By: Zac Pike
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State baseball hosts the Mercer Bears for a midweek contest on Wednesday night at Stillwell Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The Owls and the Bears are familiar with one another on the diamond, as Wednesday's meeting will be the 38th matchup in series history.
The Rundown
Matchup: Mercer Bears (16-9, 2-1 SoCon) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (11-11, 3-3 ASUN)
Date: Mar. 29
Site: Stillwell Stadium, Kennesaw, Ga.
TV: KSU Owl Network
Game Notes: KSU
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Parking: Student Center Visitor Lot, East Deck, Town Point Economy Lot -
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2023 Schedule: Click Here
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Wednesday vs. Mercer
First Pitch: 6:00 p.m.
KSU: RHP
Tanner Franklin
Mercer: RHP Walt Thomas
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THE SERIES
The Owls and Bears have met 37 times on the diamond, with Mercer holding a 24-13 advantage in the series.
THE LAST MATCHUP
KSU and Mercer met twice in 2021, with the Bears getting both wins.
SEVEN OWLS NEAR THE TOP OF THE ASUN
Several Owls are leading the charge at the top of the ASUN Conference in multiple categories.
Brayden Eidson leads the ASUN with a .433 batting average. Senior
Nick Colina is in the top four of the ASUN in several categories. The Dallas, Ga. native leads the ASUN in triples (4) and is fourth in walks (20) and second in OBP (.505). Freshman
Jackson Chirello's 10 doubles are tied for second.
Donovan Cash is ninth with 25 RBIs.
Zac Corbin's seven steals rank 10th in the ASUN.
Smith Pinson has been electric out of the pen this season, pitching 15.1 innings and has yet to give up an earned run.
Blake Wehunt and
Nick Zegna are tied for seventh in the league with 38 strikeouts each.
EIDSON DOES IT ALL
Junior
Brayden Eidson has shown that he can do it all through the first part of the new season. The Owls' utility player leads the team in batting average (.433) and has also dominated on the mound as a pitcher. In the midweek versus Clemson (Mar. 22), Eidson tossed a season-high six innings and set a new career-high with six strikeouts. To top it all off, he homered at the plate and was only a triple shy of the cycle.
THE BABY OWLS
During Opening Weekend, Kennesaw State baseball played 14 student-athletes who were either freshmen or sophomores. The underclassmen consisted of eight position players.
CASH MONEY
Donovan Cash put together an incredible weekend against LIU (Feb. 24-26). The KSU first baseman homered in all three games and finished the series 8-for-14 with 10 RBI to earn ASUN Conference Player of the Week honors.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
Coach Coe and his staff focused on recruiting high school talent during their first, full, recruiting cycle at Kennesaw State. The class features 13 true freshmen and were ranked as the No. 57 class out of 302 Division I programs by Perfect Game USA. Two of these players,
Jackson Chirello and
Tanner Franklin, were also named to the Perfect Game Top 100 Freshmen List prior to the season.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Second baseman
Zac Corbin was the lone Owl selected to the 2023 ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team. The Jefferson, Ga. native started 59 games in 2022 and compiled a .304 batting average with six home runs, 10 doubles, one triple and 37 RBI.
DIAMOND DEBUTS
The Owls feature many new faces on the diamond in the 2023 campaign. 21 out of the 37 players on this year's squad are in their first season with KSU baseball. This accounts for 57% of the team's roster.
WEHUNT'S HOT START
Blake Wehunt has dominated all season and was moved to the Friday night starter against Michigan. In his outing, the 6'7 right hander set a then career high in both innings pitched (6.1) and strikeouts (9) to earn his second win of the year. Wehunt was selected as the ASUN Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance.
LOTS OF OFFENSE
The Owls' offense compiled 46 runs and 46 hits in their three-game series against LIU (Feb. 24-26). KSU connected for seven home runs on the weekend, with two triples and eight doubles. In game two, KSU scored 19 runs to post the second most in a single game in the last five seasons behind the 23 it scored last year versus Stetson (May 13, 2022).
OPENING WEEKEND SUCCESS
Over the last decade, KSU baseball has posted success on Opening Weekend. Since 2012, the Owls have collected a record of 25-14 in their first series of a new season. This season, KSU took two-of-three from New Orleans.
ON DECK
KSU heads to the state of Alabama for a three-game series at Jacksonville State starting Friday at 7 p.m. (ET).
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.
