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KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State baseball team (8-5) started off conference play with a bang on Friday evening, shellacking Bellarmine (3-8) in Stillwell Stadium to the tune of a 9-1 scoreline.
Already having a season to remember, Jake Rice strode to the mound to get down to business for his fourth start of the season. The only real trouble the leftie experienced occurred in the first inning, when he let up a leadoff single. A ball struck a Bellarmine baserunner as he tried to steal second, which advanced the runner to third. Rice didn't waver; he struck out one batter and forced a flyout for the final out of the inning.
The Owls' bats started generating run support for their ace in the next frame, Alex Carballo kept up his astounding form with a one-run single to take the early lead. The center fielder swung for three base hits on the day, with one in the bottom of the fourth earning him his second RBI on the night. KSU would go on to score two more runs in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead into the second.
Logan Fink came up to bat in the bottom of the third inning and hit a pitch to third base. The Knight at the hot corner overthrew the ball above the first baseman's glove, scoring two runs to extend the Kennesaw State lead to five.
Head Coach Mike Sansing sent out Ryan Kennedy in the eighth inning as the Owls led 7-0, which ended Rice's line for the night. The six-foot-one hurler from Birmingham, Ala. threw seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball. The graduate student surrendered zero walks while striking out eight Knights; Rice's fourth win in as many games was his best performance as an Owl.
Nick Colina hit a double down the right-field line to start the bottom of the eighth and he crossed the plate thanks to Tyler Simon's single over the Bellarmine shortstop.
Gavin Patel had become a staple of the KSU lineup, starting the last two games. The Gordon State transfer came in as a pinch hitter and kept a right-field double fair to score Simon. The third baseman is already tied for fourth on the team in RBIs with six, despite only playing four games. This put the home team out in front 9-1, a scoreline the Owls kept with a three-up, three-down top of the ninth to secure the win.
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State baseball news, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
