| KENNESAW STATE BASEBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE |
| Tues, April 21 | at Georgia Tech | Russ Chandler, Atlanta Ga | 6 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Audio |
| Wed, April 22 | vs. Troy | Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga | 6 p.m. ET | Live Stats | Live Audio |
| Frid, April 24 | at Lipscomb | Ken Dugan Field, Nashville, TN | 7 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
| Sat, April 25 | at Lipscomb | Ken Dugan Field, Nashville, TN | 3 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
| Sun, April 26 | at Lipscomb | Ken Dugan Field, Nashville, TN | 2 p.m. ET | Live Stats | |
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The Road Ahead• The Kennesaw State University baseball team will enter the week with an overall record of 21-18 after finishing the week 2-2. The Owls split a pair of midweek games –including a 2-1 win over crosstown rival Georgia at Stillwell Stadium—before splitting a doubleheader with FGCU on Saturday (April 18) afternoon.
• The Owls are scheduled to play five games this week, with four contests on the road. KSU will trek to Atlanta, Georgia to take on crosstown rival Georgia Tech on Tuesday night before returning home to host visiting Troy. Both games will conclude the home-and-home series with the non-conference foes this season.
* The two midweek matchups will mark rematches of two drama-filled games earlier this season. The Owls dropped a heartbreaker to the Yellow Jackets in extra innings, 7-6, before KSU defeated the Trojans for the first time in program history on the road in a thrilling 3-2 victory. It was the Owls' first win against Troy since 2007.
Kennesaw State will then travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Lipscomb for a pivotal three-game Atlantic Sun series. The last time the two played each other was in the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, with the Owls take a 7-1 final.
• The Owls enter the week with a 13-9 mark at Stillwell Stadium and an 8-9 mark on the road.
Play Ball• Kennesaw State will play four of its next five games on the road, batting .260 with 36 doubles, one triple and 18 home runs in 17 road games.
• The Owls have won their past four road games, including a three-game A-Sun sweep over Northern Kentucky and a non-conference midweek affair against Troy. KSU batted .319 as a team over the stretch, totaling 12 doubles, seven triples and slugged .563 in four games.
• KSU outscored its opponents 33-15 in those four games, out-hitting NKU in each game. The Owls are an impressive 17-2 overall when recording more hits in a game, and is just 3-15 when getting out-hit in a contest.
• Kennesaw State has posted a 6-2 record over its last eight games, batting .295 as a team with 16 doubles and nine homers. The Owls have outscored their opponents by a 50-31 margin during the stretch, including a dominant 13-5 margin in the eighth inning.
• Three KSU players (
Chris Erwin,
Brennan Morgan and
Chris McGowan) all reached base in six of those eight games, with McGowan reaching base safely in all of the eight games.
• The Owls continued to showcase their power at the plate, totaling a home run in each game of their doubleheader against FGCU on Saturday afternoon. Kennesaw State has 33 homers on the season, which sits second in the A-Sun.
• The Owls will enter their two midweek games sitting with a 15-13 mark in non-conference games. KSU is batting .267, compiling 50 doubles, four triples and 21 homers. KSU is 10-7 at home and 5-6 on the road in non-conference game this season.
• In fact, KSU has hit 63 percent of its home runs this season in non-conference affairs. The Owls are averaging 0.85 home runs per game, led by a career-best nine home runs from
Kal Simmons.
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 an overall record of 24-14, sporting a 14-5 record at home and an 8-9 mark on the road.
• Georgia Tech is coming off a road weekend series against Boston College, dropping three games to the Eagles.
• The Owls are 5-17 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.
• Kel Johnson will enter Tueday's game leading the team offensively, batting a team-high .360. He has compiled 36 hits, eight doubles, one triple and seven home runs in 24 starts.
• Kennan Innis has backed Johnson with a strong showing at the plate in 25 starts (33 games), batting .330 with 35 hits and eight doubles.
• Georgia Tech is projected to throw left-handed pitcher Ben Parr. The lefty is 5-1 on the season 13 appearances (six starts) and has a 3.92 ERA. He has compiled 21 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work.
• Parr threw against The Owls earlier this season, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits over 4.2 innings.
Scouting Troy• Troy is led by head coach Bobby Pierce, who recently became the all-time winningest coach in Troy history with a 4-1 win over Alabama A&M on March 29 –which was his 435th victory.
• Pierce coached the Trojans from 1979 to 1990, leading the team to 434 wins, six regional titles, five Gulf South Conference and two national championships.
• In all, coach Pierce has led the team to four conference titles and four NCAA Regional appearances;. He has also produces 15 All-Americans and 42 all-conference selections.
• The Trojans own a 22-2 all-time record against Kennesaw State, dating back to 2007. Troy has won the last eight of out nine meetings against the Owls. KSU defeated the Trojans 1-0 on April 4, 2007, and most recently a 3-2 win on April 8 earlier this month.
• Pierce's club is led by Trevin Hall, who leads the team in batting average (.375) and slugging percentage (.558). He has 45 hits, 11 doubles, one triple and three homers on the season in 32 starts.
• Logan Hill also has been a sparkplug in the Trojans lineup this season, compiling a .347 batting average in 41 starts. He has totaled 52 hits, 12 doubles and five homer for 31 RBI.
• Reid Long leads the team with six home runs. Long also owns seven doubles and a team-leading four triples for a .535 slugging percentage.
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 Streak Continues• Senior first baseman
Chris McGowan continued his hot stick at the plate, extending his hitting streak to an incredible 19 games.
• McGowan's last game without a hit came on March 20 against Williams & Mary. Since then, the senior has batted .403 over the 19-game stretch, compiling 29 hits, six doubles and three 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 125 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 22 games, the longest of any Owl this season.
William's Hot Stick• Over his last 15 starts, freshman second baseman
Grant Williams has batted a team-high .404 with 23 hits, three doubles and 11 RBI.
• In fact, Williams batted a team-high .500 (6-for-12) with one double and two RBI last week, helping the Owls go 2-2.
• His week helped him bump his average to .336 on the season, which leads Kennesaw State after 27 starts (30 games played). His ranks fifth in total hits (36), as 33 of his 36 hits have been for singles.
Mr. Shutout• Junior righthander
Jordan Hillyer tossed his second complete game of the season, allowing just three hits to the potent FGCU's offense to help the Owls earn a 5-0 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
• It marked the third time this season Hillyer earned A-Sun Pitcher of the Week; his third of his career.
• Hillyer now has 69 strikeouts this season.
• The junior has tossed at least 8.0 innings in four of his last six starts.
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.
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