By: By Jake Dorow
KENNESAW, Ga. – It may be hard to believe, but the defending regular-season ASUN champion Kennesaw State baseball team returns to the diamond in three days to begin its 2017 campaign. The Owls' first pitch will be part of the annual Atlanta Challenge as they play host to Western Michigan, BYU and Marshall at Stillwell Stadium. The games can be seen live on ASUN.TV with play-by-play announcer
Nathan McCreary on the call.
26th-year head coach
Mike Sansing, who is the reigning ASUN Coach of the Year, looks to build on a dazzling 17-4 ASUN regular-season championship that saw the Owls win every league series for the first time in six years to earn a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Kennesaw State's strong regular season saw eye-popping offensive numbers as a team, batting .294 while totaling 137 extra base hits with seven hitters batting .300 or better. Meanwhile, the pitching staff posted an impressive 3.60 ERA against ASUN opponents and held hitters to a .251 average in 21 games.
With the season just around the corner, several members of the Black and Gold were rewarded with preseason selections. KSU was picked to finish third in the ASUN Coaches' Poll while starting pitcher
Gabe Friese, senior outfielder
Corey Greeson and junior first baseman
Austin Upshaw all garnered 2017 Preseason ASUN All-Conference selections.
Today's fourth and final part of the season preview breaks down the Owls' outfield and what KSU fans can expect to see at the seven, eight and nine slots at Stillwell Stadium.
OUTFIELD
Kennesaw State's outfield has plenty of key returners from a season ago, but also must replace three contributors –Alex Liquori, Justin Motley and Jordan Getzelman—that helped the Owls earn a regular-season conference title. The Owls have great depth in the outfield with two-way specialist Chris Erwin, senior Corey Greeson and redshirt junior Taylor Allum leading the way. Watch for returners LaDonis Bryant, Jake Franklin, Matt Mixon, Austin Pharr and freshmen teammates Terence Norman and Garrett Hodges to make an impact as well.
In left, you'll likely see Greeson, a Calhoun, Ga., native, as he's made 72 starts in 85 games throughout his first two seasons with KSU. His best season was 2016, when he exploded for a .356 batting average and totaled career highs in hits (58), doubles (10), home runs (five) and RBI (29), landing second-team ASUN All-Conference and All-Academic awards. Now a senior, Greeson has been named to the 2017 ASUN Preseason All-Conference team rewarding his strong play a season ago.
The Owls could go with two-way specialist Erwin and split time Franklin or Mixon to patrol center. Erwin enters his senior year with 108 starts in 123 games played and has batted over .315 in each of his first three seasons. The left-handed hitter is coming off a year in which he hit .323, totaled 41 hits, five doubles, one triple, three home runs and 23 RBI in 127 at-bats.
Also in play could be Mixon, a hometown native from Acworth, Ga., and Franklin, a Homer, Ga., product, to fill time in center. Franklin ended his freshman season batting .286 in five ASUN conference games, totaling four hits, an RBI and played flawless defense, while Mixon made six starts and played in 21 games and totaled three doubles of his seven hits with great speed on the bases.
Over in right field, the Owls could see Allum, Pharr and freshman Norman compete for playing time. Allum, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2015, will compete in his third season under Coach Sansing. The Grayson, Ga,. native got off to a slow start in 2016 with injuries but finished ASUN league play on a strong note batting .298 in 15 starts.
Allum finished league play with 17 hits, one doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI to help the Owls secure a No. 1 seed in the tournament. Pharr, meanwhile, batted .222 (4-18) in 2016, totaling one double, one triple and a home run in his first season wearing the Black and Gold. Norman, who hails from Kennesaw Mountain, coming in with great size at 6-2, 198 pounds and was rated the 11
th-best outfielder in the state from Perfect Game USA in 2016.
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@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on
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