| KENNESAW STATE BASEBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE |
| Tues, March 31 | vs. Western Carolina | Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga. | 6 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Audio |
| Thurs, April 2 | at Stetson | Melching Field, Deland, Fla. | 6:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
| Frid, April 3 | at Stetson | Melching Field, Deland, Fla. | 6:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
| Sat, April 4 | at Stetson | Melching Field, Deland, Fla. | 1 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
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About The Owls • Kennesaw State enters the week with a 14-13 record after going 2-3 over the last week. The Owls dropped a pair of midweek games to Georgia Southern and Georgia, before taking 2-of-3 from Atlantic Sun Conference foe USC Upstate in the opening weekend of league play.
• The Kennesaw State University baseball program are in the midst of its 32nd season of varsity play in 2015.
• The Owls are 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
Mr. 1,000* Head coach
Mike Sansing achieved the extraordinary on Friday, March 27, earning his 1,000th career victory in a 5-0 win over USC Upstate.
• Coach Sansing became the 72
nd NCAA Division I collegiate baseball head coach to complete the milestone; senior associate athletics director
Scott Whitlock—who also put together a 27-year career as the KSU head softball coach, referred to mark as a "mythical milestone".
• Sansing now boosts a 1,001-532 (.653) all-time record. He began his collegiate coaching for three seasons at Shorter, compiling a 102-55 record before being announced as the skipper for the Owls on August 21, 1991.
• Sansing has two national championships, 20 Coach of the Year honors, 10 national tournament appearances and over 40 players drafted in the MLB. The program reached new heights in 2014 when it advanced to the 2014 Super Regional after defeating Alabama in the Tallahassee Regional, capping off the most successful season at the Division I level.
• 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 returns to the ballpark after opening its conference play against USC Upstate last weekend at Stillwell Stadium. The Owls will play host to Western Carolina in the second game of their home-and-home series with the Catamounts. WCU defeated KSU by a 5-4 score on March 18.
• Kennesaw State and Western Carolina played in its 16
th meeting just a few weeks ago. The two teams played a back-and-forth affair that ended in a one-run game. It marked the fourth time the two teams played a one-run game, and the first since 2006.
• The Owls will enter the midweek action batting .280 (260-for-928) as a team, compiling 45 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs. Kennesaw State raised its team batting average up 10 points over the past week, batting a solid .316 as a team.
• KSU currently is second in the Atlantic Sun in total home runs with 22, trailing only North Florida's 23 total. UNF, however, has played four more games than the Owls to this point in the season.
• The Owls are currently fourth in the Atlantic Sun in total extra base hits with 70, compiling 45 doubles, three triples and 22 homers. Kennesaw State has 142 RBI on the season, which is fourth in the A-Sun.
• Kennesaw State scored the game's first run two out of the three games at Stillwell Stadium against USC Upstate, winning both games. The Owls improved to an impressive 12-3 when plating the first run of a game.
Scouting Western Carolina• The Owls will return to midweek play on Tuesday, welcoming Western Carolina to campus in its second game of the home-and-home.
• The two teams played just a few weeks ago in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as the Catamounts defeated KSU by a final score of 5-4.
• It marked the fourth time the two teams played a one-run game, and the first since 2006. The Owls are 5-11 against Western Carolina 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 twice in one season.
• Bobby Moranda (Eastern Kentucky, '86) is at the helm of the Catamounts' program for the eighth season. He entered the year with a 232-164-2 all-time record. His team will enter the midweek action with an even 12-12 record.
• Bradley Strong paces the Catamounts offensively, batting a team-high .366 on the season with 23 hits, 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs. He has compiled 29 RBI –nine since last time the two teams played— and 57 total bases for a .563 slugging percentage.
• Danny Bermudez has continued his strong play at the plate since the last time these two played. He is batting .315 (15 points higher) with28 hits, six doubles and five homers for 28 RBI.
• Bradley Strong is a factor on the bases, stealing 16-of-20 attempts on the season, which leads the team. He also has a .431 on-base percentage on the year.
• Bryan Sammons and Brendon Nail have combined for 11 of the Catamounts' 24 starts this season, compiling 58.2 innings of work and 45 strikeouts. The two have totaled a 3-4 record on the mound this season.
