HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It took extra innings for Kennesaw State baseball to be eliminated from the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional, as the team fell to the top seed, Southern Miss, by a score of 4-3 in 10 innings. The Owls ended their season with a 36-28 record and posted the most wins in a season since 2014.
"This has been a great experience for everybody involved," said head coach Ryan Coe. "I think we've exceeded any expectations we had going in. Credit to all the guys on the team who never quit. Even though we lost a couple of games here, both of those games represent how we played all year. I'm very proud of all those guys. We did a really good job to be able to battle back and have a chance in the end, but we couldn't quite finish it off."
John Bezdicek made his 17th start and tossed 5.1 innings. The southpaw pitched on one day of rest and allowed one hit against a high-powered USM lineup. Bezdicek struck out four and ended his collegiate career with 307 total punchouts.
With Bezdicek's second strikeout, the Kennesaw State pitching staff set a new program record for team punchouts in a single season. The staff ended the year with 506 total to break the previous record of 496 set back in 2009.
Brayden Eidson entered in relief and threw three innings. The left-hander recorded four clutch strikeouts and surrendered only one earned run. Eidson also added an RBI single in the contest.
Offensively, Kennesaw State collected seven hits and was led by Nick Hassan who contributed a 2-for-3 afternoon. Hassan ended the tournament with five base knocks and was the only Owl that posted two-or-more hits in today's game.
Tyler Simon ended his KSU career as the all-time leader in games played with 235. The shortstop finished 1-for-5 with a run scored on the afternoon.
Cash Young scored two of the three Kennesaw State runs, including the go-ahead in the ninth inning. The third baseman contributed a 1-for-4 day at the plate with a double. Young ends the season as the KSU record-holder for most home runs in a single season (17).
Mason Jones entered in the eighth and recorded a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth. On the first pitch of his at-bat, the catcher lined a fastball back up the middle to score Young from second base and put the Owls ahead, 3-2.
Southern Miss scored the tying run with one out in the ninth and ended the game with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th.
With the loss, Coe's first year as the head coach of Kennesaw State comes to an end. In his debut season, the Owls were crowned ASUN Conference Tournament Champions, ASUN Eastern Division Co-Champions and earned the team's first appearance in an NCAA Regional since 2014.
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.
