By: Aury St. Germain
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Opponent | Stetson (16-19)
Date |Â April 18 / 19 / 20
Time |Â 6:30 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Location |Â Conrad Park
Live Stats |Â
Complete Series
Watch |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday
Pitching Matchup
Friday | RHPÂ
Brooks Buckler (2-3) vs. LHP Chris Gonzalez (5-0)
Saturday | LHPÂ
Ryan Kennedy (3-2) vs. LHP Daniel Paret (2-1)
Sunday | RHPÂ
Jake Rothwell (1-3) vs. RHP Robbie Peto (0-6)
Leadoff
•  KSU is coming off of a 7-0 loss at Mercer. It was an interesting game, as all seven runs that the Owls gave up were unearned.Â
•  Last weekend, KSU participated in their third weekend of ASUN play. The Owls dropped the first two contests, but  blanked FGCU in the third game of the series.
•  The starting pitching for KSU was impressive on Saturday's double-header against FGCU.
Ryan Kennedy pitched the first game, tossing 6.9 innings and recorded a career-high 8 strikeouts.
Jake Rothwell started the second game on the bump for KSU. He threw 4.0 innings of two-hit ball while
Jared Rine pitched 5.0 innings and gave up just one hit.
•  Kennesaw State is 3-8 in midweek contests in 2019.
•  Stillwell Stadium was packed on Wednesday (April 3) for the Georgia contest, as 1,402 fans squeezed into the bleachers to watch the game.
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Terence Norman belted a grand slam against UNCW for the first this season for the Owls.
• KSU dropped three games to Lipscomb to even its conference record to 3-3 after the weekend in Nashville.
• The Owls completed a sweep over North Alabama in its first weekend of conference play, moving the Owls to 3-0 in ASUN play.Â
•  The sweep over UMASS was the first sweep over an opponent this season.
• Kennesaw State is searching for its first win on the road this season. Currently, the Owls are 0-11 away from Stillwell Stadium.Â
• Kennesaw State has launched 27 dingers through 34 games this season, which ranks secondin the ASUN and 80th in the nation. The Owls are led by
Garrett Hodges, who has six moon shots.
•  Head Coach
Mike Sansing recorded another milestone in his career on Wednesday night against PC. With the win over PC, he captured his 1,000th win as the KSU skipper.
• The Owls' second weekend featured KSU 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.
•  The Owls rank 38th  in the country in sacrifice bunts, laying down 25 through 38 contests. This figure ranks third in the ASUN.
Pitchers
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Monty Horn has been lights out this season coming out of the pen. He gave up his first  earned run of the season against Lipscomb. He has pitched 10.0 innings and has struck out 15.
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Brendan Bickleman has pitched well for KSU, picking up two wins in three starts. He was featured as the Sunday starter for the Owls against UNCW.
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Brooks Buckler has been a unit on the mound this season for the Owls and has pitched at least 6.0 innings in his last five starts. He has unbeatable command as well - striking out 40 with just 10 walks on the year. His strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks second in the conference Â
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Jared Rine has been effective coming out of the bullpen for the Owls. As just a freshman, he as 24.2 innings pitched and has given up just five earned runs . He has 31 punchouts on the year, and has allowed just 15 hits. His best outing come against FGCU, where he pitched 5.0 innings of one-hit ball.
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Jared Staples has been the most familiar arm on the pitching staff this season, as he leads the team with 17 appearances. He has been effective in his 18.0 innings pitched, ranking sixth on the team in ERA (3.50) while recording 17 strikeouts.
•  The Bullpen has stayed balanced for the Owls this season, as 12 Owls have eight or more appearances this season.Â
•  After not pitching until March 6 against Georgia Tech,
Deviner McCray recorded  nine outings in the last three weeks of the March. After surrendering just one earned run in his first eight outings, he gave up three against Georgia Southern.
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Jake McLinskey has been a durable arm for the Owls so far. Of his 12 appearances on the year, he has a four starts. He has recorded a pair of wins and struck out 33 batters in 30.2 innings of work. He recorded his career-high in innings and strikeouts against North Alabama in his Friday start.
Outfielders
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Garrett Hodges has been an anchor in the Owls outfield and at the plate. He has two multi-home run games and is batting .266 this season. He leads the Owls and is third in the ASUN with six no-doubters and is fifth in RBIs with 28. He is looking to find his swing back after batting at a .157 clip over the last three weeks.
•  After newcomer
Alex Carballo had a dazzling debut for the Owls during opening weekend, in which he batted .417 with a home run, two RBIs and logged a team-high .667 slugging percentage, he has struggled to find his touch at the plate. He is batting .231 over the last three weeks and has drawn six walk.
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Terence Norman has found his bat in after struggling to begin the season. The junior is batting .323 with nine doubles, two home runs and 24 RBIs. He has been played well in the field, as he just has one error in 2019.
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Jake Franklin has been making an impact in the outfield this season, starting eight games in center field and one game in right and left.
Infielders
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Jake Franklin has been incredible this season. On the season, he is slashing .315/.528/.408. He also has stole six bases and has collected 23 RBIs. Against UNCW, he hit at a .333 clip with four RBIs, a double and a home run.
•  A.J. Willoughby has been seeing the field more often as of late. He started each game against FGCU in the field.Â
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Jaylen Smith has been a staple in the Owls lineup this season. He leads the team in at-bats (142).
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Justin Russell has taken advantage of the DH role this season. He is batting .311 with three home runs and six doubles. He also started last game at first base.
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Tyler Simon has found his bat over the last three weeks. He is batting .282 with a double, 4 RBIs and has had an on-base percentage of .362 over the span.Â
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David Chabut has put together an impressive start to his senior campaign. He has started all but one game, and is hitting .298 with two doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs. He is also second on the team with 71 assists in the field. Â
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Daniel Seres and
Tyler Tolve have split time behind the dish this season. Seres has been impressive in the field, boasting a .976 fielding percentage. He also hit two home runs in the second game against Binghamton.
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Tyler Tolve is making his mark early in his Owl career. In his first season donning black and gold, he is hitting at a .279 clip with eight RBIs and a double.
Series History
• These programs know each other well, meeting 42 times prior to 2019. The Owls hold a 22-20 advantage.Â
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