By: by Jason Hanes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Clint Roques fell a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs as Kennesaw State's baseball team gave their Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament chances a lift with an 8-6 win over Jacksonville Friday night in the opener of a three-game A-Sun series.
Roques drove in a run as part of a four run first inning which saw the Owls take advantage of a key JU error. Drew Fowlkes, who went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, drove in the first run of the game with a single to plate Tyler Stubblefield. Fowlkes would score on Ronnie Freeman's double into left, which extended the freshman's hitting streak to 19 games. After Roques drove home Freeman with a double, Peyton Hart drove home Roques with a single of his own.
The Dolphins (21-20, 10-8) tied the game with two runs in the second and two in the fourth, but the Owls regained the lead for good in the seventh with a pair of runs. Stubblefield drove in his first run of the game with a single, plating Ross Tendler. Fowlkes would drive in his second run of the game later in the inning when his single scored Sean McClurken.
KSU (19-26, 8-10) added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth. With the bases loaded, Stubblefield reached on an infield hit to score Ray Anderson in the eighth, capping Stubblefield's 3-for-5 night with two RBIs. In the ninth, Roques completed his big night with a home run over the wall in left center.
Ryan Rodebaugh (4-5) earned the win for the Owls, going eight solid innings and allowing just four runs while fanning nine. Brad Long came in and got the last three outs for KSU, thwarting a JU rally that saw two runs come home.
Chris Kaminski (3-5) was saddled with the loss, giving up six runs (one earned) in six innings of action.
The two teams will continue their series tomorrow afternoon in Jacksonville with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
