Records: Kennesaw State (1-1), Purdue (0-2)
Score: Kennesaw State 5, Purdue 2
Starting Pitching Matchup: RHP Nick Dalesandro (0-1) vs. RHP Gabe Friese (1-0)
Key Players: Alex Liquori (2-for-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI); Chris Erwin (1-for-4, 1 RBI); Austin Upshaw (1-for-4, 1 HR); Griffin Helms (1-for-3, 1 RBI); Gabe Friese (4.2 IP, 5 SO, 2 hits, Win); Erich Stahl (Save)

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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State baseball team earned its first win of the 2016 season behind strong pitching and timely hitting, defeating the Boilermakers out of Purdue on day two of the Atlanta Classic on Saturday (Feb. 20) afternoon at Stillwell Stadium.
 
For the first time in program history, the Owls (1-1) defeated a BIG 10 opponent at Stillwell Stadium, and it was their first meeting against an opponent in the BIG 10 since taking on Penn State in 2008.
 
Gabe Friese (1-0), who made his debut on the mound for the season, earned the win tossing 4.2 strong innings. Friese, a junior from Kennesaw, Georgia, allowed just two hits and struck out five batters in his outing. The right hander allowed just two walks and retired as many as eight in a row between the second and fourth innings.
 
The Owls also got key contributions out of the bullpen from Richard Lovelady and Erich Stahl (save) in backend of the bullpen to hold off a Boilermaker rally to earn the win on the day.  Lovelady went 1.1 innings, allowing no runs and no hits, while Stahl picked up his first save throwing a scoreless ninth frame.

For the day, Alex Liquori (2-for-3, 1 RBI), Chris Erwin (1-for-4, 1 RBI), Austin Upshaw (1-for-4, HR), and Griffin Helms (1-for-3, RBI) led the attack offensively behind strong pitching to earn a hard-fought win.
 
Knotted at 0-0 through an inning and a half, the Owls jumped on the right field scoreboard first, coming off the bat of Upshaw. The Buford, Georgia native, who is a sophomore and went 3-for-5 at the plate in his Owls debut Friday evening, hit his second home run in as many days to give Kennesaw State a 1-0 lead after two frames.
 
The offense continued in the bottom half of the fourth inning, as Kennesaw State placed a crooked three runs on the board to jump out to a 4-0 advantage. Erwin, who started in the three hole batting DH, got things going in the frame with an RBI triple, scoring teammate Howell from first who got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.

The Owls continued to attack at the plate as both Liquori and Helms recorded RBI singles in the inning to push their lead to four.

Up 4-0, the Owls once again extended its lead when they quickly loaded the bases and junior transfer Getzelman, who is a Crystal Lake, Illinois native, hit a sacrifice fly ball to give the Owls their largest lead of the game at 5-0.
 
Up Next
The Owls will continue opening weekend at Stillwell Stadium, hosting MAC foe Western Michigan on Sunday (Feb. 21) at 12 p.m. Day three will mark the conclusion of the Atlanta Classic and will be shown on ASUN TV as Nathan McCreary will have the call. 
 
Quoting Coach Sansing
"Gabe Friese got ahead of hitters today, which was the key. He mixed up his pitches and located well, and it was great to see. The bullpen was a big issues last year and with Stahl and Lovelady coming in, we wanted to solidify the backend. We hope to continue to build on this and we look forward to playing Western Michigan tomorrow."
 - Kennesaw State Head Coach Mike Sansing
 
Notes
- This marked the first meeting between Purdue and Kennesaw State in programs' history.
- Last time the Owls hosted a Big10 opponent at Stillwell Stadium was back in 2008, hosting Penn State in a 4-3 loss.
- In fact, it was the last time KSU played a Big10 opponent since 2008 and has never played an opponent in the conference on the road in program history.
- Entering the day, the Owls has never won a game against a Big10 opponent in program history, but won its first meeting against the Boilermakers in programs' history.
- Austin Upshaw hit his second home run in as many days.
- Chris Erwin record his first RBI of the season with a base-clearing triple in the fourth inning.
- Five players now have two or more RBI on the young season, as Jeremy Howell leads the team with three.
- Richard Lovelady and Turner Watkins made their Kennesaw State debuts out of the bullpen on the day.
- The Owls were outhit for the game, but still won 5-2 over Purdue.
 
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