KENNESAW STATE BASEBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tues, March 17	vs. Georgia Tech	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.	6 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Audio
Wed, March 18	at Western Carolina	Hennon Stadium, Cullowhee, N.C	2 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Audio
Frid, March 20	vs. William & Mary	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.	6 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Audio
Sat, March 21	vs. William & Mary	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.	2 p.m. ET	Live Stats
Sun, March 22	vs. William & Mary	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.	1 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Audio

 

About The Owls
• Kennesaw State will enter the week with an overall record of 9-8 after taking one game over the last weekend against Winthrop University.
• The Kennesaw State University baseball program are in the midst of its 32nd season of varsity play in 2015.
• The Owls are also in the midst of its 10th season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, joining the Division I ranks in 2006. Kennesaw State entered the season with an all-time record of 1,114-651-2 (.631) in 31 seasons.
• The Black and Gold entered the season with an all-time record of 265-231 (.534) in the A-Sun since joining the league in 2006.
• KSU won the school's first-ever Division I Championship in 2014, defeating Lipscomb in the title game by a score of 7-1 to capture its first-ever banner in the D-I ranks.
* The Owls went on to make history, becoming the second-ever Atlantic Sun team to reach the NCAA Super Regionals after defeating Alabama and Georgia Southern in the Tallahassee Regional in 2014.
* The Black and Gold feature two captains for the 2015 season. Redshirt-senior Chris McGowan and junior LHP Travis Bergen will lead the Owls selected by the team to serve as captains.
 
Head Coach Mike Sansing and the Owls Staff
* Head coach Mike Sansing began his 24th season at the helm of the Owls, entering the season with a career mark of 885-464 (.656) as the manager.
* Sansing's three assistant coaches return for another season with the Owls in 2015. Kevin Erminio enters his ninth season as the assistant head coach and pitching coach, while Derek Simmons and Trey Fowler each return for their third season under Sansing. Assistant athletic trainer Chris Archambeault also returns to Kennesaw State's dugout for his eighth season.
 
Coach Sansing FOUR Away From Career Milestone
* Head coach Mike Sansing entered the season with 987-career wins, sitting 13 victories shy of 1,000.
• Sansing's coaching career began at Shorter from 1989-91, accumulating 102 wins in three seasons. His career record at Shorter finished at an impressive 102-55 (.650).
• Coach Sansing's clubhouse leadership carried over to Kennesaw State in 1992 and is now in his 24th season at the helm of the program in 2015. He has over 27 years of coaching experience through the NAIA ranks, Division II level and now Division I ranks at KSU.
• With the Owls' nine wins throughout the early parts of the 2015 season, the manager now sits only four shy of the career milestone.
* Coach Sansing's strong leadership in the clubhouse has not gone unnoticed, leading multiple players to Atlantic Sun Conference honors and beyond. Most recently, coach Sansing led Max Pentecost to the Johnny Bench Award and a First Team All-American selection in 2014.
• Speaking of success, coach Sansing and the Owls recently added to their trophy showcase at the Atlanta Sports Awards on March 5. KSU was honored as the Team of the Year, presented by PrimeSport.
• It didn't end there, former KSU All-American Max Pentecost was voted Collegiate Athlete of the Year, presented by AT&T.
 
Play Ball
• Kennesaw State returned to action last weekend against Winthrop University on the road, taking one of three games against the Eagles at Winthrop Ballpark.
• The Owls dropped the first game of a re-scheduled doubleheader, 2-0, in a hard-fought pitchers duel. Jordan Hillyer went 8.0 innings and tied his career high in strikeouts with nine.
• Travis Bergen, who was tabbed as Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week on Monday, March 16, pitched a four-hit shutout in the second game, backing Hillyer's performance from game one. The lefty fanned a career-high 11 batters while going the distance for the first time in his career.
• The Owls dropped the rubber game against Winthrop Sunday afternoon, losing 11-4 in the series finale.
• Kennesaw State scored first in the second game on the twinbill to help them earn the victory. The Owls are now 9-2 when they score the first run of a game.
• In fact, Kennesaw State has had early success in its games, outscoring opponents by a dominating 26-9 margin through the first two innings of play.
• The Owls out-hit the Eagles in game two of the weekend series, 11-4. Kennesaw State moved to an impressive 8-1 when outscoring its opponents in a game.
• KSU returns home to take on Georgia Tech on Tuesday, March 17 for midweek play. The Owls are batting .255 at "The Shake" with 23 extra base hits and 48 RBI. KSU is slugging .403 and has compiled nine stolen bases in front of the Owl faithful in nine games.
• The Owls recorded a home run in two of their three games last weekend against Winthrop, giving them 17 on the season.
• Kennesaw State is currently leading the Atlantic Sun in total home runs with 17, which is four clear of North Florida's 13. KSU is averaging 1.00 home runs per game this season.
• The Owls also have 50 total extra base hits in 17 games this season, which ranks third in the A-Sun behind Stetson's 68 and North Florida's 63. The two teams, however, have played at least four more games than Kennesaw State.
• Jordan Hillyer and Travis Bergen, who anchor the top of the rotation for Kennesaw State, rank second and third respectively in the A-Sun with total strikeouts. Hillyer, a junior from Dacula, Georgia, is second in the league with 33, while Bergen is right behind with 31. Florida Golf Coast's M. Murray leads the league in strikeouts with 39.
 
