April 6, 2007
Box Score
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - On a miserable, frigid night in the hills of Tennessee, the Kennesaw State Owls lost their fourth straight conference game as the ETSU Buccaneers braved the elements and held off the Owls, 8-5, at Cardinal Park on Friday night.
On an evening that was more suitable for almost everything but baseball, the Owls (18-13, 2-5 A-Sun) managed to get off to a good start, scoring three times in the top of the first inning. However, the Owls lead wouldn't last long as the Buccaneers (21-12, 8-2 A-Sun) answered with a four run first inning to take a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
In a wild first inning, Jacob Robbins (2-for-4) led off the game with a single to left field. Martin Baker (1-for-4) followed with a bunt single and Jay Morrow (1-for-3) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A grounder back to ETSU pitcher Brandon Langston (6-2) resulted in a poor throw to first in which Robbins and Baker scored for a 2-0 lead.
With one out and Morrow on third base and Jace Whitmer (0-for-5) on first, Clint Roques (1-for-3) put down a sacrifice bunt to move Whitmer into scoring position. Langston then uncorked a wild pitch to score Morrow with the Owls third run and move Whitmer to third base. However, that's all the runs the Owls would get as Matt Dallas (0-for-4) grounded back to the box and Jerome Wooley (0-for-3) flied out.
The Bucs C.J. Lee (1-for-5) led off the inning with a single to left field, and after stealing second, scored on Justin Aughey's (3-for-4) one-out single to right field. Danny Petro (2-for-4) doubled down the left field line and Ryan Self (1-for-3) drew a walk to load the bases off KSU starter Cacey Rogers.
Troy Mendez's (2-for-4) infield single scored Aughey to make the score 3-2 and Ben Allen (0-for-2) walked as the Buccaneers tied the game at three. Tanner Moore (1-for-3) grounded out to give the Bucs a 4-3 lead.
While Langston was shutting down the Owls on one-hit over the next five innings, ETSU added a run in the second inning and pulled four runs ahead with a two-run fourth inning.
Trailing 7-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the Owls did manage to put a rally together and trimmed the Bucs lead to 7-4. However, ETSU added a run in their half of the inning and held off the Owls as Langston got the complete game win.
Bubba Blalock continued to pitch effectively in relief. The right-hander came in the game in the fifth inning and pitched four hitless frames while recording six strikeouts.
The Owls and the Buccaneers will conclude their three-game set with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Cardinal Park.
