By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. – Sean McClurken’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Kennesaw State head coach Mike Sansing his 750th KSU win as the Owls topped Ball State, 3-2, on Friday evening at Stillwell Stadium.
The milestone win culminated an exciting season opener for the Owls (1-0) as they won on Opening Day for the first time in three years and played one of the most exciting ninth innings in recent memory.
With the score tied at two in the final frame, Ball State put the tying run on third base with nobody out. Blake Beemer singled up the middle to lead off the inning, stole second base and moved to third as Ronnie Freeman’s throw bounced into center field.
After a groundout to third base produced the first out, fortunes turned the Owls way in a hurry as a squeeze attempt by the Cardinals Dominic Catanzarite failed and Freeman tagged out Beemer, who was rushing back towards third base. Andrew Austin (1-0) proceeded to strike out Catanzarite to end the inning, setting the stage for McClurken’s dramatic game-winning hit.
“Tonight was a good win for us,” said head coach Mike Sansing. “We received solid pitching and executed well. We put together a good inning early and were able to put some runs on the board for a lead. Josh [Carr] pitched well, so did Alan Busenitz and Andrew Austin. I was pleased with how hard we played and the outcome.”
The Owls jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning. McClurken started the rally with a double to right field leading off the inning. Will Howard followed with his first Kennesaw State hit, a single to center field scoring McClurken, but Howard was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double by Ball State centerfielder Cody Elliott.
Ronnie Freeman would give the Kennesaw State a 2-0 lead with a line-drive single to center field. Freeman, who had two hits in the game, extended his hitting streak to 30 games with a single off Cardinals pitcher Cal Bowling's glove in the first inning.
Josh Carr was solid as he threw five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, a leadoff single to T.J. Baumet in the first inning. Carr struck out four and walked just one as he left with a 2-0 lead after throwing 67 pitches. Newcomer Alan Busenitz struck out six over three innings, but surrendered a game-tying, two-run home run to Mitch Widau in the top of the seventh inning.
“Great players make good coaches,” smiled Sansing when asked about his milestone win after the game. “We have had so many great players here and even more wonderful memories I couldn’t begin to start to express my feelings. But, I am fortunate and it was a great game for us.”
The Owls and Cardinals will play the second game of the three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The game will be shown on ASUN.TV beginning at 12:50 p.m. with Dave Albert calling the action live.
