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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Kennesaw State baseball team won its final game of the regular season, taking the series finale against the University of North Florida at Harmon Stadium on Saturday (May 16) afternoon by a 2-1 final. With the win, the Owls snapped UNF's 14-game winning streak, which was the second longest streak in the country.

Both clubs proved to be evenly matched once again, as the teams played three one-run games for the weekend. During the series, North Florida outscored the Owls by a slight 8-7 advantage, while Kennesaw State out-hit the Ospreys by a slim 27-20 margin.

"We came into the weekend and wanted to see where we matched up with UNF," head coach Mike Sansing said. You look at all three of these games and either team could have walked out 3-0 or 0-3. We competed and fought hard."

With the results, Kennesaw State will turn back around and take on North Florida in the opening round of the 2015 Atlantic Sun Tournament at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20 in Fort Myers, Florida. The Owls (28-26, 10-10) will enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed, while UNF (42-14, 16-5) will enter the week as the No. 1 seed.

The regular-season finale showcased another low-scoring affair as pitching was the story for the ballgame. Kennesaw State's Gabe Friese and North Florida's Matt Vaka traded identical innings throughout their outings on the hill, while North Florida's bullpen refused to give in until the final frame of the game.

Friese (5-5), a Kennesaw, Georgia native, was resilient from the start, as the righthander pitched his first-ever complete game as an Owl. Friese, who is only a sophomore, did not allow a base runner until the fourth inning and allowed just one run on five hits to earn the win. He also tossed five 1-2-3 innings and issued just one walk in the impressive outing.  

"Gabe Friese threw extremely well. He had an unbelievable pitch count," Sansing said. "We will take it and look forward to the tournament."

On the other side of the bump was Vaka (3-0), who matched Friese's efforts allowing one run on just five hits over 6.2 innings to earn a no decision. UNF's bullpen also showcased a strong outing, using a combined three pitchers in relief of Vaka, allowing just one run on two hits out of the pen.

In the low-scoring affair, the Owls jumped on the left field scoreboard first for the third consecutive time in the series with a run in the top of the second. KSU's Chris Erwin, who finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles, led off the frame with a double to center field before scoring on a sacrifice fly ball off the bat of Alex Liquori.

"We struggled to threaten much throughout the game, but Chris [Erwin] had some timely hits today. He is very talented and it was great to see him play well today," Sansing said.

After the teams traded scoreless inning in the third, the Ospreys came back and tied the ballgame up at 1-1 with an RBI single off the bat of Ryan Roberson.

That score remained true until the top of the ninth when Kennesaw State plated the go-ahead run with one out in the frame. It was Erwin who jumpstarted the inning once again with his leadoff double down the left field line before advancing to third base on a sacrifice bunt from senior Colin Bennett.

Needing a run with the scored knotted at 1-1, Liquori stepped in and hit a grounder to second base, who tossed home only to have Erwin beat the throw to give KSU a 2-1 edge –proving to be the game's deciding factor.

Wednesday's A-Sun opening game between No. 1 UNF and No. 6 KSU will be broadcasted on ESPN3 at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20 at Swanson Stadium. For more tournament information, visit atlanticsun.org or KSUOwls.com for more details.

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