Scouting Georgia Tech
• Georgia Tech, an in-state rival that plays Kennesaw State, has jumped out to a fast start to the 2015 season. The Yellow Jackets will enter Tuesday's midweek game with a 14-5 overall record, sporting a 9-2 record at home and a 3-3 record on the road.
• Georgia Tech is coming off a road weekend series win at Duke, taking 2-of-3 from the Blue Devils. The Yellow Jackets were one of two ACC teams (Notre Dame) to win a series on the road last weekend.
• The Owls are 5-16 against the Yellow Jackets since joining the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2006, with their last win against Georgia Tech coming last February.
• The midweek game between the two clubs will mark the 10th consecutive season the two will play against each other, dating back to 2006 when Georgia Tech swept the Owls in a three-game series. 
• The Yellow Jackets are coached by skipper Danny Hall, who entered his 22 season at the helm in 2015. Coach Hall has a 232-164-2 overall record coming into the season.
• Kennan Innis will enter Tuesday's game leading the team offensively, batting a team-high .409. He has compiled 18 hits, five doubles and seven RBI.
• Daniel Spingola also has had a great start to the season, batting .311 with 23 hits, three doubles, one home run and 10 RBI on the season. He is also tied for a team-leading four stolen bases alongside Connor Justus.
• Kel Johnson leads Georgia Tech win six home runs and eight doubles. He has a team-high .722 slugging percentage to lead the Yellow Jackets.
• Georgia Tech is projected to throw left-handed pitcher Ben Parr. The lefty is 2-1 on the season in six appearances (three starts) and has a 5.40 ERA. He has compiled 11 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work.
 
Scouting Western Carolina
• The Owls will return to midweek play on Wednesday, traveling to Cullowhee, North Carolina for a midweek clash against the Catamonts.
• Western Carolina will enter the midweek game with a 7-9 overall record, coming off a 1-2 weekend against Liberty.
• The Owls are 5-10 against the Catamonts since arriving to the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2006. The matchup between the two clubs will mark the fifth consecutive season the two will play against each other.
• Bradley Strong paces the Catamonts offensively, batting a team-high .394 on the season with 26 hits, eight doubles, two triples and one home run. He has compiled 20 RBI and 41 total bases for a .621 slugging percentage.
• Danny Bermudez is the only other player of the roster with a batting average north of .300, going 19-for-60 (.317) on the season. He has compiled three doubles and three home runs for 19 RBI on the season.
• Bradley Strong is a factor on the bases, stealing 14-of-16 attempts on the season, which leads the team. He also has a .474 on-base percentage on the year.
• Bryan Sammons and Brendon Nail have each made four starts on the mound this season. The two have combined for 44 innings of work on the bump, totaling 30 strikeouts.
 
