Mike Foster (Sports Editor)
If you’ve ever heard a whisper or two from an Atlanta-area resident about Kennesaw State’s history as a budding baseball program, it’s because there’s been plenty to talk about.
Since the varsity team began competing in 1984, the Owls have claimed two national championships and sent 52 players to the pros, including a first-round pick. KSU will likely have its second player selected in the first round of the MLB Draft tomorrow night, when All-American catcher Max Pentecost is projected where he had been since the start of the season–a top-20 pick.
Pentecost said he originally envisioned his draft-day moment being spent with his family, but he hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Instead, the junior from Winder, Ga., wanted to believe he would share that memory with his college teammates.
That modest dream will come true. Pentecost’s career path to the big league’s has taken a detour to Louisville, Ky., where he and the Atlantic Sun Conference champion Owls (40-21) will face Louisville in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Super Regionals. The winner of the best-of-three series, which the Cardinals will host Friday through Sunday, will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
While Pentecost’s individual accolades are no surprise, his team’s emergence into the spotlight is–for the national media, at least. For him and his Owl family, they’re right where they wanted to be.
“I think it makes a statement for the school, coaches, and the whole athletic department,” Pentecost said of his streaking Owls, who have won 25 of their last 27 games and are ranked No. 12–KSU’s highest ranking in school history for any sport–by Collegiate Baseball.
KSU head coach Mike Sansing, who led the Owls to national championships in 1994 (NAIA) and 1996 (DII), told Pentecost that he’d have to trade in an elaborate draft party for a chance at a national championship run.
“Originally we had planned to have a party (in Kennesaw) for Max,” Sansing said. “But we talked and I said, ‘You know, there’s a chance we’re not going to do that,’ and he said ‘I hope so. I hope we are not doing it.'”
“I’m just going day-by-day,” Pentecost said. “My teammates are messing with me. I’m glad my teammates are going to experience the draft with me. I can’t spend it with my real family, but I have another family here I get to spend it with. I’m really looking forward to it, but at the same time our season is still going and we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Being the “under dog.”
Louisville (45-15) is a top-15 team in the polls, the highest-ranked opponent KSU will have faced in its magical run. The Owls were spared a face-off with host Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional when the Seminoles were eliminated before meeting KSU in the bracket. The Owls went on to win the regional that sent them into the field of the final 16 teams in the country.
While the brand of the Cardinals might intimidate some, Sansing and his players have realized the reality of facing big name opponents. Frankly, they don’t care.
When asked about being labeled as an under dog, Sansing responded: “We have a very short history as a DI program and in the postseason, so some of that is attributed to that, but it’s not really something we think about.”
There’s more than just talk where that comes from. KSU essentially won a three-game series against Alabama to win the Tallahassee Regional, while also defeating Georgia twice and Georgia Tech in Atlanta during the regular season.
Up to the challenge
Considering it bypassed Mercer (38-17) in the A-Sun tournament and the Seminoles in the first round of nationals, some might say KSU has had some luck to get to this point. But, numbers don’t lie. These “under dogs” rank 3rd in the entire country in hits, are top-20 in batting average and have the second best individual batting average in the nation in Pentecost, who also leads the country in hits.
Bo Way, a senior outfielder from Brunswick, Ga., who transferred to KSU from Middle Georgia Junior College, sees his team as once that has always known it can compete with the best, though they had to prove it to themselves when they faced a 2-10 start in A-Sun play during a series at Florida Gulf Coast, who was in first place. KSU rallied in the third game of the series for a dramatic 11-9 win that sparked the longest winning streak in the country, and the most storied run in the school’s history.
“I thought that in the Florida Gulf Coast series, where the streak actually started, we had some really close games. They were the number one team in the conference at the time, so it was a really big confidence booster showing that we could actually hang with them.
“I thought we outplayed them,” Way said.
Pitcher Travis Bergen, who was named the most valuable performer at the Tallahassee Regional, echoed Way’s faith in the team.
“We had games where won 1-0, some where hitters combined for 20 hits, some were come-behind wins, some were blowout wins, so there were all different types of ways that we had to get the job done,” Bergen said. “Things happened during the streak that gave us the ability to never be out of any fight.”
Super Regionals
KSU is the first Georgia school to qualify for the Super Regionals since Georgia advanced to the College World Series final against Fresno State in 2008. Georgia Tech was eliminated in regional play last week, as was Tallahassee Regional foe Georgia Southern, of which KSU eliminated with a 13-5 win on Saturday.
Louisville will host KSU Friday at 6:30 and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the scheduled games of the Super Regional. If the first two games are split, the rubber-match will be played Sunday at 7 p.m. Games will be broadcast on ESPNU for the first two days and, if necessary, on ESPN 2 on day three.
