By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
Live Stats I
All Access I
ESPN3 Coverage
DELAND, Fla. – The Kennesaw State baseball team will compete for the 2012 A-Sun Championship after advancing to the title game with a 13-4 win over No. 4 seed Florida Gulf Coast at Melching Field at Conrad Park.
Travis Dean pitched the game of his life as the sophomore from Boston, Mass., threw eight innings and allowed only one run on six hits while his offense gave him 13 runs to work with.
The Owls went straight to work in the bottom of the first inning when Andy Chriscaden hit the first homerun of the 2012 A-Sun Championship with a grand slam over the left field wall that gave the Black and Gold a 4-0 lead.
Adding on to their lead in the third inning, Chris McGowan picked up his first RBI of the postseason with a single that scored Ronnie Freeman and put KSU up 5-0.
FGCU would score one run in the fourth inning on a Brandon Bednar single that scored Ryan Gebhart, but Kennesaw State would add two more runs in their half of the frame and would come back in the bottom of the fifth to put four more on the board. Scoring another run in the sixth and one final run in the seventh the Owls took a 13-1 lead into the ninth inning.
FGCU would add two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of KSU relief pitcher Andrew Austin, but The Owls would eliminate a tough FGCU squad to advance the 2012 A-Sun Championship Game with a 13-4 win.
The Eagles owned a 4-0 series record against the Black and Gold, including a 12-4 victory over KSU in the opening round. Eagles’ starter Brandon Bixler had previously thrown a one-hitter against this lineup, but on Saturday he would not have the same success as the Owls totaled 12 hits on the afternoon.
Chriscaden led the offensive attack for the Owls as his seven RBI performance ties the A-Sun Championship single-game record. Mark Helsel from Mercer last accomplished the feat in 1983. Chriscaden was two-for-four in the game with a homerun and a triple on his ledger. Aaron Dobbs, Peyton Hart and Andy Almonte each had two hits apiece and one RBI.
The Championship game is slated to start at 5:10 p.m. E.T., as the No. 3 seed KSU will face No. 1 Belmont. The Owls previously beat the Bruins in Thursday’s second round game, with the Black and edging out the top team of the tournament 3-1.
Free video on Atlantic Sun TV and ESPN3 will be offered for Saturday’s coverage. All Access will provide free audio, as Nathan McCreary and Brian Harper will be describing all the action. For updates throughout the game, you can follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlsBaseball.
