Records: Kennesaw State (3-1), Jacksonville State (2-2)
Score: Kennesaw State 3, Jacksonville State 2
Starting Pitching Matchup: RHP Graham Officer vs. LHP Chris Erwin
Key Players:  Austin Upshaw (3-for-4, 1 RBI); Griffin Helms (2-for-4); Trevor Brown (2-for-4, 2 runs); Jeremy Howell (2-for-4); Chris Erwin (6.0 IP, 6K – Win)

KENNESAW, Ga. –  The Kennesaw State Owls baseball team backed a strong pitching performance from junior Chris Erwin and held off a late push from the visiting Jacksonville State at Stillwell Stadium, earning a hard-fought 3-2 win on Friday (Feb. 26) evening.
 
Erwin (1-1), a Grayson, Georgia native, was resilient on the mound in his second start of the season to tame the Gamecocks. The lefty tossed 6.0 innings while allowing just two runs on four hits, retiring the order in four of his six innings.
 
He totaled 91 pitches in which 67 percent of his pitches were thrown for strikes and tallied six punch outs. In fact, Erwin tallied 18 of his 22 batters faced on the evening as outs and did not walk a Gamecock until the fourth frame, and pitched 5.2 innings without allowing a hit.
 
Behind his sturdy efforts on the bump, the Owls offense backed his performance with 10 hits scattered throughout eight frames. Sophomore Austin Upshaw's red-hot bat continued, going 3-for-4 and one RBI. Sophomore Griffin Helms also provided a punch in the lineup, going 2-for-4 at the plate, while Jeremy Howell (2-for-4) and Trevor Brown (2-for-4, two runs) combined for six of the Owls' 10 hits on the night.
 
Knotted at 0-0 after two and half innings, the Owls used three hits in the bottom half of the third to jump on the Stillwell Stadium scoreboard first.
 
After back-to-back singles to lead off the frame off the bats of Howell and Brown, teammates Grant Williams –who finished with an RBI on the night— and Upshaw brought them around home with a pair of RBI to give Kennesaw State a 2-0 lead. Williams' sacrifice brought home Howell before Upshaw's RBI single to center brought around Brown from second.
 
Up two, the Owls were able to extend their lead to three with a single run in the fifth frame. Brown, who scored two of KSU's three runs in the ballgame, led things off with a single before eventually crossing home plate off an RBI single from Alex Liquori to right field.
 
However, the Gamecocks placed two in the top of the sixth inning to pull within 3-2 entering the final three innings of play.
 
The combined effort of Logan Hutchinson (1.0 IP, 0 hits, 1 K), Richard Lovelady (1.0 IP, 2 hits), and Erich Stahl (1.0 IP, Save) shut out Jacksonville State to earn their third win of the season.
 
Up Next
The Owls will return to action at Stillwell Stadium on Saturday (Feb. 27) afternoon, taking on the Gamecocks in game two of the weekend series. Nathan McCreary and James Connell will be on the call on A-Sun TV.
 
Sansing Quote
"Chris Erwin commanded the zone extremely well. He had three pitches going tonight and it was great to see him bounce back from a week ago. Even in the last inning he tossed, he still has great stuff and gave us a good effort tonight. Defensively, we played well and made the routine plays. We also produced well in the lineup and it's encouraging this early in the season."
 - Kennesaw State Head Coach Mike Sansing
 
Notes
- The Owls and Gamecocks have no played in nine consecutive seasons, dating back to the 2007 campaign.
- JSU and KSU have played a three-game weekend series along with a midweek for three consecutive seasons, including 2016.
- Last season, Kennesaw State took 2-of-3 over the three-game weekend series at Rudy Abbott Field, before dropping the midweek game to finish an even 2-2 against each other.
- Heading into the weekend, Kennesaw State holds a 16-12 mark since 1991.
- Griffin Helms, Jeremy Howell and Trevor Brown combined for 60 percent of KSU's hits on the night.
- Austin Upshaw is now hitting .625 on the season, totaling at least one hit in all four games.
- Trevor Brown is batting .556 in four games, totaling five hits on the season.
- In fact, Kennesaw State has six players hitting over .300 – LaDonis Bryant, David Chabut, Griffin Helms, Alex Liquori, Trevor Brown and Austin Upshaw.
 
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