MARIETTA, Ga. – Jacksonville State's (20-10, 4-3 CUSA) momentous sixth inning launched them past Kennesaw State (12-18, 3-4 CUSA) in the series opener Friday night 6-5 at S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field.
How It Happened
Both teams zoomed through the first four innings, allowing limited base runners in the scoreless showdown.
In the fifth inning, the Owl's broke through and scored the first runs of the game. The charge began with a lead-off single from
Aaron Posey to center field. He advanced to second base from the sacrifice bunt from
Shamaar McDuffie. As two outs were in the can,
Wesley Alig wound up on second base via a walk and a balk, sending KSU to second and third base.
Cooper Williams pounded a single through the middle infield, scoring both runners and giving Kennesaw State a 2-0 lead.
It didn't take long for Jacksonville State to throw a haymaker back to KSU. The Gamecocks lit the sixth inning on fire, scoring six runs and batting around in the inning. The Owls were down four runs heading into the late innings.
After a one out single from
Cam Suto, an overthrown ball into the infield allowed him to escape to second base. KSU then scored a run in an unusual way as they took advantage of back-to-back balks from the JSU pitcher, resulting in a Suto score. It's the first time this season the Owls have scored on a balk and the first time the same runner has advanced twice because of it.
The Owls continued to fight in the late innings as they posted one run in the eighth inning. A
Jackson Chirello RBI double brought the game to 6-4 in favor of the Gamecocks.
Posting his third RBI of the day, Williams scored the final run for KSU in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Cole.
With the tying run at the dish, Kennesaw State ran out of runway and were taken down 6-5 at home Friday night.
Spotlight Performances
- Williams snagged a team lead for multi-RBI games as he compiled his fourth of the year. He is now tied with Donovan Cash for the team lead in RBI with 20. It's Williams' first three RBI game of his career.
- Bayer showcased another strong performance going four innings deep while allowing no runs with two hits. He rang up three Gamecocks hitters in his no-decision.
- Osada tossed another scoreless inning, his eighth flawless outing of the year.
- Chirello ripped two doubles toward right field, his second two double performance of the '25 campaign.
- Aaron Posey was efficient in his plate appearances, nabbing two hits in three at-bats and scoring a run.
Next Up
Kennesaw State will host a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday. Game three will begin 45 minutes after the completion of game two.
