ON DECK

1. After falling to a 1-2 overall mark after opening weekend, Kennesaw State rebounded with a 3-1 week with wins over Savannah State and taking two of three from Winthrop to put its overall record at 4-3.
2. The Owls batted .338 (50-for-148) over the four games, totaling 14 doubles, one triple and two home runs to outscore opponents by a commanding 33-9 advantage. Kennesaw State slugged .486 as a team and totaled an on-base percentage of .424.
3. KSU's pitching staff was excellent last week, holding opponents to a .185 batting average over four games, allowing just nine runs (eight earned) and totaled a 2.00 ERA for the week. Mason Ward, AJ Moor and Gabe Friese earned wins on the mound, while senior Brock Turner picked up his first career save over the weekend.
4. Kennesaw State travels to Georgia and Georgia Tech for a pair on non-conference midweek trips against in-state Power 5 opponents. The Owls and Bulldogs kick off the week with a 5 p.m. contest on SEC Network Plus at Foley Field, before KSU travels to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets for a 6 p.m. game at Russ Chandler Stadium.
5. The Owls have played both Georgia and Georgia Tech in every season since joining the ASUN Conference and D-I ranks in 2006, and has defeated both opponents on the road with a 4-2 win over UGA in 2016 and an 11-6 victory over GT in 2015 in recent years.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Head Coach Mike Sansing is back for his 26^th season with the Black and Gold. He is the second-youngest coach on the 1,000-win list, and is one of 13 active coaches with 1,000 victories who have coaches at least 10 seasons of D-I baseball.

THINGS TO KNOW

• Senior Erich Stahl was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, which the award is given to the top reliever in all of D-I Collegiate Baseball. Stahl totaled eight saves and a 3.67 ERA in his first season with the Owls.
• Senior Jeremy "Worm" Howell has started 125 games and played in 161 games in the Black and Gold uniform. If he continues his pace for games played, the senior should end his career in the Top 10 for games played and started.
• Grant Williams provided consistency in the lineup in 2016 and totaled 17 multi-hit games and will enter 2017 on a 13-game hitting streak. Williams' hitting streak of 15 regular season games ended on Wednesday (Feb. 22), going 0-for-4 at the dish.
• Williams has two multi-hit games in 2017, with a two-hit game and a three-hit game and is batting .308 over his last three games (Wintrhop series).
• The Owls' seven-run second inning explosion Sunday afternoon versus Winthrop marked the first time since March 24, 2013 KSU plated seven in a single game at Stillwell Stadium
• The seven-run inning marked the fifth time since 2013 the Owls scored seven runs in a single inning – 200 plus games over that span, including putting up seven in one inning against Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium on April 21, 2015.

UP, UP AND AWAY

• Austin Upshaw was a unanimous ASUN Preseason All-Conference selection after totaling a .344 BA and led the team with 72 hits, 13 doubles, seven HR and ranked second on the club with 39 RBI.
• Upshaw batted .500 (7-for-14) at the plate, totaled three doubles, five RBI and a .714 slugging percentage and .611 on-base percentage last week, helping the Owls go 3-1.
• The Buford, Ga., native, scored five runs on Opening Day versus Western Michigan, which tied a single-game record in KSU history. He also drove in four RBI Sunday afternoon versus Winthrop, which tied his single-game career high.
• The junior ranks second on the team (Jeremey Howell, four) with three multi-hit games, including a team-leading two three-hit games to boost his .423 (11-for-26) batting average. Upshaw leads the team with 11 hits, five doubles and ranks second (Taylor Allum, nine) with seven RBI.

DYNAMIC FRESHMAN DUO

• Freshman duo Terence Norman and Garrett Hodges each made their debut in the lineup last Wednesday versus Savannah State, going a combined 6-for-9 with two RBI.
• Norman fell a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, and drove in  a run in his first at-bat with the Owls to jumpstart his 3-for-6 night at the plate. In two starts, Norman is batting 4-for-8 (.500) with a double, triple and two RBI, and is slugging .875% with an on-base percentage of .500.
• Meanwhile. Hodges leads all hitters, going 5-for-9 (.556) and five total bases and two walks and a .636 on-base percentage in three games.