PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Owls offense exploded for 31 runs on 35 hits in the doubleheader sweep of NJIT on Saturday (April 27).
 
The Owls took game one 13-11 before winning game to 18-8.
 
Game 1
 
After just five combined runs from both squads in the first seven innings, the Owls and the Highlanders put together 18 combined runs in the last three frames.
 
With winds howling in New Jersey, both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings of the first game. 
 
Nick Colina led off the third inning with a double to right field. He was held 90 feet from home plate after swiping third and the Owls were blanked.
 
The Highlanders took advantage of a Kennesaw State error to score their first run of the ballgame and took a 2-0 lead after a solo home run in third inning.
 
Kennesaw State had an opportunity to score in the fifth inning, after David Chabut led off with a single and Colina was hit by a pitch. After Jaylen Smith followed with a sacrifice bunt, the runners were stranded on second and third.
 
NJIT put the first two runners on in the fifth inning with two singles, but Brooks Buckler punched out the next two hitters. With a pair of outs and down to their final strike in the inning, the Highlanders hit a three-run home run to take a 5-0 lead.
 
Jaylen Smith put the first run on the board for the Owls in the seventh inning with a double to left field to score Justin Russell. After Tyler Tolve grounded out, Tyler Simon drew a walk to load the bases. Three Owls were stranded in the seventh inning after Jake Franklin grounded out to first base.
 
The Owls put together a miraculous eighth inning, tallying nine runs on seven hits. Justin Russell carried his hot bat into the eighth inning as he mashed a two-run home run to cut the NJIT lead to 5-3 to begin the rally.
 
Smith pushed a run across to make it 5-4, which was followed by a Highlander error that allowed the Owls to tie the game. Simon brought home Smith with a single before Jake Franklin tripled to center field to plate Simon and Tolve. Terence Norman finished the Owls run in the eighth with a two-run home run to push the lead to 10-5.
 
The Highlanders were not done there, as they plated five runs in the eighth inning.
 
Following NJIT tying the game in the eighth, the Owls took the lead in the ninth. After Colina drew a walk, Tolve drove him home with a single up the middle. Tyler Simon followed with a two-run home run to give the Owls the 13-10 edge.
 
NJIT hit a home run in the ninth, but it was not enough, as the Owls took the contest, 13-11.
 
Brooks Buckler started the game for the Owls and tossed 7.0 innings and punched out six. Jake Mclinckey came in relief, before Deviner McCray earned the win. 
 
Game Two
 
The hot bats that both teams possessed in the late innings of game one were not present in  the opening frame of the second game as each team went down in order.
 
The Owls scored their first run in the second inning when Jaylen Smith dropped a single into left field to score Garrett Hodges after he led off with a double to center. NJIT evened the game in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single.
 
It did not take long for the Owls to find their bats back as Norman smoked a two-out double in the third inning. Hodges followed with an RBI single before Russell smashed his second home run of the day to extend the Owl lead to 4-1.
 
Kennesaw State exploded for nine more runs in the fourth inning of game two. After Smith drew a one-out walk, Tolve doubled to move Smith around to third. Simon singled during the ensuing at-bat to score Smith. 
 
Jake Franklin followed with a double to right-center field to score Simon and Tolve. After Norman flew out to right field, Hodges doubled to score Franklin. Hodges touched the pentagon after Russell singled up the middle. The Highlanders then walked Chabut, hit Darius Diaz and walked Smith to load the bases. Tolve cleared the base paths with a triple to left-center field to push the Owl lead to 13-1.
 
The Owls tallied five more runs in the fifth inning to push the lead to 18-3. Russell doubled to score Franklin for the Owls first run of the frame before Smith was hit by a pitch to score the second run. Tolve singled up the middle to score Chabut to make it 16-3 before Simon drew a walk for the Owls' 17th run of the ballgame.
 
Franklin singled to score Smith for the final run of the fifth.
 
NJIT pushed two across in the seventh frame to cut the lead to 18-5. Max Ryan saw his first action of the season in the seventh and punched out his first batter of 2019.
 
Neither team scored in the eighth and the Highlanders scored three in the ninth, but it was not enough as the Owls captured the series with the 18-8 win.

Ryan Kennedy began the game on the bump for KSU and picked up his fourth win of the season. Brian Exley, Max, Ryan Monty Horn and Rhian Mann all saw action out of the bullpen. The Owls look for the sweep tomorrow at noon.