THE BASICS
Records: Kennesaw State (12-14, 1-0), North Florida (18-11, 0-1)
Score: Kennesaw State 8, North Florida 3
Starting Pitching Matchup: LHP Austin Drury vs. RHP Ton Dibrell
Key Players: Terence Norman (3-for-3, three RBI); Forrest Bramlett (2-for-5, two RBI); Chris Erwin (4-for-5, three RBI); Grant Williams (2-for-5); Griffin Helms (2-for-5)
 
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML)
 
THE STORYLINE: 
· Kennesaw State powered its way past North Florida Friday night with a pair of home runs, taking the series opener at Harmon Stadium, 8-3.
· Freshman Terence Norman's three-run homer in the seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie, backing a strong relief effort from senior RHP Gabe Friese to help earn KSU's first ASUN Conference victory.
· With the win, the Owls improved to 12-14 overall and 1-0 in ASUN play, while North Florida dropped to 18-11 overall and 0-1 in league action
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
· The Owls entered the weekend leading the ASUN in total home runs, and used the power game once again to its advantage with two long balls that ended up being the deciding factor.
· Junior Forrest Bramlett, an Ellijay, Ga., native, tallied a one-out, two-run homer in the top of the fourth frame to give Kennesaw State a 2-0 edge over North Florida.
· RHP Tony Dibrell (no decision) made his sixth start of the season, facing tough innings throughout his day as North Florida applied pressure from the start, placing runners in scoring position in four of his five-plus innings.
· The righty, however, held the Ospreys in check, limiting the host team to three runs on nine scattered hits in 5.2 innings while punching out five batters.
· After UNF tied the contest at 2-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, senior Chris Erwin drove in Bramlett –who led off the sixth with a double—to hand the Owls a 3-2 edge.
· After the Ospreys once again tied the ballgame with a run in the sixth, the Owls took control of the tilt when Norman hit a three-run homer in the seventh, a lead KSU never surrendered.
· Kennesaw State added two insurance runs when Erwin drove home Taylor Allum and Norman in the ninth inning to give the Owls their largest lead of the game at 8-3.
· Friese (2-1), a Kennesaw native, was impressive in 3.1 relief innings out of the bullpen, allowing no runs and no hits to pick up the win.
· The righty faced one over the minimum during his work, striking out one UNF batter and issued just one walk in a nearly perfect relief outing to help quiet the Osprey bats.
· Offensively, the Owls were led by Norman (3-for-3, three RBI), Bramlett (2-for-5, two RBI), Erwin (4-for-5, three RBI), Grant Williams (2-for-5) and Griffin Helms (2-for-5), combining for 13 hits and all eight runs batted in.
 
#NESTNOTES: 
· Grant Williams' single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 11 games. His 11-game hitting streak is a team and season high for the junior.
· Terence Norman singled in the second frame, totaling at least one hit in 10 of his 14 games this season (11 starts). · · The freshman also tallied his first collegiate home run in the seventh inning and his three RBI is a career-best.
· Taylor Allum singled in the fourth inning, extending his streak to 20 games reaching base safely. The most since Chris Erwin's 22 straight games in 2015, and the record is held by Max Pentecost (36 games) in 2014.
· Forrest Bramlett continued to show case his power at the plate, tallying his fifth HR of the season in the fourth inning. · Five of his 11 hits this season have been long balls.
· The Owls totaled 10 or more hits in a ballgame for the 15^th time this season in 26 games
· Griffin Helms also extended his hitting streak to nine games, going 2-for-4 on the night.
· Gabe Friese earned his 15^th career victory in the Black and Gold uniform, and now sits just two wins away from tying Josh Carr (2010-12) for the most career victories in D-I program history.
 
UP NEXT
Kennesaw State continues its ASUN road series against North Florida Saturday afternoon at Harmon Stadium. The second tilt of the three-game series is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.