KENNESAW STATE BASEBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tues, April 14	vs. Jacksonville St.	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga	L, 5-9	Release
Wed, April 15	vs. Georgia	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga	W, 2-1	Release
Frid, April 17	vs. FGCU (A-Sun)	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga	4 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Live Audio
Sat, April 18	vs. FGCU (A-Sun)	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga	1 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Live Audio
Sat, April 18	vs. FGCU (A-Sun)	Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga	4:30 p.m. ET	Live Stats	Live Audio

 
* MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY SET FOR SATURDAY WITH SCHEDULE CHANGE
 

The Road Ahead
• The Kennesaw State University baseball team will conclude its five-game homestand this weekend at Stillwell Stadium with a three-game set against Atlantic Sun Conference foe FGCU.
• The Owls lost to Jacksonville State, 9-5, Tuesday night in their first midweek game before earning a hard-fought 2-1 win against crosstown rival Georgia Wednesday.
* The Owls will then play four of their five games on the road next week (April 21-26), taking on Georgia Tech, Troy and A-Sun opponent Lipscomb.
• Kennesaw State will begin its week on with two midweek games. The Owls will hit the road Tuesday night against Georgia Tech in a re-match of a 7-6, 11-inning ballgame on March 17 before hosting Troy in another re-match of last Wednesday's 3-2 KSU win.
• KSU will then trek to Lipscomb for another crucial three-game series against Lipscomb. Friday's game will begin at approximately 7 p.m.  The Owls and Bisons will then play a 3 p.m. date on Saturday before concluding the series with a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.
* Kennesaw State enters the weekend series with a 12-8 mark in front of the Owl faithful, winning seven of their last nine games at Stillwell Stadium.

Play Ball
• Kennesaw State will enter the weekend playing well over the last couple of weeks, winning five of its last six games, including a perfect 4-0 week against Troy and Northern Kentucky from April 8-15.
• The Owls are batting .304 as a team over the stretch, out-hitting its opponents 40-25 in the six games. KSU is an impressive 16-2 when it out-hits opponents in a game this season.
• Kennesaw State has compiled 21 extra base hits and 39 RBI over the stretch, compared to allowing 12 extra base hits and 22 RBI to its opponents in the six games.
• Kennesaw State recorded seven home runs since April 8, giving the team a total of 31 homers in 37 games. The Owls trail only North Florida's 37 home runs for the most in the league. Kal Simmons leads the team with nine homers on the season.
• The Owls are 15-7 on the season when hitting at least one home run in a game, while 5-10 when allowing a homer to the opponent in a game.
• Kennesaw State has compiled a .371 on-base percentage this season, including a league-leading 170 walks. Kal Simmons leads the Owls with 24 walks, while Chris McGowan and Brennan Morgan have 23 and 20 walks, respectively.
• KSU has compiled 66 doubles (third in the league), four triples and 31 homers (second in the A-Sun) this season for a total of 101 extra base hits in 37 games.
• Kennesaw State's strikeout-to-walk ration is 2.14, with Jordan Hillyer and Travis Bergen leading the rotation with a combined 127 strikeouts.
• The Owls rank 34th in the nation averaging 0.84 home runs per game and 67th in the country with a .413 slugging percentage.

Scouting FGCU
* The Eagles enter the weekend with a 19-18-1 overall mark this season, and a 6-3 mark in the Atlantic Sun –tied at the top of the league with North Florida.
• FGCU is led by 12th year head coach Dave Tollett, who entered the season with a 394-216-2 record, compiling at least 25 wins in 10 seasons and three conference titles.
• Tollett is a three-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year and has won 44 of the 59 A-Sun three-game series since joining the league in 2008, including all 10 in 2010.
• Tollett is joined by ninth year associate coach Rusty McKee, pitching coach Pete Woodworth, volunteer assistant coach Mark Jones and director of operations Dane Wisneski.
• Michael Murray, reigning A-Sun Pitcher of the Year, will enter the weekend second to only KSU's Jordan Hillyer in strikeouts with 64. Murray is 3-4 with an ERA of 3.94. He has issued only eight walks this season over a team-high 59.1 innings of work on the bump.
• Brady Anderson is scheduled to make a start for the Eagles either Saturday or Sunday. He will enter the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record and a 3.67 ERA in six starts. Anderson has 43 strikeouts to 12 walks on the season, as opponents has it .263 on the season against the righty.
• Jordan Desguin will round out the rotation for FGCU this weekend. He will also enter the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record and the leagues second-best ERA of 2.31. He has recorded 38 strikeouts to just eight walks, as opponents have managed to hit just .208 against.
• Nick Rivera paces the Eagles' offense with a .377 batting average. Rivera has 49 hits, 13 doubles and seven home runs this season, totaling 43 RBI and a .638 slugging percentage.
• Jake Noll is right behind, batting .349 (53-for-152) with five doubles, one triple and one home run on the season. Noll is slugging .414 and has compiled 26 RBI.
• Brady Anderson, who is a perfect 4-0 on the mound mentioned earlier, also serves as a two-way player and is batting .333 in 48 at-bats. Anderson is 16-for-48 at the plate in 13 starts.
• Zach Spivey and Matt Reardon round out the Eagles' lineup with batters batting over .300. FGCU, who is batting .284 as a team, has five players batting over .300.

