April 21, 2007
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - As easy of a win the Kennesaw State baseball team had against Gardner-Webb in the series opener on Friday, the Owls had as equally of a difficult time against the Bulldogs as GWU secured a doubleheader sweep with a 6-5 13th inning win in game one and a 7-5 victory in the nightcap on Saturday at Victory Field.
With the Owls (22-18, 6-9 A-Sun) only being able to pound out five hits through the first eight innings in game one, KSU trailed 2-0 but plated five runs in top of the ninth to take a 5-2 lead with three outs to go.
Jay Morrow started the rally by leading off the frame with a single, followed by a Jace Whitmer walk. After Clint Roques laid down a perfect sacrifice, Matt Dallas drove a 1-2 pitch to center, scoring Morrow and Whitmer to tie the game, 2-2.
An RBI double by Matt Hopkins put the Owls in front, and a two-run single by
Jacob Robbins gave KSU a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
But as coach Mike Sansing called upon right-hander Kyle Muschara to close the game, Gardner-Webb (15-27, 5-12) rallied. Nate MacDonald and Jamall Kinard led off with singles, and Matt Rizzuto drove in his second run of the game with a double into right center.
Justin Edwards came on and walked the bases loaded and gave up the Bulldogs' fourth run on a double play grounder by Josh Drewery.
A sharp single by Jonathan Ahearn that ricocheted off Dallas' glove plated Rizzuto to tie the game, but reliever Bubba Blalock shut down any more scoring to send the game into extra innings.
Blalock and GWU reliever Jonathon Ban dueled to a draw until the bottom of the 13th, when Brock Miller led off with a triple that hugged the right field line. Blalock struck out MacDonald, intentionally walked Kinard and gave up Rizzuto's RBI bunt to end the game.
Starter Cacey Rogers allowed just five hits and two runs in 8.0 innings of work for the Owls. Blalock fell to 1-5 on the year with the loss, while Ban improved to 4-3.
Despite a difficult loss in game one, the Owls started the second game by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Robbins led off the game with a single and was followed by Martin Baker reaching on an error. After KSU employed the double steal to move both runners into scoring position, Whitmer and Dallas drew walks, bringing home Robbins.
Morrow added an RBI hit in the fifth off of Ben Campbell to push the Owls lead to 2-0 as KSU starter Dan Dale continued to mow down Bulldog batters.
The fifth saw Dale's luck change, however, as GWU took advantage of two Owl errors to plate six unearned runs and take control of the game.
After Rizzuto and McConnell led off the inning with singles, Miller moved Rizzuto to third with a deep fly ball.
A Dallas error on a Shea Harris grounder allowed Rizzuto to score and cut the lead to 2-1 - and Dale walked the bases full with a free pass to Tyler Johnson. Kinard then laced a two-run, two-out single to center that gave GWU a 3-2 lead.
Kennesaw State went to its bullpen, but reliever Chad Jenkins did the Owls no favors - walking the bases full again with a full-count miss that put Cooke on board. An infield single by MacDonald resulted in the wheels' falling off for the visitors - as Jenkins threw the swinging bunt into right field, clearing the bases and giving Gardner-Webb a 6-2 edge.
Harris belted a solo home run with two outs in the sixth to push the lead to 7-2.
KSU used a Dallas triple in the eighth to key a two-run rally. Dallas scored on a throwing error to make the score 7-3, and Robbins drove in the Owls' fourth run with an RBI groundout before reliever Taylor Brooks could get out of the jam.
Morrow led off the ninth with another single, and scored on a two-out error to cut Gardner-Webb's lead to 7-5. An infield single by Jerome Wooley put the tying run on board, but Brooks got another ground ball to end the game for his first save of the season.
Dale (2-2) suffered the loss in the nightcap after allowing five runs, none of which were earned, on six hits in 4.2 innings. Campbell (4-4) picked up the win for the Bulldogs.
Robbins led the Owls on the day, going 5-for-11 with three RBI, while Dallas also drove in three runs after going 3-for-10 with a triple.
The Owls will be back in action on Monday night when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama to make-up a previously scheduled game with UAB. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CST
