THE BASICS
Records: Kennesaw State (3-3), Winthrop (4-1)
Score: Kennesaw State 8, Winthrop 3
Starting Pitching Matchup: LHP Thad Harris vs. RHP AJ Moore
Key Players: Grant Williams (3-for-5, four RBI); Jeremy Howell (2-for-4, RBI); Austin Upshaw (3-for-3, RBI); LaDonis Bryant (2-for-3)
 
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML)

THE STORYLINE: 
· Clutch two-out hitting propelled Kennesaw State past Winthrop Saturday afternoon, knocking off the Eagles 8-3 to even the weekend series at Stillwell Stadium.
· The Owls drove home seven of its eight runs with two outs, scattering 13 hits and four doubles on the day to force a rubber game in the series finale Sunday afternoon.
· With the victory, Kennesaw State evened its record to 3-3, while Winthrop dropped its first game of the season and sits 4-1 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
· Junior right-hander AJ Moore started on the mound for Kennesaw State, allowing two runs on five hits and struck out seven in 5.0 innings of work.
· After throwing 38 pitches in the first inning, Moore settled down and tossed 73 pitches over his final four frames –an average of 18.3 pitches per inning over his final 12 outs to earn his first victory of the season.
· The Owls scored a single run through the first five innings, with four of those RBI coming with two outs to take a 5-2 lead into the seventh.  
· Down three, the Eagles cut into the lead with a run in the top of the seventh, but left the bases loaded when senior Erich Stahl came out of the bullpen with two outs and got Winthrop to ground out on a tough play from Howell to keep the game at 5-3.
· Two-out hitting once again came through for the Owls as the Black and Gold plated a crooked three runs –all coming with two outs— in the bottom half of the seventh to extend its lead to 8-3, which was their largest lead of the game.
· Grant Williams (3-for-5, four RBI), Jeremy Howell (2-for-4, RBI), Austin Upshaw (3-for-3, RBI) and LaDonis Bryant (2-for-3) combined to go 10-for-15 with six RBI. The four were responsible for 76 percent of the Owls' hits and scored five of KSU's eight runs.
· Senior reliever Brock Turner came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning and picked up his first career save wearing the Black and Gold uniform.  
 
QUOTEABLE
"I think it showed today that we battled in some tight situations and had several key hits with two outs to get it going offensively," head coach Mike Sansing said. "I thought Grant (Williams) had a big hit there in the seventh and had got good barrel on the ball today."
 
#NESTNOTES: 
· With the victory, the Owls' all-time record against Winthrop improved to 2-3 overall and has a chance to even the series at 3-3 with a victory in Sunday's series finale.
· Williams' four RBI set a new single-game career high for the junior. The Atlanta native totaled a two-out RBI single in the second, an RBI single in the fourth and drove in two runs with two outs in the seventh.
 
UP NEXT
The Owls return to Stillwell Stadium Saturday afternoon for game three of the weekend series with non-conference foe Winthrop. The game will be available on ASUN.TV and is slated to begin at 1 p.m.