Keeping Track Of Former Owls
• The Owls' recent success in past years has seen multiple players get drafted in the MLB. In fact, KSU has had at least one player get selected in seven consecutive years.
• RHP Ryan Rodebaugh has been assigned to the Round Rock Express, AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
• Former Owl outfielder Josh Whitaker has been assigned to the Nashville Sounds, the AAA
affiliate of the Oakland A's.
• LHP Kenny Faulk will start the 2015 season with the Toledo Mud Hens, the AAA affiliate of
the Detroit Tigers.
• Alan Beusnitz, a RHP, has been assigned to the Arkansas Travels, a AA affiliate of the Los
Angeles Angels.
• OF Bo Way, who was a part of the 2014 Super Regional team at KSU, has been assigned to
the Inland Empire 66ers, the Advanced-A affiliate of the Angels. Way hit his first HR of the season with the 66ers and leads the team with a .400 avg., four runs and a HR.
• The Buffalo Bisons, a AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, will have RHP Chad Jenkins on
the team to begin the season.
• Former @KSUOwlsBaseball closer, Justin McCalvin, made his debut with the Charlotte Stonecrabs on April 11.
• Max Pentecost, 2014 Johnny Bench Award winner, was assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays, High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Pitching Matchups
• Pitching will be key this weekend in a pivotal Atlantic Sun Conference series' matchup between the Owls and Eagles.
• Friday's matchup will most likely be between Jordan Hillyer and Michael Murray. The showdown will feature two of the top pitchers in the league, as Hillyer and Murray are 1-2, respectively, in the A-Sun in strikeouts. Hillyer leads the league with 65 strikeouts, while Murray is right behind with 64 on the season.
• Travis Bergen, two-time Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week in 2015, will be a go for the Owls on Saturday. The left-hander is 4-3 with a 2.59 ERA, coming off a four-hit, complete game against NKU last weekend. He will face either Brady Anderson (4-0 , 3.67) or Jordan Desguin, who is also a perfect 4-0 and second in the league with a 2.31 ERA.
• Gabe Friese will wrap the series up on Sunday, coming into the weekend with a 3-4 record and a 4.34 ERA. Friese has struck out 38 batters and issuing 19 walks in 47.2 innings of work.

McGowan RED-HOT
• Senior first baseman Chris McGowan continued his hot stick at the plate, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.
• McGowan's last game without a hit came on March 20 against Williams & Mary. Since then, the senior has batted .397 over the 17-game stretch, compiling 25 hits, five doubles and two home runs.
• Before the stretch, McGowan was batting just .185 (10-for-54) in his first 16 games of the season. But, with the current streak, McGowan has brought his average up an incredible 114 points.
• In fact, that's not the only streak the senior has compiled during the stretch. McGowan has also reached base safely over his last 20 games, the longest of any Owl this season.
• For the season, McGowan is batting .299 with 35 hits and 13 RBI.

Williams' Strong Play
• Freshman Atlanta native Grant Williams has been hot over his last 13 starts, batting a team-high .408 (20-for-49) with three doubles and 10 RBI during the stretch.
• Williams' three doubles this season has coming within the three games, as 30 of his 33 hits this season has been singles.
• Williams is slugging .469 and has compiled a .464 on-base percentage over his last 13 games.
• For the season, the freshman is batting .333 with 33 hits, three doubles and 16 RBI in 25 starts at second base.

Bergen Named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week, Again
• Travis Bergen, a left-handed pitcher from McDonough, Georgia, was tabbed A-Sun Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season.
• Bergen tossed a complete game, four-hit, shutout against NKU to earn his fourth game of the season.
• The lefty gave up only one run as KSU posted a 10-1 victory Saturday.
• Bergen currently ranks third in the A-Sun with 62 strikeouts.
• For the season, Bergen is 4-3 with an ERA of 2.59 which is fourth in the conference.


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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).

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