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Kennesaw State Softball: A Pedigree of Performance
1991 - Day One
After serving as a slow pitch club sport since 1983, Scott Whitlock is inserted to begin the fast pitch softball program in 1991. He led the charge to a 41-win season in the programs first year at the NAIA level. Pitcher Dyan Muellerwas awarded one of the first two international waivers Kennesaw State Athletics initiated. She was selected as the Athlete of the Year at KSU the same season.
1993 - Making Waves
Not only did the athletic department take note, but so did the entire country when the Owls landed at No. 1 in the national rankings in the 1993 season. It was the first team in the history of Kennesaw State to earn a top national ranking. They ended the year fourth in the nation for their third top-four finish in three years. Tracey Britt was selected as the NAIA District Player of the Year.
1994 - Wasting No Time
A 48-4 season for the Owls ended with a flawless 16-0 record in the team's first year in the Peach Belt Conference but the games were not counted due to the transition to DII, ruling them ineligible for PBC postseason play. Their winning percentage of 92.3% still stands as the best in a single season in program history. They earned yet another No. 1 national ranking during the season.
May 21, 1995 - National Gold
In its first season competing at the NCAA Division II level, Kennesaw State made an immediate impact by posting an impressive 53-5 record and earning a national championship. The Owls kicked it into high gear, highlighted by a DII record 40-game winning streak that included a perfect 14-0 conference mark. KSU had to fight it's way out of the loser's bracket after falling to top-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside in the first game of the tournament. They then rattled off five straight wins and defeated Bloomsburg twice to claim the DII National Championship. KSU was led by NCAA Division II Player of the Year Kelly Rafter, who finished the season with a 32-5 record and 0.85 ERA.
This National Championship team would be inducted into the Kennesaw State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
May 20, 1996 - Two's Better Than One
KSU swept through the NCAA Division II Regional tournament and entered the National Championship tournament ranked No. 1 in the country. The Owls posted a 4-1 record in the national tournament held at Emporia, Kan., and claimed the back-to-back crown with a 6-4 victory over Nebraska-Omaha.
Once again led by the pitching dominance of four-time All-American Kelly Rafter (31-3, 0.83 ERA), Kennesaw State enjoyed a 19-game winning streak and extended its Peach Belt Conference mark to 42-straight victories. On the season, the Owls were led by two-time All-American Cara Dornstauder (.407, 38 RBI) while Kathy Morgan (.393) and Kathy Le (.339, 31 RBI) were named to the All-Peach Belt Conference team.
Both baseball (48-17) and softball (49-8) win NCAA National Championships, only the second time this feat had ever been accomplished (Northridge State, 1984).
This National Championship team would be inducted into the Kennesaw State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
1994-1999 - The Streak
The 1999 season was yet another successful one as the team placed third in the NCAA DII Tournament, but the crowning achievement was the end of a massive streak. The 1999 season brought the end to an 84-game Peach Belt Conference game winning streak, the longest conference win streak in KSU history.
1999-2000 - National Accolades
In 1995, Kelly Rafter became the first Owl to win a National Player of the Year Award before Catcher Audra Thomas collected the same honor in 2000. Thomas is the lone Owl to garner two National Catcher of the Year Awards and is still the latest Owl to win a National Player of the Year honor.
A career .398 hitter, she was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American. Ranking in the Top 10 in almost every career batting statistic, the Romeo, Mich., native is the only Kennesaw State player to have earned three All-Championship Tournament selections (1998-2000). Her teams compiled a four-year mark of 204-24 and won the Peach Belt Conference title in 1997, 1998 and 2000. Thomas is still the school's single-season leader with a remarkable .825 slugging percentage.
2004 - The Summit
The dominance of the Owls in the 90's and 00's came to a boiling point in 2004 where they would set the Kennesaw State Athletics record for most wins in a season. The Black and Gold tallied a 64-6 overall record with two of the six losses coming in the DII National Championship. Outside of softball, the next closest sports to collect the most wins in a season is baseball with 61.
May 23, 2005 - The Final DII Matchup
In the Owls ninth NCAA DII World Series appearance, controversy ended the season as the champions had their title stripped. The Owls fell to the Lynn Fighting Knights, 5-3, in the 2005 Final Championship game, but the title was stripped away from Lynn by the NCAA due to benefits given to players on the team. The Championship was not awarded to the Owls as they concluded their final year in DII. The final tally in DII tournament for KSU is 52-22 with two National Championships.
The final Division II record stands at 735-119 for an 86.7 winning percentage over the 857-game span. The Owls also collected six Peach Belt Tournament titles and a 34-9 PBC postseason count.
Feb. 11, 2006 - Rise of the ASUN
After 15 seasons as a fast-pitch softball program, the Owls completed their first DI game as they faced Georgia Southern in a sweep of the doubleheader (11-7 & 6-3). The wins signified the first in DI over GSU and 14 wins over 17 games in the all-time series. The ASUN quickly recognized the Owls' talent as Kerri McKee and Brittany Matthews won ASUN Player and Pitcher of the year, respectively.
The first season in the Atlantic Sun registered as another success as they collected a 38-17 overall record and a 16-4 conference tally. They finished atop the Atlantic Sun standings but were ineligible for postseason play due to the NCAA transition to DI.
