By: KSU Sports Information Department
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State will host the Mercer Bears in a non-conference game on Monday evening at Stillwell Stadium as a makeup of their rained out game on Mar. 27 in Macon.
The teams agreed to play the makeup game, which will have no bearing on the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, after the final game of their three-game conference series was rained out. The teams split the abbreviated two-game set with the Owls winning the opener and Mercer taking the second game.
“This is unusual to play Mercer in a non-conference game,” said head coach Mike Sansing. “But, we both felt like because of the rainout it was important to play a full schedule of games. Plus, playing against an in-state rival, the atmosphere should be like a conference game tonight.”
The Owls (24-19) enter the game having won four of its last six games and are riding a modest two game, non-conference winning streak after wins over Jacksonville State and Georgia State. Kennesaw State took two-of-three games from ETSU over the weekend.
Mercer (28-15) comes into the game with a four-game winning streak, its third longest of the season. After completing a season sweep of No. 9-ranked Georgia Tech with a 6-3 win on Apr. 19, the Bears swept a three-game series from Lipscomb over the weekend, outscoring the Bisons by a 28-8 margin.
Kennesaw State will throw Catlan Kendrick (2-0, 3.25) in his fourth start of the year. Kendrick has been pitching well all season, both out of the bullpen and as a starter. In his last two starts, the right-hander has picked up wins against Jacksonville State and Georgia State, going five innings in both games. In all three of his starts this season, he has gone five or more innings and has left each game with the lead.
Southpaw Russell Moses (2-2, 3.32) will make his fourth start of the season for Mercer. Primarily used as a reliever, Mosses does have the Bears only complete game of the season. On Feb. 23, in Tallahassee, Fla., he threw a seven-inning, four-hit complete game in the Bears, 5-1, win over Florida A&M.
Andy Chriscaden and Aaron Dobbs are both coming off a monster weeks for the Owls. Chriscaden, the junior first baseman, hit .444 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in four games, while Dobbs has also found his stroke of late. The Owls left fielder has hit safely in four straight games and has nine hits in his last 14 at-bats with three triples, seven runs scored and four stolen bases.
Thomas Carroll enters the game as one of the top hitters in the conference, and leads Mercer with a .378 mark as the Bears are hitting .312 as a team, second only to Jacksonville and its .323 mark. The Bears are in the top two in all three major categories as they are also ied for first in team ERA (3.47) while leading the league with a .970 fielding percentage.
Mercer leads the all-time series, 15-10, and has won 10 of 17 meetings with the Owls since Kennesaw State joined the A-Sun in the 2006 season. The Bears and the Owls each received conference accolades this week as Bryan Blough was named the A-Sun Pitcher of the Week while Mercer’s Jacob Tanis was named the Player of the Week.
First-pitch between the Bears and the Owls is set for 6:00 p.m. and can be followed via live stats. The game can be heard live on www.ksuowls.com with Dave Albert calling the action beginning with the pregame show at 5:55 p.m.
