MARIETTA, Ga. – Wesley Alig's walk-off home run in the 11
th inning highlighted Kennesaw State's (13-19, 4-5 CUSA) day as they split the Saturday doubleheader with Jacksonville State at home.
The Gamecocks took game three in the series with an 8-6 win despite a five-run seventh inning from the Black and Gold.
How It Happened
Game One
All was quiet on the offensive front through the first three innings as neither team could string runs together. The Gamecocks threatened in the third stanza, but Cain anchored down and got a massive strikeout to leave the bases loaded for Jax State.
In the home half of the fourth inning,
Jackson Chirello kickstarted the Owl bats with a leadoff double to right field. One out later,
Nate Anderson yanked a single to right field, bringing the outfielder around to score and give KSU a 1-0 advantage. Anderson advanced to second base with the throw to home plate.
The singles kept coming as Posey dribbled a hit through the middle infield, scoring Anderson. Alig got in on the fun, slapping a single back through the middle to propel KSU to a 3-0 lead going into the fifth inning.
The Owl momentum was stopped in its tracks with a two-run big fly sent over the wall from Jacksonville State in the fifth inning, drawing the lead to one run.
After a quiet sixth inning, JSU stormed back to tie the game with an RBI single through the right side, making it a 3-3 game in the seventh.
In an attempt to push JSU away again, the Black and Gold took a one-run lead in the eighth inning. Beginning with a Chirello base hit, Anderson came through again with his third single of the day. The knock through the right side sent Chirello home and once again boosted the Owls to a 4-3 lead.
A late-inning surge from JSU in the ninth tied the game at 4 apiece, sending the first game into extra innings.
As neither side gained any ground in the 10
th inning, the Owls called upon the freshman infielder Alig to ring the bell.
After a quick out to start the inning,
Jackson Bradfield singled in his second appearance as an initial pinch hitter. On the first pitch he saw, the freshman took the ball out of the yard to left-center field for the first walk-off hit of his career.
Kennesaw State defeated Jacksonville State in the 11
th inning 6-4 thanks to the two-run blast from Alig.
Game Two
Jacksonville State was the first to punch for the first time in the series as they tallied a run in the top half of the second inning, taking a narrow one-run lead.
The Gamecocks tacked on two more in the third inning with a two-run blast over the right field fence, sending them to a 3-0 advantage.
In the top half of the fifth, JSU pounded three more runs to jump out to a six-run lead over the Owls.
The first answer for Kennesaw State didn't come until the fifth inning when
Cooper Williams launched a solo homer to dead-center field. With just one hit, the Owls chopped the lead to 6-1 in favor of JSU.
Two more runs were added by Jax State in the seventh with a two-RBI double down the left field line, creating an 8-1 ballgame.
The Owls would not go down without a fight, as the home half of the seventh inning injected life into the hometown team.
Aaron Posey walked in the first run of the inning with the bases loaded. McDuffie added on another single as he slashed a base hit through the right side, scoring the third run of the game for KSU.
Chris Cole then grounded into a double play, scoring another run for the Owls. With two outs, the Black and Gold posted back-to-back hits with Anderson and
Donovan Cash lacing doubles and bringing KSU within two runs. KSU blasted five runs in the seventh inning.
Quiet innings ruled until the ninth inning when Kennesaw State grabbed the bats. Cash came to the plate with one runner on base and nearly left the park to tie the game. The ball fell into the JSU center fielder's glove for the final out of the game, merely feet away from extending the game. Jax State took down Kennesaw State 8-6 to take the series.
Spotlight Performances
Game One
- Cain posted a strong performance again, throwing five innings of two-run ball while allowing just four hits and two walks.
- Alig lifted his fourth home run of the season in extra innings to give the Owls the win. The dinger highlighted a few notables for the freshman as it was the first walk-off hit of his young career. Two of the four home runs were in extra innings with the previous long ball being a grand slam versus The Citadel (3/15) in the 9-4 win. The freshman is tied for a team lead in multi-RBI games with four as he accrued three in the game.
- Pinson earned the win and was steadfast on the mound in not allowing a run over his 2.2 innings.
- Rhudy was nasty in his three innings surrendering just one run via a solo jack
- Anderson posted a three-hit day with three singles, earning his tenth multi-hit game on the season and third three-hit game on the year.
- The Owls advanced to 10-3 this year and 47-29 in the Ryan Coe era when stacking 10-14 hits in a game.
- Chirello continued his hot hand from the previous day, knocking through two base hits with one double. The outfielder came around to score two runs in the extra innings game.
- The Owls are now 2-1 this season in extra-inning games and produced the second walk-off win of the season (2/22 Vs. Columbia)
Game Two
- Halton Hardy ripped through the Gamecocks lineup in his two innings allowing zero hits and earning four punchouts.
- The five-run seventh inning was the largest scoring total in a given inning for KSU since 3/15 versus The Citadel (5).
- Five separate Owls recorded RBI (Anderson, Cash, Williams, Posey, McDuffie).
Next Up
It's the first week in which Kennesaw State does not play a weekday game as they will travel straight to Sam Houston for a three-game Conference USA series.
