By: by Jason Hanes
LAS VEGAS - Kennesaw State took advantage of all of the opportunities afforded it Friday afternoon and night, scoring 28 runs over two games in earning a doubleheader sweep of Southern Utah, 16-4 and 12-6. Ross Tendler had five hits and four RBIs over the two games.
The games were moved from Cedar City, Utah, to Las Vegas due to snowy conditions. In the first game, played at Rancho High School, the Owls and starter Ryan Rodebaugh fell behind 3-0 after the first inning as Southern Utah came out of the gates swinging. KSU answered in the second, scoring four runs. Peyton Hart drove in the first with a single through the left side to plate Clint Roques. After a walk loaded the bases, an infield hit by Sean McClurken gave KSU its second run. One batter later, the Owls went ahead as Tyler Stubblefield singled through the left side, scoring Hart and Bucky Smith, with Smith scoring due to a fielding error.
Southern Utah tied the score in the bottom of the inning, and the score remained knotted at 4-4 until the fifth. That's when Kennesaw State sent 11 men to the plate, scoring six to seize control of the contest. Stubblefield had the big blow of the inning with a two-run double into right center.
Rodebaugh began to find his groove, allowing just three base runners from the third inning through the seventh. He would allow four runs (three earned) in seven innings of work en route to his first win of the year, evening his record at 1-1.
The Owls tacked on three in the eighth thanks to an RBI double by Ronnie Freeman, an RBI ground out by Roques, and an RBI double by Hart. In the ninth, the Owls added three more, with Tendler striking the final blow on a two-run double down the line in left.
Catlan Kendrick pitched a scoreless eighth inning, with Jordan Dean and Sean Fream teaming to retire the side in order in the ninth.
After the game at Rancho High, the Owls hopped back on the charter bus and drove to Basic High School for game two of the doubleheader. With field conditions not exactly ideal and both teams battling a bit of fatigue, the Owls and the Thunderbirds (0-10) combined for 10 errors on the game. Thankfully for Kennesaw State, the Owls did a better job of capitalizing on the mistakes in earning the 12-6 win.
KSU scored eight runs over the first four innings, but only one run would be counted as earned. An error in left field allowed Drew Fowlkes to score on a ball hit by Ross Tendler in the second for the first run. One inning later, Fowlkes would plate Josh Whitaker with the first earned run for KSU on an RBI double. After a walk to Clint Roques, a two-base error on a ball hit by Tendler brought in Roques and Fowlkes to put KSU ahead, 4-0.
Four more runs came home to roost for the Owls in the fourth, with Clint Roques picking up a two-run double and Tendler finally earning a game two RBI with a single to left. All four runs in the inning were unearned.
In the sixth, KSU (7-8) kept piling on the runs, scoring three times. Hart again had the big hit, this time earning a two-run single to right.
That would prove to be enough run support for Josh Carr (1-0) who went five-plus innings and allowed five runs (four earned). Kelly Holt gave up a run in an inning of work, with Brad Long earning a three-inning save, facing one batter over the minimum and striking out five.
The two teams will wrap up their barnstorming tour of high schools in Las Vegas Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MST when they face off at Green Valley High School
