Huntsville, Texas – A season-high six-run inning propelled the Owls (14-19, 5-5 CUSA) past Sam Houston (8-26, 2-8 CUSA) Friday night on the road with the help of the five no-hit innings from reliever
Daniel Powell. The right-hander compiled nine strikeouts, the most of any Owl this season.
Cooper Williams recorded a monster three-hit game with a home run, double, and walk along with two runs in the seven-run victory.
How It Happened
A solo home run was sent out from Sam Houston in the home half of the first inning giving the Bearkats a one-run lead.
Nate Anderson triple into the right field corner scored McDuffie who reached from his double. A wild pitch from the Bearkat pitcher scored Anderson from third base, giving the Owls their first lead of the game 2-1 in the second inning.
Sam Houston registered another run in the fifth inning, tying the game 2-2.
Daniel Powell inherited the bases loaded in the fourth inning with two outs. The reliever nabbed a punch out to end the inning and gave Kennesaw State the bats back in the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth inning,
Cam Suto made a miraculous catch reaching into the KSU dugout to snag the second out and leading the Owls to a scoreless stanza.
In the seventh inning,
Cooper Williams broke the deadlock with a shot into the right-center gap, scoring Cash and giving Williams his eighth double of the year. Kennesaw took a 3-2 lead while the inning continued to compile for the Owls with a chance to break the game open with the bases loaded a few batters later.
Wesley Alig came up and shattered a single over the shortstop's leaping glove in the hole, scoring another run and giving KSU a 4-2 lead.
Aaron Posey took an eye-level fastball the other way into the right-center gap, scoring two runs for the Owls giving them a 6-2 advantage.
Shamaar McDuffie then plated another with a squeeze, scoring the seventh run for the Black and Gold with Alig's score.
Chris Cole sent a frozen rope into center field bringing across the sixth run of the inning from third base giving the Owls a six-run lead. The Owls finished the inning with six runs on five hits.
In the top of the eighth inning, Williams walloped his fourth homer of the year, leaving the park to left center with plenty of distance left to spare, putting KSU up by seven runs.
Powell shut down the Bearkats the rest of the way as he spearheaded the Owls to a 9-2 win in Huntsville, Texas.
Spotlight Performances
- Powell was phenomenal in his relief appearance, earning the win while shutting down the Bearkat offense through his 5.1 innings. He allowed no runs and no hits in the longest relief appearance on the season for the Owls this year (5.1 IP). It's the longest appearance of Powell's career.
- Garnering a base knock in the first inning, Cash laced a single into center field marking his 229th, tying him for ninth in KSU's DI history. In the fourth inning, Cash surpassed Kennesaw State Hall of Famer Max Pentecost in career hits with 230
- Anderson twisted his second triple of the season and the sixth for the Owls. He is tied with Chris Cole for the team lead with two triples on the season.
- The six-run seventh inning is tied for the most runs scored in a single inning this year along with their upset 13-9 win over West Virginia (3/18).
- Williams reached base four times while lifting his fourth home run of the year. He tallied a team-high fifth multi-RBI game along with his seventh multi-hit performance.
- It's the Owls' most significant run separation in a win this season with the seven-run triumph.
- Eight of the nine Owls secured at least one base knock in the game, sporting 13 as a team and moving to 11-3 this season when earning between 10-13 hits in a game.
- The Owls were 14-25 (.560) on advancement opportunities and were 8-22 (.364) with runners in scoring position.
Next Up
KSU continues the weekend series with a Saturday showdown starting at 3 p.m. ET versus the Bearkats.