KKKKKKKKKKK-man
• Left-handed pitcher Travis Bergen tossed his first career complete game against Winthrop, tossing a four-hit shutout to earn his third win of the season.
• Bergen struck out a career-high 11 batters on Saturday, March 14 against Winthrop.
• With his strong performance on the mound, Bergen earned Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week honors, announced by the league office on Monday (March 16) afternoon.
• Bergen's first win of the season came against Jacksonville State in the second game –first of the doubleheader—of the series. He pitched 7.0 strong innings on the hill, allowing one run (unearned) and struck out five Gamecocks to help the Owls take a 4-2 win.
• The lefty from McDonough, Georgia followed his act with a strong showing against UCONN at Stillwell Stadium on Feb. 28. Despite being credited with the loss, Bergen threw 7.0 strong innings allowing four runs on just five hits while striking out eight Husky batters –which fell one shy of tying his career high in a single game.
• Bergen's start against UAB was arguably one of his best outings of the season. He tossed 6.2 innings of work, allowing one unearned run on seven hits. Bergen struck out five Blazers and secured the weekend series for the Owls.
• In all, the junior pitcher is 3-2with a 1.87 ERA, and is second on the team with 31 strikeouts.


 














Hillyer Strong On The Hill
* Jordan Hillyer has also been a catalyst on the mound for the Owls this season, making five starts.
• Hillyer earned his first win of the season against UAB in front of the Owl faithful at Stillwell Stadium on March 6. He went six innings, allowing one run and struck out seven UAB batters.
* Hillyer tied his career high in strikeouts by fanning nine batters over his weekend start against Winthrop. For the game, the right-handed pitcher threw 8.0 innings; scattering nine hits and walked only three in a hard-fought 2-0 loss.
• On the year, Hillyer leads the team with 33 strikeouts –which is second most in the A-Sun— and is second on the team with a .210 opponent batting average against among the rotation. The junior has tossed 26.2 innings in five appearances, allowing only seven earned runs while scattering 21 hits.
 
Motley Leading His Crew
• Redshirt-junior Justin Motley had his best weekend for the Owls against Winthrop.
• Motley began his weekend reaching base safely in six of his first seven trips to the plate during Saturday's doubleheader.
• The center fielder compiled an impressive 6-for-9 (.667) at the plate. He had one double and two walks to total a .778 slugging percentage and a .727 on-base percentage.
• In all, Motley is batting .290 (20-for-69) with five doubles and two RBI.
 
Erwin's First Collegiate Home Run
• Chris Erwin, who serves as an outfielder and pitcher for head coach Mike Sansing, broke his eight-game hitting streak Sunday (March 15) afternoon against Winthrop. The sophomore entered the weekend leading the Owls with a .390 batting average.
• He did, however, still have an impact over the weekend. Erwin hit a three-run homer over the right field wall in game two of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The home run marked his first of his collegiate career.
• Erwin has recorded at least one hit in nine of his last 11 games in the Owls' lineup. The sophomore, for the season, is 19-for-54 (.352) with three doubles, one home run and 10 RBI on the season.
 
Notable Owl Accolades in 2014
* The Kennesaw State baseball team entered the 2015 season having won 26 of their last 29 games of the season. That trend continued over opening weekend, winning two of their first three games of the season – now having won 28 of their past 32 games dating back to 2014.
* The Black and Gold won a school record 40 wins in 2014 coming off their unprecedented postseason run to the NCAA Super Regionals.
* The Owls also played a D-I school record 64 games in 2014. KSU also posted a program's record of 16 consecutive games won from April 6-May 1 of 2014.
* KSU won the first-ever D-I Championship in school's history last season, defeating Lipscomb 7-1 in the Atlantic Sun Championship to secure the title.
* Kennesaw State also made history last season becoming the second team in A-Sun history to reach the NCAA Super Regionals after capturing the A-Sun Championship followed by the Tallahassee Regional with wins vs. Alabama and Georgia Southern. Entering the Super Regional vs. Louisville, KSU won 26 of their previous 28 games.
 
Owls In The MLB
* KSU totaled four players – Max Pentecost, Bo Way, Justin McCalvin and James Connell— that were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft.
* It marked the seventh consecutive year at least one Owl was selected in the MLB Draft; with three years (2009, 2013 and 2014) four Owls were selected.
* Max Pentecost, who was honored as First Team All-American and Johnny Bench Award winner in 2014, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (11th overall), which marks the highest selection in Owl history.
 
Owls Picked First In Atlantic Sun
* Kennesaw State was picked to finish first in the A-Sun in the preseason coaches' poll, voted by the league's eight head coaches. The Owls received 61 points and six of eight first-place votes.
* The preseason A-Sun coaches' selection, which projected the Owls to finish first in the league, was the first time the Black and Gold were selected to finish at the top of the league since joining the conference in 2006.



Tweets by @KSUOwlsBaseball

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.