JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Kennesaw State (12-13, 4-4) rallied in the eighth inning by scoring seven runs to roll past Jacksonville State 7-4 Saturday night at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth, the Owls stormed back with a big rally and KSU's bullpen shut down the Gamecocks (14-13, 7-1) over the final three innings to even the series.
In his seventh start of the season,
Braden Osbolt pitched six innings, allowed three earned runs, and added two strikeouts. Osbolt has given up fewer than three earned runs in six of seven starts on the mound.
Nolan Sliver earned his first career win after entering the bottom of the seventh and held Jax State scoreless.
Smith Pinson closed out the final two innings for the Owls and got his third save of the season.
Offensively,
Hudson Mimbs and
Jackson Chirello led the Owls with two hits and an RBI each.
Wade Richardson finished the night 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a walk.
Tyler Franks went 1-for-3 with a three-run blast and
Brayden Eidson added his first career triple to power the KSU offense.
Nick Colina also added three walks and bumped his league-leading OBP to .519
The Gamecocks scratched across a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and third innings to take an early 2-0 lead through three.
Mimbs came through with KSU's first hit of the ballgame with a leadoff single to left in the top of the fourth. Colina followed with a walk and
Nick Hassan was hit by a pitch the next at bat to load up the bases with no outs. Jacksonville State retired the next three batters to keep Kennesaw State off the board.
JSU added another run in the bottom half of the fourth to extend its lead to 3-0.
Eidson led off the top of the eighth with his first triple of the season to left center. Mimbs drove in the Owls' first run on a bloop single to right to make it 3-1. With the bases loaded, Chirello laced a single up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Richardson stepped up to the plate, doubled down the left field line and drove in two runs to put the Owls in front 4-3, but KSU's big inning wasn't over. Franks blasted a three-run homer, his first of his career, and the Owls pushed their lead to four, 7-3.
Pinson entered in relief in the eighth and limited JSU to one run in the final two innings as the Owls got the 7-4 comeback win.
The Owls wrap up the series at Jacksonville State Sunday at 2 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.
