ON DECK

1. Kennesaw State continues its eight-game homestand to begin the season following a 1-2 opening weekend as part of the Atlanta Challenge. The Owls batted .310 as a team and scored 25 runs on 35 hits, including 11 extra base hits and four home runs.
2. Head Coach Mike Sansing will act as manager for the Owls program for his 26^th season, coming off his first-ever ASUN Coach of the Year honors. Coach Sansing holds a 1,045-549 (.630) record in 28 years. The skipper is 57 victories shy of winning 1,000 games at Kennesaw State for his career.
3. KSU totaled three players that hit .500 over opening weekend, with Jeremy Howell, Chris Erwin and Jake Franklin totaling 12 of the Owls' 35 hits. Howell went 5-for-8 over his first two games and totaled four RBI throughout the Atlanta Challenge.
4. Junior outfielder Taylor Allum looked comfortable at the dish over the weekend. The former Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and All-Conference member slugged .818% with two home runs –one being a grand slam—and knocked home a team-high five RBI.
5. Junior right hander Tony Dibrell made his first career Friday night start on Opening Day, tossing a solid 5.0 innings while punching out seven to earn his first win on the mound.
6. The bullpen was steady throughout the weekend, as Will Bice and Brian Exley each made two appearances bullpen for Coach Sansing. The two combined to allow four hits and three unearned runs in 5.1 frames.
7. Kennesaw State will showcase its talents on the field as the Owl Network will air each home game on either ESPN3 or ASUN.TV. The Owl Network will stream 11 home games on ESPN3 and 22 tilts on ASUN.TV.
8. KSU plays a total of 56 games in the regular season, 33 of them coming at home and 23 on the road. The Owls take on 16 (eight home, eight away) midweek tilts and opens ASUN action on the road at North Florida on March 31.
9. The Owls return 26 members from 2016, a team that won 17 games in the ASUN and became the first team since 2010 (FGCU) to win each regular-season conference series.

THE MATCHUPS

• KSU welcomes Georgia State to Kennesaw on Tuesday for a mid-week tilt, marking the 27^th all-time meeting between the two programs.
• The Owls and Panthers split the home-and-home series in 2016, as the two teams each scored six runs in the two games. KSU lost in Atlanta, 3-4, before defeating GSU 3-2 at Stillwell Stadium.
• Over the past three seasons, the two teams have gone an even 3-3 while Georgia State has slightly outscored Kennesaw State 32-27.
• Kennesaw State also welcomes Savannah State to campus on Wednesday as the Owls hold a 6-1 all-time series lead over the Tigers.
• The two in-state teams are just two of five D-I programs in the state of Georgia Kennesaw State will take on in 2017.

OFFENSIVE NUMBERS

• Kennesaw State put up 25 runs in three games over opening weekend, including a 17-run outburst versus Western Michigan on Friday night.
• The Owls broke a school record for most runs scored on opening night in D-I history, which was previously 15 runs that KSU scored over Wingate in 2000.
• Kennesaw State has scored 10 or more runs on opening day over the past three seasons. In fact, the Owls have scored 10 or more runs on opening day five times (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) since joining the ASUN in 2006.
• Junior first baseman Austin Upshaw enjoys competing against Western Michigan and on opening day. Upshaw totaled three hits and a home run in his Owl debut last year versus VCU before totaling another three hits and a homer this season. He is 6-for-10 with two home runs and three RBI on opening-day games the past two seasons.
• In fact, Upshaw went a combined 6-for-8 at the plate with six runs and four RBI in two games over Western Michigan the past two seasons. His five runs on opening day versus the Broncos tied a school record for most runs scored in a single game.
• Senior third baseman Jeremy Howell batted .500 in three games throughout opening weekend, totaling a run, a double and four RBI while slugging .600 and a .615 on-base percentage.
• Chris Erwin and Jake Franklin split time in center field throughout the weekend, with Erwin making two starts while Franklin started Saturday's contest versus BYU. The two each hit .500 at the plate, totaled a combined 7-for-14 (.500), scoring three runs, two doubles and two RBI.