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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State pitching staff combined to shutout the Georgia Southern (6-6) offense on Wednesday as the Owls (7-6) defeated the Eagles 5-0 at Stillwell Stadium.
Led by an impressive outing by starting pitcher Steve Janas, a rejuvenated offense belted nine hits, helping the Owls to take an early lead and snap a seven game losing steak to the Eagles.
Singles by
Andy Almonte,
Max Pentecost, and
Ryan Raper did the damage in the first inning, as perfectly placed balls and a throwing error by Georgia Southern gave the Owls a 3-0 advantage.
The Owls continued the offensive revival in the bottom of the second when
Kal Simmons scored from first on a triple to the right field corner off the bat of
Jacob Bruce.
The 4-0 lead was all Janas needed as he kept the Eagles in check, allowing only two hits in five scoreless innings. The sophomore was limited to 65 pitches, but made the most of them, striking out five Eagles without issuing a walk.
“The credit tonight goes to the defense. It is easy to pitch when you know you have eight guys making plays for you,” Janas stated.
The game was handed over to the reliable bullpen combination of
Alan Busenitz,
Justin McCalvin, and
James Connell who combined to allow just four hits the remainder of the game.
Busenitz added to his seven inning scoreless streak with another two innings without allowing a run.
McCalvin entered the game in the eighth inning, allowing back-to-back hits to open the frame before retiring three in a row to keep his scoreless streak intact. In seven appearances for the Owls this season, he has yet to allow an earned run in 10 innings of work.
KSU added an insurance run in the eighth inning after stringing together three hits in a row off the bats of Pentecost,
Bo Way, and
Anthony Duran. Taking a 5-0 lead, the Owls called on Connell to polish of the win.
With just 11 pitches, Connell retired the heart of the lineup, mowing down the Eagles three, four and five hitters in order.
“Tonight was exciting to watch after coming off a weekend sweep,” Head Coach
Mike Sansing said. “We finally got the bats going, we were aggressive on the base pads and our pitching continued to keep us in ball games. We played with a lot of intensity and we need to carry that over into the weekend.”
Kennesaw State is a perfect 4-0 in midweek games this season, earning wins over Georgia, Auburn, Alabama State and the Eagles.
The Owls return to action on Friday Mar. 8, when they host a three game series against Evansville. Friday’s game is schedule to start at 5pm.
Keep up with Owls baseball all season by following KSU on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsBaseball, or by liking Kennesaw State Owls on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
