By: Matteen Zibanejadrad
UP NEXT TO PLATE
The Kennesaw State baseball team (19-9, 7-2) caps its long road trip with a weekend series against Bellarmine (10-19, 5-7), whom the Owls swept in three games in mid-March. Right fielder Terence Norman was the star of the show that weekend, hitting 5-for-15 with a home run and nine RBIs.
Opponent: Bellarmine
Location: Louisville, Ky. | Knights Field
GAME ONE
Date: Friday, April 16
Time: 2:00 p.m. EST
Starting Pitching
KSU: LHP Jake Rice (5-0, 1.67 ERA)
BU: TBA
Live Stats
GAME TWO
Date: Saturday, April 17
Time: 2:00 p.m. EST
Starting Pitching
KSU: RHP Luke Torbert (4-1, 4.42 ERA)
BU: TBA
Live Stats
GAME THREE
Date: Sunday, April 18
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Starting Pitching
KSU: LHP Ryan Kennedy (3-0, 5.22 ERA)
BU: TBA
Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
The Kennesaw State Owls had an eight-game winning streak snapped by Jacksonville State, after the Gamecocks won 8-4 to avenge their previous 12-10 loss against KSU earlier in the season.
Tyler Tolve went two-for-three, knocking in runs with two one-run base hits.
TERRIFIC TOLVE
Tolve's 2021 display so far has shown why he was a selection in the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team. The Owls' no. 1 choice behind the plate has hit the ball for both contact and power.
The six-foot-two sophomore leads Kennesaw State in home runs with five, and finds himself in the ASUN's top 10 in the following categories: second in RBIs with 32, he is tied-for-fourth in home runs with five, sixth in batting average with a .345 and fifth in slugging percentage with a .543.
RICE AND SHINE
Kennesaw State's ace Jake Rice continues to collect accolades, despite being unavailable for last weekend's series sweep against North Alabama.
David Seifert of D1Baseball.com ranked the top 100 draft-eligible pitchers from an analytical standpoint, and the graduate pitcher ranked 69th on the list.
Rice will return to the top of the rotation this weekend, as the Birmingham, Ala. native remains the current ERA leader in the ASUN. He is the only conference hurler that possesses an ERA below 2.00.
CREAM OF THE CROP
The Owls lead the ASUN in multiple categories and are one of the four conference teams with a winning record.
No ASUN team has scored as many runs as Kennesaw State this season, with the Owls scoring 215 over their 28 games. That adds up to an impressive 7.68 runs per game average for KSU.
The .288 collective batting average for the team is tops in the ASUN and the Owls are also the most walked team; however, Kennesaw State's tremendous offense isn't the only facet of the team that is firing on all cylinders.
KSU has turned two the most times in the league with Tyler Simon and Jesse Sherrill contributing a majority of the team's 27 double plays.
STELLAR SIMON
The College Baseball Foundation named Kennesaw State shortstop Tyler Simon in its 100-player watchlist for the 2021 Brooks Wallace Award on Tuesday.
The honor is awarded to the player considered to be the best college baseball shortstop of the year and Simon was one of four ASUN players selected to the watchlist. Former winners of the Brooks Wallace Award include the Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson, the Washington Nationals' Trea Turner and the Houston Astros' Alex Bregman.
