April 18, 2009
Box Score
MACON, Ga. - Drew Fowlkes' one-out solo homer in the ninth inning tied the game, and 11 Owls came to bat in the 10th inning with five scoring, lifting Kennesaw State to an 11-6 win over Mercer in the final game of a three-game set at Claude Smith Field in Atlantic Sun Conference baseball action.
"I thought it was a character building game from the stand point that we got down a couple of times, but we were able to come back," said KSU Head Coach Mike Sansing.
Things looked bleak for the first-place team in the A-Sun, as KSU (21-14, 13-4) left the bases loaded in the eighth trailing by a run. But with one out in the ninth, Fowlkes lifted a 2-1 offering from T.J. Odom (2-4) over the wall in right center, tying the score at 6-all.
"Drew tied the game, but he changed the momentum of the game when he hit that homer," Coach Sansing said. "It was a big lift and we were able to take the game."
After holding Mercer (15-18, 7-11) scoreless in the ninth, the teams battled into extra innings. Ric Bishop led off the 10th with his fifth hit of the game. After Jace Whitmer was hit by a pitch, Martin Baker reached on a fielder's choice as the Bears tried to eliminate Bishop on the base paths to no avail. With the bases loaded, Andrew Martin drove in what would prove to be the game-winning run with a base hit back up the middle. One batter later, Clint Roques pinch hit for Fowlkes and reached on an infield hit, scoring KSU's second run of the inning.
Another run came home for the Owls off a wild pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Baker with the third run of the frame. With two men out, Jacob Robbins put the game out of reach when his single to center scored a pair.
Brad Long came in to finish off the contest on the mound for the Owls in relief of Kenny Faulk (6-2), who pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to win his sixth contest of the season.
For the first time in the series, the Owls trailed a game as Mercer scored a pair of runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead. The Owls scored their first run of the game one inning later as Baker's single up the middle scored Tyler Stubblefield.
KSU took the lead one inning later when Bishop connected for a three-run homer just over the wall in right center, taking the Owls to a 4-2 lead.
Mercer came back to score a run in the bottom of the fourth and three in the fifth, the big blow coming on a Thomas Carroll two-run homer.
The Owls threatened in the eighth inning, scoring a run when Bishop singled through the right side, scoring Bucky Smith. That set the stage for the late-inning heroics of Fowlkes and the rest of the Owls.
Justin Edwards started for the Owls, allowing five runs in four innings. Wes Tignor allowed a run in an inning of work, while Ryan Rodebaugh pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
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