Commentary by Mike Foster (Sports Editor)
Kennesaw State’s baseball team was 14-20 and just 2-9 in the Atlantic Sun Conference on April 6.
At that point in time, the Owls were fighting to avoid the last-place slot in the A-Sun standings.
It’s hard to believe that was less than two months ago.
Now, KSU, ripe off Sunday’s 7-1 victory against Lipscomb to claim its first ever A-Sun title, is heading to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for the first time in the school’s history. The Owls (37-21) have won 23 of their last 24 games, including seven-straight, and are the hottest team in college baseball as far as numbers are concerned.
[RELATED: NCAA baseball tournament explained and regional preview for KSU]
No team in the 64-school field at the tournament, which begins for the Owls on Friday when they face Alabama at Noon, has won as many consecutive games or has a stretch with just one loss that’s anywhere near the team from northwest Atlanta. Collegiate Baseball has taken notice, ranking the Owls No. 27 in the nation; it’s the first time KSU has been nationally ranked in any of the major polls.
It’s no college football Cinderella story, but this may be the most relevant KSU has ever been on the NCAA scene since becoming a Division I institution in 2009. This team just didn’t happen to catch hot for a few games in a conference tournament and sneak into the field. Nay, this team has been sizzling hot–so hot that it could possibly burn the sun.
KSU has always had success on the diamond. Seated in Cobb County, which is a hot-bed for baseball prospects, the young program has kept pace with Georgia and Georgia Tech when it comes to putting out major league prospects. Head coach Mike Sansing has won NAIA and NCAA Division II national titles with the club. The man knows how to win.
There’s a lot on paper that doesn’t seem to fit with a small school that plays in one of the smallest conferences in DI athletics. KSU has arguably a top-15 major league prospect in its five-tool catcher Max Pentecost. Pentecost, who will be behind the dish at Florida State’s Dick Howser Stadium on Friday, is a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Award, which goes to baseball’s best player. Seems like he’s in league with the rest, does it not?
The junior catcher from Winder, Ga., is second in the nation in batting average (.423) and leads the nation in hits with 104. He’s played all 58 games. Folks, that’s 1.79 hits per game. He’s also stolen 16 bags on 18 attempts–unheard of for a catcher. He’s also caught a runner stealing 21 times this season.
Then you have the team’s overall offensive exploits. KSU ranks 17 in the country in batting average and ninth in overall hits. Offense is no issue.
The Owls also have a closer in Justin McCalvin who’s drawn the attention of major league scouts on multiple occasions throughout the year. McCalvin, a junior, has 14 saves, a 2.24 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched.
Shortstop Kal Simmons, who was tabbed as an all-conference performer before the season, was reportedly told in 2012 that he wasn’t good enough to play for Florida State, who had previously offered him a scholarship. Simmons committed to FSU before having to find another home and signing with KSU.
The Owls fit. Their name doesn’t fit, but they do.
Come Friday, the black, gold and silver ‘KS’ monogram will adorn graphics inclusive of some of the most well known collegiate logos in the country. Yes, KSU has competed at the national level in track and field and golf, but let’s not kid ourselves–those sports do nothing for national exposure.
With a basketball program that’s part of a conference that has sent two teams in Mercer and Florida Gulf Coast through the first round in the NCAA basketball tournament, and a football team on the horizon, one would probably have assumed KSU’s rise to fame would be on either the hardwood or the gridiron; one would also probably assume that rise would come years down the road.
But, what if KSU stays hot? The KSU team that we’ve seen for the last two months is one that can compete with any team on any-given day. They’ve beaten Georgia from the SEC (twice). They’ve beaten Georgia Tech, who’s on the cusp of national rankings, in Atlanta.
Why not us? Why not KSU?
The football program here on campus has billed its growth with the catchphrase, “It’s our time.”
Could it be that that phrase transcends football? The Owls are a few wins away from that speculation becoming a grand reality.