Feb. 18, 2006 - Down Go the Jackets
The long-standing rivalry between the Owls and the Yellow Jackets leaned in the Owls favor in their first faceoff in the DI era. The Black and Gold took down Georgia Tech, 5-4, in the third all-time matchup in the series. The Owls took their first wins over GT in a doubleheader April 30, 1992, where they won 3-0 and 5-1.
2013 - Whitlock Retires
The KSU mainstay retired at the conclusion of the 2013 season, leaving the program as one of the winningest coaches in the NCAA with 997 wins. He also collected two national championships, 13 regional titles while producing 51 All-Americans.
Whitlock produced 18-consecutive 35-win seasons from 1991 to 2008; he had fifteen 40-win campaigns and four seasons in which his clubs won 50 or more games. Additionally, Whitlock led the Owls to nine consecutive seasons (1992-2000) in which they never lost more than a single-digit number of games. Every year from 1991 through 2002, Whitlock led the Owls to a final top-10 national ranking. He would serve as the Senior Associate Athletic Director until 2020.
Feb. 14, 2015 - First Ranked Win
The Owls had made it a habit to slay the national juggernauts and that was proved yet again with the team's 9-8 win over No. 5/6 Kentucky. It was the highest-ranked team the Owls had faced to that point in Division I as well as the highest ranked opponent to play at Bailey Park.
The Black and Gold snagged the victory in walk off fashion with a two-out Lauren Bennett single to overcome a two-run deficit.
Kennesaw State jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning but had to rally as the Wildcats scored all eight runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh. A three-run bottom of the seventh gave the Owls their first DI ranked win.
Recap
May 12, 2018 - The Breakthrough
After 13 seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Kennesaw State collected its first conference championship. The Owls garnered three-straight wins over Jacksonville, FGCU and the final win to capture the gold over USC Upstate. Recap
It capped off a 39-win season with a 14-3 conference record, the second-most circuit wins in DI history.
The team was lifted by one of the best freshman seasons in program history. Patricia Awald cleaned house in post season accolades earning: NFCADivision I National Freshman of the Year Top 25, ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year, ASUNFirst Team All-Conference, ASUNConference All-Freshman Team. She ended the season with 14 home runs, 42 RBI, .380 Avg. and a 1.216 OPS.
They were selected to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional and faced Auburn and Jacksonville State. It was the first time the Owls represented KSU at the DI level in a NCAA Regional.
June 29, 2018 - The Tripp MacKay Era Begins
In the summer of 2018, Tripp MacKay was hired to lead the program as the head coach of Kennesaw State Softball.
MacKay joined the Owls after registering two years as an assistant coach for the Texas Longhorns.
He spent the 2015-16 year as the Director of Player Development for Scrap Yard Sports in Houston, Texas, while also working with the former National Pro Fastpitch expansion team, the Scrap Yard Dawgs.
Prior to Scrap Yard Sports, he spent eight seasons at perennial powerhouse Oklahoma where he worked primarily with outfielders and the offense.
2020 -The Season That Never Was
The 2020 was cut short due to COVID but it was a team that had their sights on greatness. With the season stopped after just 25 games, KSU went 21-4 and showcased some of the most lethal hitters in the ASUN.
Four Owl hitters carded a batting average of .400 or better with Taylor Cates, Jade Lee, Katie Greep and current assistant coach, Brea Dickey. Christen Florence, Lexi Solorzano and Cheyanne Sales also recorded averages above .320 on their way to a .350 team average. Dickey tallied four triples which stands in the top five for most in a single season with the record holding at eight.
2021 - NCAA History
The glory that was swiped away in 2020 was restored in the 2021 season as the Owls earned their first at-large bid to go to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
Kennesaw State fell just short in the ASUN Championship as the Liberty Flames took the victory in the finals game 5-4 over KSU. The Black and Gold were rewarded with a spot in an NCAA Regional to play in Tallahassee for the second time in program history.
After dropping the first game to Florida State, the Owls regrouped as they turned around and beat Auburn 1-0 in game two. Melanie Bennett tore through the Tigers with a complete game shutout with two strikeouts. It was the first NCAA Division I Regional win in program history. Recap
2022 - Taylor Cates' Tear
Nobody has showcased more power at the Division I level than Taylor Cates and her '22 season boldened that statement.
Cates shattered the KSU DI single season home runs record of 16 when she crushed 19 in 2022. Cates' 19 dingers sit second all-time with Cambria McKay hitting 20 in the 2004 season. She also set the single season program DI records in SLUG% (.847) and total bases (133). Her performance in '22 put the nation on notice as she entered the next season as Extra Inning Softball's No. 87 player in the country and No. 7 third baseman in the country.
The '22 season was just a taste of what Cates was able to accomplish in her five years as she ended with 14 top-10 DI placements in the KSU record books.
Feb. 26, 2023 - Tide, Rolled
Another year, another ranked win for the Owls as they dispelled of the Crimson Tide, 5-3, for their second ranked win in program history. It was just the second time an ASUN team had defeated Alabama.
Kenley Hilleary tossed a gem as she went seven complete innings with four strikeouts and only four hits surrendered. It was Hilleary's first collegiate victory as a starter.
Recap
