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STATESBORO, Ga. – The Kennesaw State baseball team picked up win number 20 of the season as well as earning the season sweep over rival Georgia Southern on Wednesday night, taking the 8-3 win on the road to snap a three-game losing skid at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The Owls racked up 12 hits, nine alone from the first four batters in the lineup, while moving to 20-19 on the year and dropping the Eagles to 21-16, extending GSU’s losing streak to four games.
In what was a back-and-forth ballgame up until the seventh inning, the Owls took over the contest as a lead-off walk from
Dylan Ivey (Winder, Ga./Winder-Barrow HS) started things off. Ivey then stole second, his first steal of the season, made it to third on a passed ball and was sent home by
Andy Almonte (Moca, Puerto Rico/Gordon College), tying the game at three. Almonte then scored the go-ahead run on an error by GSU right fielder Robbie Dodds.
Looking for insurance runs in the top of the ninth, the Owls did just that, putting across four runs to take an 8-3 lead, capitalizing off of three hits and a pair of Eagle errors as well as a wild pitch to take the five-run win.
KSU took the first lead of the night in the top of the third when Almonte made it home after
Bo Way (Brunswick, Ga./Glynn Academy) hit into a fielder’s choice for a 1-0 lead. A one-run bottom half of the inning from Georgia Southern evened things up at one before the home team got its first lead of the contest with a lead-off homer in the fourth.
The Owls tied it up once again in the fifth as a Way single sent home Almonte, but another homer from the Eagles in the bottom gave GSU back the 3-2 lead before the Owls made off with a pair of runs in the seventh.
Almonte finished the game with three hits and four runs scored while
Peyton Hart (Sandy Cross, Ga./Franklin County HS) went 2-for-3 with a pair of sacrifice bunts. Way and
Chris McGowan (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill HS) each earned two hits as well, McGowan knocking a double and Way stealing a base and driving in two runs during the win.
Relief pitcher
Kevin McCoy (Gainesville, Fla./Andrew College) earned his first win of the season, tossing three innings facing the minimum and striking out five, tying a season high in strikeouts.
The Owls will be back in Atlantic Sun Conference play this weekend as the team travels to Jacksonville, Fla. for a three-game series against North Florida starting this Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. ET.
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.
