Kennesaw State softball opens season on Friday

Release from Kennesaw State Athletics:

With the start of the 2015 season just days away, the Kennesaw State softball team will look to continue its journey to the top of the Atlantic Sun Conference with a challenging schedule and a mix of veteran players and new talent under first-year interim head coach Tory Acheson.

The Owls return 10 players from last season’s 24-29 team, including junior Kara Chambers, the 2015 A-Sun Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and sophomore Taylor Denton, who earned second-team all-conference and all-freshman team honors in 2014, while adding six newcomers to the squad.

I am really proud of the kids on this team,” said Acheson. “We have basically tried to squeeze seven months’ worth of preseason training in about seventeen days, but they have worked very, very hard. They have really committed themselves to preparing for this season and I think it is very exciting to see the progress that we have made. It is very exciting to see the passion that they are bringing to their work every day.”

Other key returners include seniors Natalie Rhodes and Paige Mathews, who are looking to finish their careers on a high note in 2015.

“The veteran players have done a great job of setting a really strong tone and are leading by example,” added Acheson. “We have a very good nucleus of veteran players that are going to be the cornerstone of our success. Natalie is really taken on a leadership role and performing at a very high level. I am really looking for her to do some big things this spring. I think it will be an exciting to see her out there for her senior year and I think she is going to make a big splash this year. Paige is taking on the role of senior stalwart in the pitching staff and the two of them are bringing a lot of enthusiasm to their work and a lot of intangibles to the team so far.”

Along with Mathews, the Owls pitching staff is made up by senior Monica Vickery, junior Morgan Sikes and sophomore Logan Viers, all of whom will see action in the circle.

“Right now I see us pitching by committee,” said Acheson. “I think all four of them will pitch and will pitch consistently. It would be fair to say that we are going to use all of their strengths on a daily basis and one of the things that is a real positive for us is that each of their strengths are different from each other. It gives us an opportunity to do some things strategically with changes and using the bull pen to put us in a very positive position. As a staff, the four of them combine to give us a lot of options and end up making our pitching as a whole a real strength. It allows the strengths that they all bring individually to work together to make us a strong staff and it helps us overcome some of the things that maybe we are not as good at right now as we want to be at the end of the year.”

With the graduation of Angie Dascoli, the Owls will have a new face behind the plate as redshirt-sophomore Courtney Sutter looks to take on the role of catcher full time this season, along with the help of junior college transfer Emily Bishop.

The Owls infield will also have veteran faces manning the bases as juniors Megan Veringa, Missy Perkowski and Chambers, along with newcomer Lauren Bennett give Acheson a strong defensive unit behind the Owl pitching staff.

“The three upperclassman and Bennett have shown to be the most consistent group and I think we are going to play very good defense this year,” Acheson said. “I think that is going to be a real strength for us. Our infield defense will be very strong and there is enough experience in that group that it is allowing us to do some things a little bit different and be a little bit more attack-oriented and a bit more aggressive on defense, which sets a much better tone for the whole team. I think we are going to see some of those ESPN Top-10 moments out there this spring.”

Rhodes and Denton, along with incoming freshman Noelle Winkles will make up the Owls’ outfield, with junior Rachel Dennis and IPFW-transfer Hillary Kartman also seeing time out in the field for KSU.

“Noelle, Natalie and TD give us an exceptional outfield,” Acheson said. “They have the ability to get to balls and run down balls that most teams will not be able to and I think that is a real strength for us. We want them diving out for balls and laying out in the gaps. I think they have the type of ability to just break the hearts of the other team and I am very excited about that group.”

While defense will be a forte for the 2015 edition of Kennesaw State softball, do not underestimate the offensive side of the ball for the Owls.

“We are a much better hitting team right now then we have been in a long time,” said Acheson. “I do not want to say we will surprise people, but I think we will sneak up on some teams offensively where we struggled in recent memory to score runs consistently. Our offense has taken a huge step forward and we will be much more balanced.”

“I think we will be a good hitting team, but we have a chance to be a great defensive team. I do not want to discount our offense because we have the ability to score runs, but I think our defense has a chance to be something really special.”

Acheson is excited about the talent on the squad, but also about the opportunity that the schedule presents this season as the Owls face off against multiple NCAA tournament teams, including a pair of powerhouse programs in 2014 NCAA Super Regional participant Tennessee and 2014 College World Series participant Kentucky.

“It is going to be a constant trend moving forward of really challenging, very exciting opponents and I think we are building a kind of team that is rising to the occasion,” added Acheson. “We have got a chance to do something big here at Kennesaw State. The softball program has the chance to be a contender in the A-Sun and if we are contending in the A-Sun then we are clearly going to be contending regionally. Atlantic Sun Conference softball proved last year with three teams in the NCA and two of which receiving at-large bids that it is a legitimate conference. So we get to the top of the A-Sun and we are going to be in the conversation for NCAA at-large and national rankings.”

“Baseball proved to everyone last year that this school is a sleeping giant. We are on the verge of being really good at a lot of things and it is up to us to jump on that bandwagon and try to be one of the next programs that can follow in the footsteps of what baseball did last year and of what the track & field and golf programs are accomplishing. To have programs that we can look at right here in this department that are doing really big things is inspiring. If they can do it, we can do it and we have to start doing it now.”