By: by Jason Hanes
KENNESAW, Ga. - Fresh off a series win at Jacksonville over the weekend, the Kennesaw State baseball team will step out of Atlantic Sun Conference play this Tuesday with a road non-conference contest at Troy. First pitch from Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Ala., is set for 6 p.m. CDT.
Already a season dotted with dramatic wins, the Owls are coming off perhaps their most dramatic win of all since moving to Division I. Trailing by four runs entering the ninth inning of Saturday's finale with the Dolphins, the Owls rallied for six runs, including a two-out grand slam by Peyton Hart, to lift KSU to a, 9-7, win. The victory kept the Owls alive in the race to make the A-Sun Championships at the end of the month, as a loss, while it wouldn't have eliminated the Owls, would have put KSU in a nearly insurmountable hole.
Ronnie Freeman has been on a tear as of late for the Owls. The freshman catcher is riding a 21 game hitting streak, the longest single-season hit streak since Jacob Robbins completed the 2006 season with a 22 game streak. The streak dates back to March 31 when the Owls lost at Georgia Tech. During the streak, Freeman is hitting .405 with six home runs and 24 RBIs. He has 10 multi-hit games during the streak, including three three-hit games.
Troy sits at 26-21 on the year. The Trojans took the last two games of a three-game set from Louisiana-Monroe over the weekend to improve to a 12-12 mark in Sun Belt Conference action. Chad Bryant has 36 extra-base hits, including 15 home runs, to help pace the Troy offense.
The Owls have struggled mightily against the Trojans in the all-time series.KSU is 1-20 all-time against Troy, with the lone win coming in 2007 by a score of 1-0 in 12 innings at Stillwell Stadium.
Following Tuesday's game, the Owls will return home before hitting the road to face USC Upstate this Friday and Saturday in an A-Sun series. The Owls will face Troy next Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the final non-conference home game of the year.
