THE BASICS
Records: Kennesaw State (29-26) vs. Stetson (26-29)
Final Score: KSU 7, Stetson 13
Starting Pitching Matchup:Â RHP Mitchell Jordan vs. RHP
Gabe Friese
Key Players:Â
Alex Liquori (2-for-5, 3 RBI);
Grant Williams (3-for-5, RBI);
Corey Greeson (2-for-4);
Austin Upshaw (2-for-4, RBI);
David Chabut (3-for-3)
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Box Score (PDF) |
Box Score (XML) |
Gallery (ASUN)
THE STORYLINE:Â
· Kennesaw State dropped its 2016 ASUN Conference Championship opener to Stetson, 13-7, at Ken Dugan Field on Wednesday afternoon.
· The two teams combined for 20 runs on 34 hits in an offensive slugfest as the two teams totaled seven crooked scoring innings combined.
· With the loss, the Owls dropped to 29-26 overall on the season and will face elimination Thursday morning, while Stetson improved to 26-29 on the season and will advance in the winners bracket.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:Â
· RBI sacrifice fly balls off the bats of senior
Brennan Morgan and sophomore
Austin Upshaw, and an RBI single from
Grant Williams gave the Owls a 3-2 advantage after three complete.
· The Hatters, however, scored seven unanswered runs by plating two in the fifth and sixth innings and a three-run seventh to take a 9-3 advantage into the bottom of the seventh.
· Down six, the Owls put together their best offensive inning in home half of the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits to pull within 9-7.
· An RBI sacrifice fly ball from junior
Jeremy Howell was followed by a three-run home run off the bat of senior
Alex Liquori to pull Kennesaw State within two runs as part of the four-run outburst.
· The Hatters' bats could not be silenced, plating two more in the eighth and two more in the ninth to take a 13-7 lead into the final three outs.
· Offensively, Kennesaw State had five players with multi-hit games, as Williams' 3-for-5 performance and Liquori's 2-for-5 with three RBI led the way for Kennesaw State.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS:Â
·
Grant Williams extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the first third. The sophomore was batting .404 over his last 12 games entering Wednesday's conference tournament opener.
·
Corey Greeson extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the third inning.
·
David Chabut and Grant William has now reach base safely over their 12
th and 20
th consecutive games, respectively.
·
Richard Lovelady made his 36
th appearance of the season, which ranks inside the top three in the NCAA.
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UP NEXT
 The Owls will now face elimination Thursday morning at 11 a.m. CT, taking on the loser of game two between North Florida and FGCU on ESPN3.
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