Mike Foster (Sports Editor)
For most of the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game, KSU’s hitters couldn’t quite figure out Lipscomb starting pitcher Nick Andros. That was until the 7th inning, when Max Pentecost, billed by many as a five-tool player, tried something out of the ordinary for the craft of those who play his position.
Pentecost, who entered Sunday’s game with 104 hits, didn’t even swing his bat to get his 106th–and arguably the biggest of the season. Almost unexpected from a catcher, Pentecost laid down a perfect bunt to reach on Andros to start the frame. His bunt proved to be the turning point, as KSU scored three runs in the 7th and three more in the 8th in a 7-1 victory over the Bisons on Sunday at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
KSU (38-21) now has its first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Championship title after falling just short in the title game in the previous two years.
After Pentecost reached to start the 7th, Bo Way singled past the first base bag to swing Pentecost to third, putting the go-ahead run 90 feet from home. That was when Brennan Morgan, who was named the A-Sun Championship’s most valuable player after Sunday’s action, hit a single of his own to record his 8th RBI of the tournament. Small ball would continue with a bunt from Chris McGowan to scoot Way and Morgan into scoring position. Andros then helped Way home on when he threw away an intentional-walk pitch, and Matt Bahnick singled to left field shortly after to give KSU a 4-1 lead, forcing Andros out of the contest.
Andros, who entered the game with a 3.03 ERA and a 5-2 record, struck-out seven batters and looked to be in complete control of the contest through the first six frames.
After showing bunt solved Andros in the 7th, KSU used a double steal in the 8th to put Kal Simmons, who reached on a single, and Pentecost, who was intentionally walked, in scoring position. Morgan walked to load the bases before Chris McGowan crushed a ball to the right-center wall, falling just a foot short of a grand slam.
The bases-clearing double was more than enough to set the Owls bullpen in motion, as the sidearm-throwing left-hander James Connell and closer Justin McCalvin finished the final three innings.
Justin Motley scored the Owls’ first run of the game when he hit a solo home run–his first of the season–to tie the game at 1-1 in the 3rd. Motley saved starting pitcher Jordan Hillyer from trouble in the first inning when the junior outfielder made a highlight reel diving grab to prevent two runs from scoring with two outs.
Hillyer (8-3) lasted six innings, allowing five hits, four walks and one earned run despite missing his spots frequently during the contest. Connell, who struck out five of the six batters he faced in the 7th and 8th, earned the win for the Owls, while McCalvin once again worked out of trouble to force two strikeouts and a game-winning fly ball that, fittingly, flew to Motley’s glove.
McGowan and Pentecost were the only Owls to have multi-hit games, each going for two hits at the plate.
KSU, which has won 23 of its last 24 games and 19-straight in conference play, will now wait until Noon tomorrow to see which NCAA Championship double-elimination regional it will play in. In-state rival Mercer, which was eliminated early in the A-Sun Championship, could earn one of the 34 at-large berths thanks to its RPI rating of 41. In the first round, the 64 teams are divided into four-team regionals. The 16 survivors of double-elimination play advance to head-to-head, best-of-three series to determine the eight teams that will advance to the NCAA Men’s College World Series.
The NCAA DI Baseball Championship selection show will air on ESPNU.
