The Kennesaw State University baseball team dropped a three-game series at home against No. 12 University of Oklahoma over the weekend, falling below the .500 mark on the season after winning its previous two games.
KSU fought well in the first game, taking the lead early before eventually falling short 5-2. Things looked even better for the Owls early in the second game, going in front by as many as six runs before giving up the lead and losing 17-9. The third game was once again a close one for roughly half of the game before the Sooners pulled away for a 14-4 victory.
The first game of the series was the closest the Owls got to beating the Sooners, holding them scoreless through five innings before they opened up the game in the sixth. Two runs were scored by KSU on the day, the first on a RBI groundout by Griffin Helms and the second on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Allum.
Junior pitcher Tony Dibrell had a solid performance for the Owls, throwing a career-high eight innings and allowing just one earned run.
The unfortunate sixth inning involved an error that allowed a run to score and advanced other Oklahoma baserunners, putting pressure on Dibrell, who then gave up a three-run home run.
On Saturday, the Owls got off to a better start, scoring three runs in the first inning from a RBI double by Helms and a two-run home run by Chris Erwin. In the next inning, three more runs were scored, two from wild pitches and one from a hit batter.
The sixth inning proved to be a curse once again for KSU, as the Sooners scored six runs to take a 9-7 lead. Although the Owls brought a run in during the bottom half of the sixth inning, Oklahoma continued scoring for the remainder of the game, including eight runs in the final two frames to win 17-9.
Sunday was all about the Sooners, who got out to an early lead. The Owls failed to make a comeback, despite home runs by Allum and Helms. KSU kept it close early on, trailing just 3-2 after four innings, but the lead gradually grew wider as Oklahoma burst into a seven-run ninth inning, ending the game with a resounding 14-4 victory.
The Owls have a chance to dust themselves off and start again when they begin ASUN Conference play on Friday, March 31, at North Florida University.
