April 25, 2009
Box Score
NASHVILLE - Andrew Martin went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Jon White drove in three as the Kennesaw State baseball team earned an Atlantic Sun Conference series win over Belmont with a 7-2 victory Saturday afternoon at Shelby Park.
A two-run single by Ric Bishop in the first helped to set the tone for the Owls (23-16, 15-5) early, with the tempo picked up by starting pitcher Justin Edwards. The junior hurler did not allow a hit until two men were out in the fifth inning, but by then, the Owls had already scored all of their runs for the contest.
Eight Owls came to the plate in the third inning, with three touching home. With the bases loaded, Martin lifted a sacrifice fly to left for the first run of the frame. After a Curtis Van Wyck single reloaded the bases, White came through with a two-run single to left, plating Jace Whitmer and Martin Baker.
Two innings later, Martin and White each hit solo homers over the wall in left, giving the Owls a 7-0 lead.
Belmont would get on the board in the fifth with their first hit, as an RBI double by Phillip Parsley scored the first run of the game for the home team. The Bruins would threaten in the sixth, loading the bases on three consecutive singles. Edwards would save his best pitching performance for last, getting a strikeout and a line out to end the Belmont threat.
The Bruins (25-19, 14-10) added an unearned run in the ninth to finish the scoring.
Edwards (3-3) went six innings, allowing just one unearned run on four hits while walking two and striking out six. Brad Long pitched two-plus innings, allowing an unearned run, while Ryan Rodebaugh recorded the final three outs of the game.
The win keeps KSU within one-half game of Florida Gulf Coast for first place in the A-Sun. The Owls out-scored Belmont 42-14 in the series.
KSU will begin one of its busiest weeks of the season this Tuesday when it faces Alabama State at Stillwell Stadium. The Owls will play six home games in five days during the upcoming week.
Notes: Baker's 15-game hitting streak, the longest of the season for KSU, ended after going 0-for-3 with a run scored...White finished the series with two homers and nine RBIs, while Martin went 7-for-11 with a 1.000 slugging percentage...KSU's pitchers had an ERA of 3.38 for the series, while Belmont's hurlers finished with an ERA of 9.60.
