Game 1: Box Score (XML) | Box Score (.PDF)
Game 2: Box Score (XML) | Box Score (.PDF)
Photo Gallery (Gregg Ranallo)

---

Kennesaw, Ga. – The Kennesaw State baseball program split a pair of games on Saturday afternoon against visiting St. John's University. The Owls dropped the first game of the day, 6-2, before taking the second game of the twinbill over the Red Storm by a score of 10-5 at Stillwell Stadium.

The Owls (2-1) batted .297 as a team for the day, compiling 19 hits – including seven extra base hits on the day— and 31 total bases. The Black and Gold also got strong pitching performances from six different arms throughout the day, posting a combined 2.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts to wrap-up the Atlanta Classic.   

GAME 1: St. John's 6, Kennesaw State 2
St. John's (1-2) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead with back-to-back two-run homers in consecutive innings and never looked back, earning the victory in game one of the twinbill. The Red Storm used a pair of long balls by Tyler Sanchez and Anthony Brocato to help propel St. John's to its first win of the 2015 season.
 
KSU freshman #AJ Moore#, who hails from Dacula, Georgia, made his collegiate debut on the mound in the fifth inning. The right-handed pitcher allowed one earned run in 3.0 innings of work, while totaling a game-high five strikeouts. Moore retired his first eight batters before allowing a single up the middle in his debut.
 
Trailing 6-0 entering the bottom half of the eighth inning, the Owls finally broke the scoreless drought with an RBI single by sophomore second baseman #Cornell Nixon# –who went 1-for-3 in the game— to pull KSU within 6-1.
 
The Owls followed with another run in the bottom of the ninth inning with an RBI double from redshirt-senior #Chris McGowan# to pull within four. McGowan went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the game for the Owls.
 
The loss broke a 12-game winning streak at Stillwell Stadium, as the Owls entered the season having won 11 consecutive games in front of the Owl faithful. Kennesaw State extended the streak to 12 Friday (Feb. 13) afternoon by defeating No. 25 Liberty, 11-9.
 
GAME 2: St. John's 5, Kennesaw State 10
Kennesaw State came out in game two and earned a 10-5 victory over the Red Storm to earn a doubleheader split. Sophomore pitcher Gabe Friese (1-0) earned the win on the mound, while reliever Chris Erwin tossed a key 3.0 innings in relief to solidify the victory. Newcomers Griffin Helms and Corey Greeson went a combined 2-for-6 with five RBI and a pair of home runs to lead the Owls' offense.

Friese set the tone for the Owls, not allowing a single run in 5.0 innings of work while striking out two Red Storm batters. KSU's offense responded by posting a four-run third inning on four hits to back Friese's performance on the bump.

"I thought Gabe was around the zone,"  head coach #Mike Sansing#  said. "Gabe is a strike thrower. He went five innings for us which was better than any of our three starters this weekend. I thought  he spotted up well. I though he pitched well after we grabbed the lead as well." 

Freshman #Drew Davis#, who made his collegiate debut behind the dish, recorded his first career hit with a single to leadoff the inning. #Kal Simmons#, who batted a blistering 4-for-8 (.500) on the day, followed with a double to center field before #Colin Bennett# recorded his second RBI of the season for the game's first run. The Owls followed with a base-clearing single –with the help of a St. John's error in right field— to extend its lead to 4-0.

The Owls then broke the game open with back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh frames, extending its lead to a weekend-high 10 runs. #Alex Liquori# recorded an RBI single before Helms recorded his first collegiate home run with a two-run homer to give the Owls a 7-0 lead.

After Erwin worked a scoreless top half of the seventh inning, the Black and Gold struck once again with three more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Greeson, who is a transfer junior from Calhoun, Georgia, turned on a fastball and drove it over the left field wall for a three-run home run to give KSU a commanding 10-0 lead.

The Owls will now turn their attention to in-state rival Georgia on Tuesday, Feb. 17 as Kennesaw State will welcome the Bulldogs to Stillwell Stadium for a 6 p.m. affair. The Black and Gold swept Georgia in a two-game set in 2014 by scores of 10-7 and 3-1.

Season tickets are currently on sale for the full 29-game home schedule at $39 per ticket. Single-game tickets are also available at $6 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-12). Group tickets for 10 or more people are available for advanced purchase, excluding the Georgia (Feb. 17), Georgia Tech (Mar. 17) and Georgia Southern (Mar. 24) games when individual tickets will be $10 for adults and $6 for youth. To order season tickets click here, or contact the KSU Athletic Ticket Office at 470-578-OWLS (6957).
 
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. 

Unveiling of the Regional Championship banner!

A video posted by Kennesaw State Owls (@kennesawstateowls) on Feb 14, 2015 at 9:20am PST