KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State baseball team began its postseason run against Lipscomb with a 14-1 rout of the Bisons Friday evening in the Stillwell Stadium.

The Bisons (18-28, 8-13) visitors scored the opening run before there was an out recorded in the game, but the Owls (28-20, 13-8) replied in a big way.
Jesse Sherrill came back to the lineup with aplomb, hitting a leadoff triple over the head of the Lipscomb left fielder. Catcher Tyler Tolve was the next batter up, grounding out to first base to score his teammate and tie the game. After a Bison error and a walk, first baseman Nick Hassan came to plate with the bases loaded. The former All-American Freshman knocked the first pitch he saw through the left side, capping KSU's three-run first inning with a two-run base hit.

The Owls continued to display their offensive prowess in the second inning, with a Tolve double extending the home lead to 5-1. With the sophomore advancing to third base after a ground out, Terence Norman brought Tolve over home base by running out a single to third base.
Following another KSU run scored off of a Lipscomb error in the fifth inning, the hosts exploded in the bottom frame of the sixth inning. Hassan found himself in the batter's box with the bases loaded once, refusing to disappoint with a one-bagger to right field. Tacking on an extra run off a wild pitch, third baseman Jake Coro busted the game wide open by keeping a moon shot down the right-field line fair. The three-run blast gave his team a 12-1 advantage, with the Kennesaw State No. 4 hitting his third homer of the year.

Owl ace Jake Rice exhibited another one of his staunch performances, allowing only one off of four hits. Striking out five Bisons in his ninth win of the season, a 12-1 lead no longer necessitated the talents of their Friday starter as he was relieved by Anthony Rodriguez.

There were two baserunners on for Coro once again, with the transfer from Southern New Hampshire pulling one through the left side for his fourth RBI of the game. The postseason opener will go in the books as Coro's best game in black and gold, with the graduate recording a new personal KSU best in RBI and going three-for-four on the day. Tolve would put an exclamation mark on the Owls' 14-run day, raking in his own fourth RBI of the day with a hot shot through the right side.

The 14-1 win matches KSU's biggest win of the season; a 13-run margin of victory also separated the Owls against Lipscomb in a 15-2 win back on March 20.

11 of the Owls' 14 runs came from three players: Coro, Tolve and Hassan.

Kennesaw State will hope to wrap up the best-of-three series against Lipscomb Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Stillwell Stadium.  

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