WATCH FULL GAME

The Kennesaw State Athletic Department premiered its first OWLT of the Vault broadcast Friday morning, showcasing the KSU 1996 Division II Baseball Championship.

The game featured the 48-17 Owls squaring off with Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) at Paterson Field in Montgomery, Ala. After opening the year 5-6, KSU powered back to reach the championship after winning the South Atlantic Regional Tournament and sweeping through its first three games of the College World Series.

Led by first-year transfer pitcher Jason Childers, the Owl defense held the Pumas scoreless as Childers registered a complete game shutout tossing seven strikeouts while allowing seven hits across nine innings.

Chris Halliday was the driving force behind KSU’s offense, blasting a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. Halliday completed the two-out rally after Joe Parks and Nathan Cothran kept the Owls alive with back-to-back singles.

Parks came around to score once again in the fifth inning after swiping second and scoring of a shallow single from Cothran to push the lead to 4-0.

The Owl defense buckled down to keep SJU off the board to earn the shutout.

After going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, one run scored and a single shy of the cycle, Halliday was named the game’s MVP. The win marked KSU’s second national championship in three years after winning the 1994 NAIA trophy.

Full 1996 NCAA Division II National Championship Team Season Recap - After beginning the season 5-6, the Owls rebounded to go 43-11 the rest of the way finishing 48-17 to claim their first NCAA Division II National Championship with a win over St. Joseph’s (Ind.) at Paterson Field in Montgomery, Ala. After finishing second to Columbus State in both the Peach Belt Athletic Conference (PBAC) regular season (17-6) and tournament the Owls beat the Cougars when it counted the most – by taking 2-out-of-3 games in the South Atlantic Regional Tournament to advance to the college world series. Playing at Paterson Field for the first time, KSU swept its way to a second national crown by going 4-0 in the tournament. Jason Childers capped off a season of perfection (12-0, 2.01 ERA) by pitching the game of his life. The junior fired a seven-hit, complete-game shutout in the 4-0 title game win. For the season, Childers was named PBAC and South Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year along with earning First Team All-American status. Junior catcher Chris Halliday (.354, 10 HR, 48 RBI) also had a season to remember that ended with him being named First Team All-South Atlantic Region and All-PBAC along with garnering the MVP of the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. Other key contributors for the Owls on the mound were pitchers Matt Houmes (6-3, 2.78 ERA), Derek Perkins (7-3, 3.52 ERA), Chris Bowen (5-1, 3.45 ERA) and Alex Garcia (5-2, 2.96 ERA). Hitting notables in addition to Halliday were Brian Mallette (.360, 34 RBI, 21 SB), Joe Parks (.356, 37 RBI, 37 SB), Nathan Cothran (.306, 57 RBI), Brannon Whatley (.300, 31 RBI) and Brian McDevitt (.273, 48 RBI). Childers, Halliday and Parks were selected to the All-Region team.