By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State was one inning away from its first-ever series win against Florida Gulf Coast, but Zach Maxfield and the Eagles had other ideas as FGCU rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth inning to come-from-behind and edge the Owls, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at Stillwell Stadium.
The Owls (21-18, 9-8 A-Sun) led 6-5 headed into the ninth inning with closer J.B. Johnson (3-2) entering his second inning of relief. The hard-throwing right-hander shut down the Eagles in the eighth inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced, and was looking to close out his seventh save of the year.
“J.B. was throwing well,” said head coach Mike Sansing. “He was throwing strikes, keeping the ball down and away and was in the zone. They [FGCU] just had good at-bats and barreled some balls.”
Maxfield, who had two hits in the game, led off the ninth inning. He worked the count full and when Johnson went away with the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Maxfield went with it and lifted a home run that cleared the right-center field fence and tied the game.
“I was working him away and threw a pitch that got the outside corner,” said Johnson. “But, he’s a big, strong guy and he was able to make contact and go the other way with it.”
After Javi Sujo (3-for-4) singled and went to second on a balk, the Owls got their first out of the inning as Sujo moved to third base. With the tying run 90-feet away, Jake Foley grounded to second base, where Sean McClurken fired home to Ronnie Freeman who twirled to his left and tagged out a sliding Sujo at the plate to keep the game tied. The Eagles would take the lead one batter later when Andrew Valencia singled to left field.
Kennesaw State was able to rally in the bottom of the ninth inning when Freeman led off with a line shot to the gap in left-center field. He appeared to be headed to second base with a double, but Eagles left fielder Sean Dwyer raced to the gap and cut off the ball before it rolled to the wall, holding Freeman at first base in what would be one of the critical plays of the game.
After Andy Chriscaden flied out to center field, Drew Fowlkes followed with a pinch-hit single to left-center field to put runners on first and second. Peyton Hart (1-for-3) then flied out to deep right field, moving Freeman to third base. Sean McClurken lined sharply to right field to end the game, giving FGCU its fourth straight series win over the Owls.
“I thought it was a good game between two good teams,” added Sansing. “There was good pitching and good hitting by both teams. The game evolved, with us having the momentum early, and then they had some balls that fall in. But in the ninth, Maxfield’s home run really changed the momentum for them. I was glad to see we rallied in the bottom of the ninth, but we came up short.”
Florida Gulf Coast (19-17, 10-8 A-Sun) scored twice in the first inning on a Maxfield RBI-single and a run scoring single to center field by Mike Reeves. After Ray Anderson (3-for-5) singled to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, he stole second and moved on when Valencia’s throw scooted into right center field, putting Anderson on third. Freeman cut the Eagles lead in half with a groundout for the first of four consecutive runs over two innings for the Owls.
Three hits and two FGCU errors in the second inning led to three Kennesaw State runs. Hart and McClurken (2-for-4) led off the frame with back-to-back singles, and when Bucky Smith’s sacrifice bunt was misplayed by starter Harrison Cooney, the Owls tied the game. Jordan Craft’s sacrifice fly gave the Owls a 3-2 lead. The second error of the inning scored Smith and gave the Owls a 4-2 advantage.
The Eagles chased starter Zac Griffith in the third inning when they scored a run and loaded the bases off the southpaw. Sean Fream came into the game, and with one pitch, ended the rally, and kept Kennesaw State ahead, as he induced Valencia to ground weakly to second base.
Fream delivered another fine performance as he kept FGCU in check, going four innings and allowing just two runs before giving way in the seventh inning to Jordan Dean. After solo runs in the fourth and sixth innings, the Owls saw FGCU chip back at their lead with two runs in the seventh inning, setting the stage for the dramatic comeback.
Kennesaw State will be back in action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Atlanta to play Georgia State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
