Julien Benjamin (Staff Writer)
A great catch by Lipscomb’s left-fielder Tyson Ashcraft, combined with a baserunning blunder by Kal Simmons led to the KSU dropping its fourth consecutive game in a 7-6 loss to the Lipscomb Bisons Friday evening.
“Their guy made a great catch, baserunners were off running”, head coach Mike Sansing said. “We battled, but we have to figure out a way to win”
KSU (12-13, 1-3 A-Sun) entered the final frame down by a single run, but after a leadoff walk to Kal Simmons, the team looked primed to collect at least a tying hit to send the game to extras.
With one out and Pentecost and Simmons on the bags, Bo Way hit a sinking line drive that was caught by Ashcraft, causing confusion for the KSU baserunners. With the play behind him, Simmons took off for the would-be winning run, but was left to stand at home plate as the final out after he was tapped out at second.
The disappointing finish erased a five-run Owls comeback for the second straight game, as the team now drops to below .500 for the first time this season.
Starting pitching for KSU was woeful yet again, as Nathan Harsh hit a wall in the fifth inning, allowing five earned runs in total, pushing his season ERA to 6.48 Gabe Friese and Justin McCalvin anchored a remarkable bullpen performance, allowing the Owls to fight their way back into the game.
Max Pentecost was the offensive star, breaking out of his recent slump, going 3-for-4 with all six of the Owls’ RBIs. His three-run homerun in the fifth over the left field wall brought the Owls to within three, and his final RBIs in the seventh on a double drew the Owls to within one.
Pentecost also had a good day defensively, throwing out both runners that attempted to swipe second base.
The Owls continue the series against conference opponent Lipscomb Saturday at 2 p.m before the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
