By: KSU Sports Information
Game 1 Box I
Game 2 Box
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State baseball team split their double-header with Lipscomb on Friday. Taking the first game 6-2, the Owls fell 2-1 on a walk off hit in game two.
In game one the Black and Gold (19-13, 8-3) had to come back from a two run deficit. Senior Josh Carr allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning, but settled into a groove for the remainder of the game. Pitching a complete game and only allowing four hits after the first, the nation’s second most victorious pitcher picked up his seventh consecutive win.
Carr’s run support game in the fifth inning when the offense erupted for five runs. Andy Chriscaden led off the inning with a single to extend his hit streak to 11 straight games. The Owls would go on to load the bases and score their first run on a walk issued to Aaron Dobbs.
KSU would get another run on a sacrifice fly by Peyton Hart before Andy Almonte hit his third home run of the season, a three run shot that put the Owls up 5-2. The team would score another run in the sixth and would salt away a 6-2 win and take game one.
Game two was decided in the ladder portion of the game. Each team struggled to score, as it would take eight innings for either team to get on the board. In the top of the eighth inning Dobbs reached base on a walk and advanced to second on a Hart single. Almonte would follow with a single to load the bases, and a sacrifice fly by Ronnie Freeman would give the Owls a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Bison would tie the game on a two out homerun by Zach Lowery. Carrying the momentum into the ninth inning, the Bison would deliver the walk off hit as M.L. Williams had an RBI single that scored Shawn Mehring and gave LU a 2-1 victory.
In his first start of the season, senior Zak Griffith tossed seven scoreless innings, giving up only three hits and striking out nine batters. Freshman Jacob Moore picked up the loss in the decision after allowing the walk off hit in the ninth.
Game three of the series is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m. E.T. Kevin Kyle (0-2, 4.26) will be up against Josh Cotham (2-2, 2.79) in the rubber match, with first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference at stake. For updates throughout the game, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlsBaseball.
