a two run lead at the end of the 4th. As soon as the home fans started to breathe easy, Michigan State scored five runs, putting them at a 8-6 lead over Kennesaw. While the home fans were starting to sweat, the Owls kept their posture and scored three clutch runs in the final two innings to take the game.
The next game was against Eastern Tennessee State. We got off to a fast start with a 3-1 lead at the end of the 2nd inning. Both teams seemed to go through a scoring drought until the 5th inning, when KSU scored four runs to expand their lead to 7-2. The ETSU Bucks went on a late game scoring run and nearly came back into the game, but the Owls were focused on closing out the game and they protected their lead to snag the win.
The last game was a rematch with Michigan State. Instead of matching innings with them, KSU took off with a 6-1 lead at the end of the 4th inning. The Owls looked like a totally different team this game, not allowing the opponent to come back into the game.
Due to the weather, the rest of the games were cancelled. The Owls came out of the tournament with a clean sweep of the opposing teams. Not even noisy opponents or cold weather could throw off their focus. This season has definitely taken off for the Softball team and they appear to be in stride going into the middle of the season. Go and check out some of the games! The crowd is electrifying and the team will not disappoint.