BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Black and Gold (4-6, 0-0 CUSA) came out on top in a shootout versus the Samford Bulldogs (3-6, 0-0 SoCon) Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field, coming away with an 11-9 victory.
How It Happened
With two outs in the first inning,
Wesley Alig reached base via the walk, setting up the first long ball of the season for
Donovan Cash. Early in the at-bat, Cash lifted a ball to deep center field, leaving the park to nab a 2-0 lead. A middle-cut high heater gave the senior his 24th career dinger as he sent it past the outstretched glove of the leaping center fielder.
In the bottom of the third inning, Samford retaliated with a home run to left field. The solo bomb cut the Owls lead to just one run.
The bases were loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning as
Jamarie Brooks earned an RBI via the hit by pitch, scoring a run and giving the Owls a two-run lead once more. One batter later, Alig was also hit by a pitch, giving the Owls a two-run lead without swinging the bat.
Cooper Williams came up to the plate and lifted a grand slam to left field, catapulting the Owls to a 8-1 advantage. It's the first home run of the season for Williams and the first grand slam for Kennesaw State since Brayden Edison's slam versus Lipscomb (5/18/24).
The Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the fourth inning with four runs scored, pulling the game to 8-5 still in favor of the Owls.
In the following inning, Samford took the lead with another four-run inning, advancing 9-8 over KSU.
Williams wouldn't be denied as he pounded a double into the right-center gap, scoring two runs for the Owls and giving them the lead right back in the sixth inning. His base knock scored
Chris Cole and
Jamarie Brooks, creating a 10-9 ballgame.
Cash followed that up with another shot into deep right-center field, falling for a double, scoring Alig and launching KSU to an 11-9 lead in the away half.
Coming in to close the game was
Smith Pinson as he registered his first save of the season with two perfect innings. Pinson snagged one strikeout while holding off the Bulldogs to secure the 11-9 win.
Spotlight Performances
- Cash's homer gave him the 24th of his career, moving into tied for fourth place in career program history. He is now tied with outfielders Spencer Hanson and Garrett Hodges. The all-time leader is Andy Chriscaden with 29 big flies.
- Williams accrued six RBI, a career-high and the most of any Owl this season. The lefty is the first Owl since Aaron Posey (4/27/24) to rack up six RBI in a single game. He's also the first Owl this season to post a four-hit game.
- Reliever Ryan Renfroe was integral to the game, earning the win while allowing no earned runs through 2.1 innings. The flame thrower tallied six strikeouts, tied for the season high among the Owls.
- It's the fourth time SU has posted 10+ hits as a team this year and the second time they've scored 10+ runs in a game.
Next Up
Doubleheader action begins at 2 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon with a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning game 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
