Box Score
STATESBORO, Ga. – Kennesaw State baseball earned a hard-fought win over No. 24 Georgia Southern by a score of 5-3 on Tuesday night inside J.I. Clements Stadium. With the victory, the Owls (25-15, 13-5 ASUN Conference) ended the Eagles (27-13, 14-4 Sun Belt Conference) 10-game home win streak that dated back to Mar. 22. The win also gives KSU its first victory in Statesboro since April of 2018.
Kennesaw State used four different pitchers in the contest who combined for three inning-ending double plays. The Owls limited Georgia Southern to only five hits and tallied eight total strikeouts on the night.
Jared Rine made his 14th appearance of the year and threw the final three innings of the ballgame. The closer allowed only one hit and struck out three. With the KSU win, Rine secured his team-leading sixth save.
Luke Torbert made his third start on the mound and tossed 2.2 innings. The senior allowed three runs on four hits and punched out four Eagle batters.
Miller Riggins (1-0) was the first Owl to enter out of the bullpen and threw 1.2 scoreless innings. The freshman earned the first win of his collegiate career and allowed zero hits with two strikeouts. Riggins has now posted back-to-back outings without surrendering a hit.
Nathan Holler took over with one out in the bottom of the fifth. The right-hander struck out two and like Riggins, did not allow a base hit. Holler forced a huge double play to get KSU out of a jam to preserve the lead.
The Kennesaw State offense compiled seven hits. Five starters added one base knock while two added multi-hit performances.
Donovan Cash paced the offense and finished 2-for-3 with a home run and double. The Owls' clean-up hitter recorded three RBI on the night and has drove in nine runs in his last four starts.
Zac Corbin added another multi-hit night with a 2-for-3 performance. The KSU outfielder extended his hit streak to eight and has posted 13 hits during that span. Corbin also scored one run and tallied one RBI in the contest.
Tyler Simon did it all for Kennesaw State and went 1-for-3 with two walks. Simon stole two bases, scored two runs, and assisted in three KSU double plays. The shortstop has scored five times in his last four games.
One game after setting his career-high for hits in a game,
Spencer Hanson continued to be productive as the Owls' designated hitter. The junior had a 1-for-3 night at the plate with a big RBI in the fourth. Hanson is currently on a four-game hit streak and has tallied six RBI over that span.
Cash Young also added a base hit for the Owls on his 23rd birthday. The third baseman finished 1-for-5 in the three-hole of the Kennesaw State lineup.
KSU added two runs in the top of the first to take an early lead. Simon singled and stole second with two outs in the frame. Cash belted an RBI double off the right field wall and crossed home plate when Corbin singled on an 0-2 pitch.
Georgia Southern scored one in the first and two in the third to take a 3-2 lead.
Corbin led off the Owls' fourth with a walk and then advanced to second when
Hudson Mimbs was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position before Hanson tied the game with a fielder's choice RBI.
The Owls regained the lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Cash. Two innings later, the KSU first baseman hit his fourth home run on the season to put Kennesaw State up, 5-3, which would hold as the final.
KSU is back in action tomorrow for game two of its midweek series with Georgia Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. inside J.I. Clements Stadium and will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
To keep up with the latest on the Kennesaw State baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsBaseball or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook and Instagram.
