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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State baseball blasted three home runs to defeat the University of New Orleans 8-4 on Sunday afternoon at Stillwell Stadium. With the win, the Owls (2-1) secured the weekend series over the Privateers (1-2) and improved to 25-14 on Opening Weekend since 2012 .

With the series on the line, the Owls turned to freshman Braden Osbolt on the mound. The right hander went 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. He ended the afternoon with three strikeouts in his collegiate debut.

Smith Pinson (1-0) entered with runners on base in the fifth and worked 3.1 innings while picking up the win. The 6'8 righty kept the Privateers off-balanced and allowed zero runs on two hits in his first outing of the season.    

Nolan Sliver entered with the bases loaded in the ninth and secured the first save of his collegiate career. The righty got two outs to lock up the victory for the Owls.

The Kennesaw State offense stayed hot and collected 10 hits on the afternoon. The team finished Opening Weekend with 32 total knocks and combined for 24 runs in the three-game series.

Nick Colina paved the way out of the two spot in the Owl lineup with a 3-for-4 performance. The senior launched his first long ball of the year and ended with two triples. He also tied a career-high with four RBI in the contest.

Spencer Hanson and Mason Jones went deep with back-to-back blasts in the fourth inning. Hanson ended the day 2-for-4 with two RBI while Jones finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Hanson collected four RBI on the weekend.

New Orleans got on the board in the top of the third inning. Two hits followed by two KSU fielding errors allowed the Privateers to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

The Owls answered in the bottom half when Colina launched a two-out homer to right field that tied the score, 2-2.  The long ball was the first of the year for the outfielder and ninth of his career.

Kennesaw State continued to flex its power in the next half inning when Hanson and Jones went back-to-back to give KSU a 4-2 lead. The homers marked the fourth and fifth for the Owls on Opening Weekend.

New Orleans cut the deficit to one with a solo shot in the fifth, but the KSU offense answered with two more runs of its own. Corbin led off with an infield single then scored when Colina slashed a triple to left-center field.

Donovan Cash followed with a double that stayed just inside the third base line to plate the second run of the inning for the Owls. This increased the KSU advantage to 6-3.

With two outs in the sixth New Orleans threatened, but a beautiful relay from Colina to Jay Knowles to Jones nailed the diving runner at the plate. This ended the frame and kept the Owl lead at three.

Kennesaw State added one run in both the seventh and eighth innings to push the score to 8-3. Colina's second triple of the afternoon drove in the final Owl run before he was thrown out at the plate attempting the rare inside-the-park home run.

UNO scored one run in the ninth before Sliver slammed the door to end the game.

KSU is back in action next Friday, Feb. 24 for a three-game series with Long Island University (LIU). First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. inside Stillwell Stadium. Click here to purchase tickets.

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.