By: by Mark Toma
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kennesaw State avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast when they took the final game of the series, 8-7, on Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium. The Owls lost the first game of the twinbill, 6-5, in 10 innings.
In the second game, the Owls (10-16, 2-4 A-Sun) jumped ahead of the Eagles early, leading 5-0 in the third inning after scoring twice in the second and three times in the third. The Black and Gold got on the board courtesy of a successful squeeze by Brandon Brown and a run scoring single by Tyler Stubblefield. In the third inning, Kennesaw State got to starter Pete Woodworth (4-1) once again. With one out, Drew Fowlkes and Clint Roques put together back-to-back doubles to give the Owls a three-run lead. Ross Tendler followed with a double down the left field line and Brown added a single to right field to give Kennesaw State a 5-0 advantage.
Florida Gulf Coast (14-8, 7-2 A-Sun) answered back with a three run rally in the third inning off KSU starter Bryan Blough. The Eagles would chase Blough in the fourth inning after a leadoff single by Luke Smierciak and a walk to Stephen Wickens. The Eagles would cut the Owls lead to a run on a successful squeeze by Mikel Alvarez as Owls reliever Kelly Holt kept the Owls ahead by a run until the sixth inning when Josh Whitaker provided what would the difference in the game. Ray Anderson reached on an error to lead off the inning and Stubblefield was hit by a pitch. After Woodworth got Peyton Hart to knock back to the box, getting Anderson at third, Whitaker launched a three-run homer to left center field to give Kennesaw State an 8-4 lead.
The Owls would need every run as Florida Gulf Coast scored solo runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to come within a run of the Owls. J.B. Johnson entered the game in the seventh inning with runners on first and second with nobody out and came within one out of getting out of the jam before a passed ball made the score, 8-6.
The Eagles rallied again in the eighth inning when Robert Greene doubled to start things off. Joe Guarnaccia pinch ran and Wickins followed with his second hit of the game to cut the Kennesaw State lead to one run. A sacrifice put Wickens in scoring position, but Johnson retired the final two batters on ground balls to end the inning. In the ninth inning, Johnson walked the leadoff hitter, but immediately got Mike Reeves to ground back to the mound for a pitcher-to-shortstop-to-first double play before getting Josh Chester to fly out to right field to end the game.
Holt (1-3) picked up the win in relief while Johnson earned his second save of the year with three innings of two-hit work. Five Kennesaw State hitters had multi-hit games to support a 12-hit attack. Stubblefield, Hart, Fowlkes, Roques and Tendler each had two hits, with Tendler smacking a pair of doubles.
In the opener, Florida Gulf Coast scored first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning of Kennesaw state starter josh Carr. Austin Gaines led off the inning with single Reeves followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Chester brought home both runs when he lined a single off the mound and into center field. The Eagles would get to Carr again in the third inning when Roberson hit a two-run homer to left field.
Kennesaw State answered Roberson’s homer with a two-run blast of its own in the top of the fifth inning when Tendler lined a rocket inside the left field foul pole, trimming the FGCU lead in half. The Eagles would increase their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-out rally culminating in another hit by Wickens, a two-run double down the left field line.
In the top of the seventh the Owls scored twice, getting a run scoring single by Sean McClurken and a RBI-single through the right side by Anderson. The ninth inning saw the Owls tie the game on a bases loaded walk to Hart, the second of consecutive walks issued by FGCU reliever Jack Wagoner. However, he ended the KSU threat by getting Whitaker to fly out to center field
Brad Long, who pitched three and one-third innings of four-hit relief, retried the Eagles in order in the bottom of the ninth inning sending the game to extra innings. The Owls were able to get a pair of runners on base against FGCU reliever Jacob Barnes (1-1) in the top of the tenth inning, but could not score as Tendler flied out with runners on first and third.
In the bottom of tenth inning, Reeves doubled to right center field and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before Chester ended the game with a walk-off single to right field.
The Owls will be back in action on Wednesday evening, March 31 when they host nationally-ranked Georgia Tech at 6:00 p.m. at Stillwell Stadium.
