April 6, 2008
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga.--Kennesaw State jumped out to a five-run lead through four innings and cruised to an 8-2 victory over East Tennessee State for a series sweep of the Buccaneers in Atlantic Sun Conference action from Stillwell Stadium. Tyler Stubblefield went 3-for-3 and two RBIs to pace the Owls offense.
"It felt good to come out with a victory today after a long day yesterday," said KSU head coach Mike Sansing, who saw his team complete a doubleheader sweep on Saturday night at 11:15 p.m. "We came out ready to go and were able to get the win."
The Owls (15-16, 9-6) plated a pair in the first inning against ETSU starter Josh Means (1-5). Jay Morrow extended his RBI streak to four games with a ground out to second, bringing home Jacob Robbins with the first run of the game. Jace Whitmer then bounced a single down the line in left to bring home Bucky Smith with KSU's second tally of the inning.
The score stayed the same until the fourth when the Owls pushed three more runs across. KSU played small ball to perfection to start the inning, with Drew Fowlkes leading off with a single and Jerome Wooley reaching on a bunt single one batter later.
Curtis Van Wyck sacrificed the two runners into scoring position for Stubblefield. The sophomore delivered with a line-drive single back up the middle to score Fowlkes and Wooley and give the Owls a four-run cushion.
A hit-and-run single for Robbins put runners on the corners for Smith. After a Robbins steal of second, Smith lifted a sacrifice fly to deep left to bring in Stubblefield with KSU's fifth run of the game.
ETSU (6-23, 6-12) drove in a run in the fifth and a run in the seventh to apply some pressure to the Owls. KSU responded by scoring an unearned run in the seventh and two unearned runs in the eighth to put the game away.
In the seventh, Whitmer drove in his second run of the game with an RBI single to left center, bringing home Smith with his second run scored on the afternoon.
In the eighth, ETSU committed two errors that would have easily brought an end to the inning. With Van Wyck on second, a ground ball by Robbins was went off the glove of second baseman Ben Allen into right field. Van Wyck scored on the miscue, making it 7-2 in favor of KSU. After Robbins recorded his 50th career stolen base, the Black and Gold added its final run when Ric Bishop's fly ball to left was dropped by Troy Mendez, allowing Robbins to trot home from second.
Justin Freeman went eight solid innings to earn the victory for KSU. Freeman threw 119 pitches, allowing nine hits and two runs while walking two and fanning seven.
The junior was complimentary of the fielders behind him, saying, "Our defense made some really big plays for me today." Freeman also added that he was sick during the weekend and if not for the rain out on Friday, he might not have been able to pitch as effectively on Saturday.
Bubba Blalock retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the deal for KSU.
The Owls have won a season-high five games in a row. They will attempt to pull back to .500 on the season when Presbyterian College visits Stillwell Stadium on Tuesday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
