KENNESAW, Ga.- The Owls came up just short against Liberty 5-3 in game one of the three-game set on Friday night.
 
Liberty took the first lead of the game in the third inning with an RBI single to left field before tacking on two more runs in the fourth.
 
The game then went into a lightning delay before returning to action half-an-hour later.
 
Justin Russell continued his impressive run of late, belting his third home run in four games to bring the Owls within one run in the bottom of the fourth. 
 
After a scoreless fifth inning from both sides, Kennesaw State knotted the game at three runs in the sixth inning. Following a single from Jake Franklin, Terence Norman doubled to score Franklin and even the ballgame.
 
The Flames answered quickly, scoring a pair of runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 lead. The Owls put a runner on base in the ninth inning after David Chabut singled with two outs, but he was stranded there and the Owls fell in game one.
 
Brooks Buckler started and tossed 6.2 innings for Kennesaw State, yielding five runs and seven hits. The senior added a pair of strikeouts to his line. Brian Exley was tremendous in relief, hurling the final 2.1 innings while striking out four in his scoreless outing. 
 
Franklin, Norman and Russell each added a pair of hits in the loss, while Russell collected a pair of RBIs.
 
The Owls will look to bounce back tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Stillwell Stadium.