FLORENCE, Ala. (April 19, 2024) – The University of North Alabama softball team has 10 games remaining on the 2024 schedule, including a three-game home series this weekend against Kennesaw State set for April 20-21 at Hilda B. Anderson Softball Stadium.
 
The series begins Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. The first 50 fans at Saturday's game will receive a free pair of sunglasses courtesy of Renaissance Eye Care.
 
The Lions and Owls are both coming off series victories and remain in contention for a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Tournament next month.
 
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and will have live stats available at RoarLions.com. Tickets are also available online or at the gate.
 
GAME 1
North Alabama vs. Kennesaw State
Saturday, April 20, 2024
2 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes | Twitter
 
GAME 2
North Alabama vs. Kennesaw State
Saturday, April 20, 2024
4:30 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats |Tickets | Game Notes | Twitter
 
GAME 3
North Alabama vs. Kennesaw State
Sunday, April 21, 2024
1 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes | Twitter
 
 
NOTES
 
LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama picked up a crucial series win last weekend, taking two of three from Central Arkansas to break up a tie for fifth in the ASUN standings. UNA won the opener and the finale in low-scoring affairs, led by a pair of complete game quality starts by junior pitcher Alivia Wilken.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA owns a 28-14 overall record and a 9-6 record in the ASUN standings, sitting fifth in the league — one game behind fourth place Jacksonville and two games back of second place FGCU and North Florida. UNA is the only team in the conference ranked top three in all three of the major hitting-pitching-fielding categories, ranking third in batting average (.264), third in ERA (2.38) and second in fielding percentage (.975).
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Kennesaw State is 13-30 overall and 5-10 in ASUN play. The Owls are coming off a crucial series sweep over Bellarmine, moving from the bottom of the standings to eighth — which would secure the final seed in the ASUN tournament if the season ended today. The Owls are on the hunt for their first road win of the season, owning an 0-9 record in true road games. Sophomore outfielder Stella Henry leads the offense with a .292 average and 27 runs scored, while Melanie Bennett is the top pitcher with 87.2 innings pitched and a 2.87 ERA.
 
SERIES HISTORY: In a battle of former Division II powers, Kennesaw State leads the all-time series 18-6. The Owls went 12-0 against the Lions during the Division II era before moving up to Division I in 2006. Since then, the Lions and Owls have split 12 meetings with six wins apiece. UNA got the better of KSU in the last series, earning a three-game sweep in Kennesaw.
 
BATTLE OF FORMER NATIONAL CHAMPS: Both Kennesaw State and North Alabama celebrated national championships before moving levels, as the Owls hoisted back-to-back national championships in 1995 and 1996. Meanwhile, UNA won the 2016 Division II National Championship with a 60-7 record under current coach Ashley Cozart.
 
SHUTOUT QUEENS: Last month, the trio of Wilken, Cassidy Duskin and Kyleigh Pitzer completed three shutouts in a series with Queens, winning the series by a combined score of 16-0. Prior to this season, the last time UNA accomplished three straight shutouts in a series was against Kennesaw in 2023. The combined score in that series was 17-0.
 
WILKEN'S WORLD: Wilken, a junior transfer pitcher from Wallace State, was named ASUN Pitcher of the Week on Monday for her complete game wins at Central Arkansas. She finished the week 2-0 with just two runs allowed over 14 innings. She walked just two hitters while recording 10 strikeouts.
 
WE JUST "LIV" IN IT: Wilken leads the ASUN in complete games (16), innings pitched (138.1), shutouts (7), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.05) and walks per seven innings (1.01) while ranking among the top 30 pitchers nationwide in those categories. She also ranks fourth in the league and 22nd nationally with a 1.42 ERA.
 
FRAME THIS: Senior outfielder Felicity Frame led the ASUN in hitting last season and currently ranks among the league leaders with 50 hits this season. Frame is batting .394 this season and has hovered around .400 nearly all season. Additionally, the senior transfer from Wallace State has 295 career hits with 173 of those coming in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
 
EARLY INNING SUCCESS: Over 42 games, UNA is outscoring opponents 33-15 in the first inning of games. Also, UNA has allowed just three runs total in the second inning of games this season. To put it in perspective, UNA has allowed just three runs while totaling 126 second-inning outs.
 
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT: The Lions are one of the rare teams with two left-handed starters in Wilken and fellow JUCO transfer Cassidy Duskin. For perspective, UNA has totaled 1,107 at-bats on offense. Only 64 of those at-bats have come against opposing left handers. Meanwhile, opponents have had to face UNA pitchers 1,040 times with 853 of those coming against lefties.
 
ON THE HORIZON: UNA will play its final non-conference game next Wednesday, April 24 at 5:30 p.m. against UT Martin — a neutral site game in Lexington, Tenn. After that, UNA concludes the regular season with a road series at Bellarmine and a home series against Austin Peay.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.