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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Kennesaw State baseball team (22-9, 10-2) secured the season sweep of Bellarmine (10-22, 5-10) in an 11-7 Sunday afternoon showing in Louisville, Ky.
The Owls were the first team to add to the run column for the tenth straight game, when center fielder Alex Carballo doubled to the outfield to bring Jesse Sherrill home for the first-inning lead; however, Bellarmine was able to tie up the game in the bottom frame with a home run down the right-field line.
Sherrill would get involved again with a base knock to center field, scoring Logan Fink after the first baseman's two-out hit.
The Kennesaw State bats could not be extinguished while Ryan Kennedy was keeping the Knights at bay. The starting pitcher was able to keep Bellarmine to just one run for six innings.
Garrett Hodges joined in on the action with a one-run single of his own and Fink was plunked with the bases loaded to extend the Owls' lead to 4-1 in the third inning.
The Owls created real distance between themselves and the Knights in the fourth inning and it all started with a leadoff single off the bat of Tolve. Carballo came up clutch again with his second RBI double of the game. Joseph Gossett then earned his third RBI of the season, scoring Carballo off of a failed fielder's choice by the Knight's infield. Hodges followed Carballo's lead with an RBI double of his own, with Tyler Simon capping the four-run fourth inning with a hot shot through the right side. This was the end of a streak of seven unanswered runs for Kennesaw State and the Owls led 8-1 with a little more than half of the game to go.
Both offenses remained quiet for three innings, until Bellarmine mounted its own four-run rally in the seventh inning. Jared Rine would then come in to relieve Ryan Kennedy.
KSU could sense the need for late insurance runs and Tolve delivered once again with a right-field double to score the speedy Sherrill. Terence Norman would seem to put the stake in the Knights' chances with a two-run bomb to left field, his fifth of the year.
Despite the Owls being up 11-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Bellarmine attempted the late comeback with a two-run home run. Rine was able to stay composed and slam the door shut on the Knights, earning the team its third series sweep in a row.
Kennedy was given the decision for his third win in a row. The Owls remain undefeated against Bellarmine this year, winning all six games.
With the Owls' tenth conference win of the year and winning 11 of their last 12, KSU will look to stay hot as they return home to face Georgia Southern on Wednesday. The 5 p.m. faceoff will be the first game at Stillwell Stadium since the 5-1 win over Georgia State on March 29.
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.
