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Kennesaw, Ga. – The Kennesaw State backed a strong pitching performance from freshman AJ Moore on Tuesday (April 28) evening, defeating Savannah State University 5-2 at Stillwell Stadium in front of 642 fans.

With the win, the Owls improved to 9-1 all-time against the Tigers while moving to 25-20 overall on the season. Savannah State, with the loss, slipped to 17-29 overall.

"I thought we battled through tonight and we were able to get some hits which turned into enough runs," head coach Mike Sansing said. "It was good to see our guys fight through a tough opponent in Savannah State."

Led by an impressive outing from the right-handed pitcher, the Owls' five runs on seven hits proved to be enough to improve to 14-10 in front of the Owl faithful this season.  Moore (3-2) allowed just two runs on four hits over 6.0 innings on the hill in his eighth start of the season, coming away with the decision.  

After the two teams traded scoreless frames in the first three innings, KSU placed a crooked three runs on the right field scoreboard in the bottom half of the fourth inning to break the 0-0 ballgame. The Owls sent eight batters to the plate, scoring three runs on three hits to take a lead it would never give back.

The Owls got things going on back-to-back RBI singles off the bats of Alex Liquori –who finished 2-for-4 and one RBI— and Griffin Helms, pushing across the first two runs of the game. The inning continued as KSU's leadoff hitter Corey Greeson knocked home the third run on a base-clearing RBI triple.

Meanwhile, on the mound, Moore controlled Savannah State's lineup for much of the evening, retiring 15 of his first 17 batters –including the first eight Tiger batters in the game to keep SSU scoreless through the first five innings of play. In addition, Moore pounded the strikeout zone early and often, throwing 46 of his first 69 pitches (66 percent) for strikes.  

Kennesaw State extended its lead in the fifth, plating one run to take a 4-0 lead into the sixth inning. The Owls got going with a leadoff triple off the bat of Chris Erwin to the center field wall –giving the Owls a season-high two triples in a game. KSU brought Erwin home with a sacrifice fly to right field from Taylor Allum, recording his 16th RBI of the season.

The Tigers clawed back, scoring two runs in the sixth to cut the lead in half to 4-2. But, that would be the closest Savannah State would get as Chris McGowan's RBI single in the bottom half of the frame extended the Owls' lead to 5-2.

Kennesaw State's bullpen shut the door on the Tigers after Moore exited the game after six complete, as freshman Tony Dibrell and junior Will Lowman combined for three scoreless innings. Dibrell –who struck out two batters in his lone appearance against Lipscomb on Sunday—worked two frames allowing just one hit.

"AJ [Moore] was on tonight and he threw well. It was nice to see Tony Dibrell come in and throw well out of the bullpen," Sansing said. "It's encouraging to see them go into the game back to back and throw well."

Lowman then finished the job with his sixth save of the season, shutting the door in the ninth with a 5-2 lead.

Kennesaw State will wrap-up its week with a Wednesday night contest against SEC foe at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CST. The game will be on SEC Network and you can also watch the game on WatchESPN App. The game will be the fourth meeting all-time between the Owls and Tigers and will be played on Plainsman Field in Auburn, Alabama.

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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