• Corey Sikes made his lone start of the season against the Owls back on March 18. Sikes is 1-1 with an ERA of 9.37 in 11 total appearances.
William's Red-Hot Stick •
Grant Williams batted an impressive .562 (9-for-16) last week, leading the Owls' attack at the plate to help score 31 total runs in five games.
• Williams totaled at least one hit in each game for Kennesaw State, including an impressive 3-for-4 performance Friday night against USC Upstate.
• The freshman from Atlanta, Georgia compiled one double, six runs scored and five RBI last week.
• Williams is currently on an eight game hitting streak, going 16-for-29 (.551) during the stretch.
• In all, Williams is batting .355 with two doubles and 13 Raising his point total over more than 50 points over the last several weeks.
Masterful Performance•
Jordan Hillyer showcased another masterful performance on the mound Friday (March 27) evening in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener. The junior from Dacula, Georgia tossed his first-ever complete game in his KSU career, allowing just two hits while striking out 11 batters.
• Hillyer entered the weekend leading the A-Sun in strikeouts and fanned 11 more to give him 57 on the year. Hillyer is 3-2 with an ERA of 1.85 in 43.2 innings of work this season.
* Hillyer earned his career Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week honors Monday (March 23) afternoon.
• Hillyer tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts against William and Mary in a 3-2 win on Friday night.
• Hillyer also was tabbed one of seven Louisville Slugger Player of the Week, honors on March 23, 2015.
* The right-handed pitcher added to his awards on Monday, March 30 when the Atlantic Sun announced Hillyer was tabbed as Pitcher of the Week for his masterful performance Friday (March 27) evening.
Bergen Completes The Two-Headed Monster• Speaking of masterful performances, junior lefty
Travis Bergen followed Hillyer's outing with one of his own Saturday afternoon.
• Bergen, who leads the team with 46.2 innings on the hill, pitched a three-hit shutout in his 7.0 innings of work on the mound Saturday afternoon. Bergen allowed no runs on just three hits, fanning career-high 12 batters in his outing.
• The lefty struck out seven of his first eight batters faced and tossed four 1-2-3 innings. Bergen is 3-2 with an ERA of 2.51 on the season.
"The Kal Show" Simmons *
Kal Simmons, who hails from Nashville, Georgia, has returned to the lineup for the Owls following an impressive 2014 campaign.
• The preseason all-conference selection has impressed thus far, batting .300 (33-for-110) on the season. Simmons has recorded four doubles and eight home runs. He also has 25 RBI on the year, which leads the team in that category.
• The junior shortstop has recorded a home run in each of the Owls' weekend series this season. That streak continued when Simmons reached back and caught a fastball off the barrel of the bat, sending it over the right field wall for his SECOND grand slam of the year.
* Simmons currently ranks in the top five in the nation in total home runs. The junior, keep in mind, hit only one homer in all of 2014, but has eight –including two grand slams—in 2015.
• Simmons has recorded at least one RBI in 15 of Kennesaw State's 27 games this season, which is over 50 percent of the games this season. He has recorded four RBI in two different games, while recording three RBI in the opener against then-no. 25 Liberty at Stillwell Stadium.
Allum-ing Along • Freshman
Taylor Allum has stepped up in recent play. Allum batted an impressive .500 (6-for-12) against USC Upstate last weekend, helping the Owls take 2-of-3 from the Spartans.
• He totaled four RBI and three runs, including a career-high three RBI against the Spartans in a 12-8 win on Sunday afternoon –which helped secure the weekend series win.
• For the season, Allum is currently leading the Owls with a .390 batting average (16-for-41), compiling three doubles, one home runs and 10 RBI.
McGowan's Back• Senior
Chris McGowan batted .316 (6-for-19) last week in five games, marking his best stretch of the season.
• McGowan, who has started in 22 games at first base this season, totaled his first home run of the season on Friday night against the Spartans. He also scored five times, getting on base .458 percent and compiled a .474 batting
Up Next• Kennesaw State will trek to Deland, Florida for an early three-game weekend series set against Atlantic Sun Conference foe Stetson.
• The two teams will play a pair of 6:30 p.m. starts on Thursday and Friday, before concluding the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday on April 4th.
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
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