GAME DAY INFORMATION
Opponent: No. 9 Georgia
Date:  Feb. 27
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Foley Field  

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KSU Notes

Leadoff

•  KSU is coming off a weekend which featured the Owls winning two games. The Owls played a double-header on Saturday, losing the first game 5-2, but came back and won the second contest 5-2. Kennesaw State won the series with a convincing 11-5 win over Towson on Sunday.

•  This is the first road test for Kennesaw State.

•  Garrett Hodges turned in a career-best day at the plate on Sunday against Towson. He went 3-for-3 for a pair of home runs and a double. The five RBIs were a career high along with it being his first multi-home run game. Over the weekend, he hit .455 with a slugging percentage of 1.091.

•  Third baseman David Chabut produced at the plate this weekend after batting at a .667 clip with six hits , including a double and an RBI. He recorded a weekend on-base percentage of .727.

•  The Owls rank 13th in the country in stolen bases per game through two weekends, swiping 2.67 bases per game. Against Towson, KSU stolen 11 bases and was caught just once.

•  The starting pitching was exceptional for the Owls over the first weekend. Buckler pitched well against West Virginia, completing 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and allowing just one run. On Saturday, Kennedy pitched 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and allowed just two hits. In his KSU debut, Coburn struck out seven Spiders in just 3.1 innings of work.

•  The pitching staff only allowed just two extra base hits in the first three games. After a triple from West Virginia, Richmond doubled for the only other two-plus bagger of the weekend.

•  The Owls bats were hot during opening weekend. The offense yielded 10 extra base hits, including a pair of home runs from Alex Carballo and Terence Norman. Kennesaw State finished the weekend with a team slash of .308/.442/.405.

•  After returning from an injury suffered last season, Jaylen Smith led the Owls at the plate this past weekend. The senior batted .462 with six hits, a pair of RBIs and two doubles. He also stole two bases.

•  Newcomer Alex Carballo had a dazzling debut for the Owls last weekend. He batted .417 with a home run, two RBIs and logged a team-high .667 slugging percentage.

•  The Owls are coming off a 25-30 2018 campaign in which Kennesaw State finished third in the ASUN conference. 

• Tyler Simon and Terence Norman were selections for the 2019 ASUN Preseason All-Conference team. Last season, Norman was tabbed a First Team All-Conference player while Simon was named to the Second Team.

•  KSU started the 2018 strong, and found itself sitting at 24-18 on April 27. Vying for another conference championship, the Owls  dropped their final 12 out of 13 games, with the sole win coming against NJIT (7-2).

• The pitching staff for the Owls is the most experienced group for the 2019 Kennesaw State squad. 15 out of the 19 pitchers off the 2019 roster were on the team last season. Three freshman arms are featured on this year's staff and one transfer junior, Josh Coburn.

Series History
• Georgia holds a 15-9 advantage in the series and won both of the meeting in 2018.

Pitching Matchup
RHP Jake Rothwell (0-1)
LHP C.J. Smith (0-0)

2019 Roster Breakdown
Kennesaw State baseball features 35 student-athletes, including 18 pitchers and 17 position players. The pitching staff is the most familiar group, with 15 players returning from last season, with two freshman and one transfer joining the staff.

Out of the 10 infielders on the roster, the Owls return six and welcome four new faces. David Chabut is the most experienced on the dirt, having already made 140 starts in an Owls uniform over the last three seasons. Simon is also is featured in the infield, who was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American.

The outfield has more new faces than returning ones, with four first-timers and three players that have donned the Black and Gold before. Just Terence Norman,  Jake Franklin and Garrett Hodges are familiar with the grass at Stillwell Stadium. 

Diaper Dandy
Tyler Simon was phenomenal in 2018 and became a staple in the Owl's infield after making 40 starts in the Black and Gold. For his efforts, he was named as a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. The freshman third baseman was second on the team batting .311. He scored 36 runs and had a slash of .311/.435/.371.

Senior SZN
Jaylen Smith returns to a starting role in 2019 after playing 31 games, with 30 being starts. He was limited last season and missed a large part of the season with an injury. During his time on the field, he batted .271 with a slugging percentage of .424 and an on-base percentage of .320. Despite missing over 20 contests, he finished fifth on the team with 22 RBIs.

#ProOwls
Currently, Kennesaw State baseball has 10 players in Major League systems. The newest additions are Grant Williams (10th Round, Boston Red Sox) and A.J. Moore (10th Round, Cincinnati Reds).

Up Next
The Owls welcome UT-Martin for a three-game set March 1-3.

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