KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State baseball team honored 14 departing seniors in a slugfest with Liberty, who edged out the Owls in a 12-11 Saturday afternoon contest in the Stillwell Stadium. 

Malik Spratling crushed three home runs in a trifecta of consecutive at-bats off of a trio of different Liberty pitchers, setting a new KSU record for home runs in a single game. 

The Flames (35-11, 19-1) got the scoring started with a three-run shot in the first inning, and the Owls (26-19, 12-8) answered back in the fourth inning with a Brayden Eidson RBI sacrifice bunt. 

Down 7-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Spratling smacked his first home run off the roof of the Bailey Complex to make it 7-3; however, the Flames couldn't stop scoring and extending their lead. 

The Owls' designated hitter reared his head again, with a three-run Spratling bomb to right field to cut the Flames' advantage to 9-6.

The home team were down six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Kennesaw State wouldn't go down without a fight. The Owls loaded the bases with a Jesse Sherrill single and two straight walks to Alex Carballo and Tyler Tolve. Left fielder Garrett Hodges brought the Stillwell Stadium crowd to their feet with a grand slam to right-center field. KSU still had two runs to make up and tie the game. 

Hitting only one homer as an Owl before today, Spratling came up to plate again. He took one ball before taking a pitch deep and keeping it just fair to make Owl history. The designated hitter became the first ever Kennesaw State baseball player to hit three home runs in a single game.

The amazing KSU comeback would end there however, as Liberty made the great escape with a 12-11 win.

The Owls end the series Sunday afternoon, with a finale against Liberty at 1 p.m. in the Stillwell Stadium. 

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.