KENNESAW STATE VS FLORIDA GULF COAST
GAME 55 | MAY 22 | 5 P.M. ET
DELAND, Fla. | MELCHING FIELD AT CONRAD PARK (2,500)
GAME NOTES |
LIVE STATS |
LIVE AUDIO |
LIVE VIDEO |
TICKETS
THE GAME:
The Kennesaw State baseball heads to DeLand, Fla. to take part in the 2013 Atlantic Sun Conference Championships held on May 22-26. The Owls will take on the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast at 5 p.m. ET on the opening day of the eight-team tournament.
KSU ended the regular season with a 26-28 overall record and a 12-13 mark in the league standings, earning a No. 7 seed in the postseason. FGCU went 37-18 and 19-8 in the conference, putting the Eagles in the No. 2 spot.
THE COVERAGE
AUDIO: Play-by-play will be available from KSUOwls.com with Brandon Scardigli narrating the action from Melching Field at Conrad Park.
VIDEO: A-SunTV will have the broadcast of Wednesday’s game starting at first pitch.
LIVE STATS: Statistical updates will be available from KSUOwls.com at the start of the game.
THE OPPONENT
Florida Gulf Coast enters the A-Sun Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning five out of its last six games and its last five consecutive A-Sun series.
Starting pitcher Ricky Knapp holds a 2.02 ERA and is 9-2 overall, setting up a showdown of two of the league’s best pitchers in the first round.
The Eagles currently hold one of the top team batting averages in the conference at .303.
THE SERIES
Florida Gulf Coast leads the all-time series between the two schools, 13-7, and took the regular season series in Kennesaw, Ga. two games to one.
LAST OUTING
The Kennesaw State baseball team ended the regular season with a pair of losses in doubleheader action at Lipscomb on Saturday, May 18, falling 16-6 in game one and 4-3 in game two.
After falling behind to the Bison 6-2 after one inning of play, the Owls fought back, coming within two runs of Lipscomb in the fourth before ultimately falling, 16-6 in the opening game.
Game two was a much closer affair, but again it was the Bison coming out on top, 4-3, in the second end of the doubleheader.
NEXT UP
After Wednesday’s game, the Owls will take on either No. 3 North Florida or No. 6 Lipscomb on Thursday. The two first-round losers will play at 1:15 p.m. ET on day two with the winners squaring off at 8:15 p.m. ET.
NEWS AND NOTES
Janas Gets Game One Start
Round One starter
Stephen Janas (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter HS) is one of 22 players on the National Pitcher of the Year watch list after earning a 0.81 ERA, the second lowest in the NCAA, with an 8-0 record, shattering the A-Sun single-season ERA record of 1.20 set in 1995.
All-Conference Selections
Five Owls were named to the All-Conference list including first-teamers
Stephen Janas and
Kal Simmons (Nashville, Ga./Berrien HS), second-teamers
Peyton Hart (Sandy Cross, Ga./Franklin County HS) and
Bo Way (Brunswick, Ga./Glynn Academy) and All-Freshmen Team members Simmons and
Alex Liquori (Brooks, Ga./Whitewater HS).
KSU in the Field
In the field, KSU is holding a team fielding percentage of .964, putting the Owls among the top teams in the conference in that category with a total of 51 double plays turned, the 31st most in the nation.
Mainstays in the Lineup
Senior
Peyton Hart and junior
Bo Way are the only two players in the lineup to have played and started in all 54 games this season for head coach
Mike Sansing.
Almonte Leading Off
Lead-off hitter
Andy Almonte (Moca, Puerto Rico/Gordon College) is now batting .500 when starting off an inning and has eight games with three or more hits, the most of any player on the team.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news follow the team on Twitter
@KSUOwlNation and
@KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
