May 18, 2007
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
KENNESAW, GA- Kennesaw State senior Casey Rogers pitched a complete game six-hitter and fellow senior Matt Hopkins had three hits in the first game of a doubleheader as the Owls swept a pair from Campbell to wrap-up the 2007 season on Friday afternoon at Stillwell Stadium.
After winning the first game, 4-1, the Owls defeated the Camels, 11-3 in the nightcap to finish the season with a 32-23 record, 13-14 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Campbell finishes the season with an 11-45 overall mark and was 5-22 in the conference.
Rogers was outstanding in his final collegiate start. The left-hander, who was the final senior introduced in Friday's pre-game ceremony, took his emotions and channeled them into the finest performance of his three-year KSU career.
Rogers, who allowed only a fourth inning run, retired the final 11 batters of the game and did not allow a hit after the sixth inning as he won his team-high fifth game of the season.
Campbell struck first in game one, scoring one run in the top of the fourth inning when leftfielder Brandon Scott scored on a double-steal before Robb Meng was tagged out trying to steal second by Owls first baseman Andrew Martin.
Kennesaw State took the lead when they responded with a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jace Whitmer led off the inning with a walk and with one out, Clint Roques singled to left field. Adam Cross followed with a walk to load the bases and Hopkins drove in the Owls first run with his second infield hit of the game.
Jacob Robbins, the Owls leading hitter who finished the year with a .383 average, followed with a bases-loaded walk scoring Roques and giving the Owls what would be their final lead of the game.
The Camels threatened in the sixth after Daniel Smith and Brandon Scott recorded back-to-back one-out singles off of Rogers. The senior pitcher got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters, stranding runners at second and third.
In the nightcap, Matt Dallas capped off his career and the Senior Day doubleheader on a strong note, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs in the Owls 11-3 win.
Dan Dale (5-3) gave Kennesaw State another strong pitching performance. The left-hander went six and two-third innings and allowed just one run on five hits in his final college performance.
The Owls gave Dale plenty of support, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and held a 10-0 lead after four frames. Six Kennesaw State batters had multi-hit games and accounted for all 13 Owl hits.
Robbins and Martin Baker each had two hits with Robbins driving in a season high three runs. The bottom of the KSU lineup, Adam Cross, Martin and Matt Hopkins all had two hits.
The Owls took an early first inning in the nightcap, jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a Dallas single which scored Baker. KSU scored four more runs, all unearned, in the bottom of the second inning.
After an error by Campbell second baseman, John Watlington put Martin on first, Hopkins and Robbins singled for a 2-0 lead. Baker followed with an infield single to load the bases. Jay Morrow hit into a fielders choice that scored Hopkins from third before Dallas culminated the inning with a two-run triple to the wall in left-center field.
The Owls tacked on two more runs in the third on a two-run Robbins single and added three runs on just one hit and a pair of Campbell errors in the fourth inning for a 10-run lead.
The Camels scored their first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning when third baseman, Daniel Smith, doubled to right field scoring Bryan Braswell. Braswell reached on a single to left and was advanced to second on a ground out to short by second baseman, Zach Johnson. They added two more in the top of the eighth to bring the score to 10-3.
Seniors Ben Sosebee and Eric Scoggins pitched final two and one-third innings for the Owls. Sosebee pitched an inning and a third while Scoggins pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
