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KENNESAW, Ga. - Second baseman Jesse Sherrill hit the Kennesaw State baseball team's first grand slam of the season against Georgia Southern on Wednesday, but the Owls struggled to generate more offense in the 11-5 loss in the Stillwell Stadium.
The Owls (22-10, 10-2) were down 3-0 to Georgia Southern (22-14) in the bottom of the second inning, when Skylar McPhee was hit by a pitch. The play was called a foul ball at first, but the umpires convened and reversed the call. Tyler Simon then knocked a hard grounder over the dirt lip of the infield and over the Georgia Southern second baseman to advance McPhee to third base.
The first baseman would cross home plate soon enough, as Nick Hassan fizzed a pitch between GS's shortstop and third baseman for the host's first run of the day. Jake Coro stepped up and chopped an infield single to second base, loading the bases for the Owls.
Sherrill dug into the Stillwell batter box, having made his reputation this season as a speedster and contact hitter. The middle infielder turned on the first pitch, skying a deep fly ball to the right-field wall. The right-fielder kept moving back, but was unable to make a play on Sherrill's first home run of his college career. No other Owl has hit a grand slam this year, with the last one coming more than two years ago; Terence Norman hit the last Kennesaw State grand slam on April 6, 2019 against UNCW. Sherrill grabbed his team a 5-3 lead with one swing of the bat.
The five runs scored in the second inning were all the Owls could bat in on Wednesday night, while Georgia Southern scored in all but three innings. The Statesboro, Ga. team secured its 11-5 win with a three-up, three-down inning.
Kennesaw State will get the chance to get back in the win column with a weekend series against conference competition, starting a three-game set against Lipscomb on Friday at 5 p.m.
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.
