The baseball team opened its season at home over the weekend, starting off with a 7-3 win against Connecticut before losing three straight, including a doubleheader to Minnesota and one against Bradley University.
Third baseman Jaylen Smith got the Owls out in front early against UCONN, driving in one run on a double play in the first inning and hitting a solo home run in the fourth.
By the sixth inning, the Huskies had tied the game at three runs each. In the bottom of that inning, right fielder Terrence Norman hit a two-run home run for the Owls while center fielder Jake Franklin hit a two-run home run of his own two innings later.
Freshman pitcher Ryan Kennedy started against Minnesota’s Nick Lackney in the first game of the doubleheader that saw the Owls lose 9-3. Minnesota got off to a hot start, scoring seven runs in the first three innings and shutting Kennesaw out until the ninth. The Gophers scored two more runs in the sixth inning, increasing their lead to nine.
Kennesaw’s Brian Exley proceeded to pitch three scoreless innings with three strikeouts during the remainder of the game. Senior Forrest Bramlett drove in the Owls’ first run of the game in the ninth with an RBI double, while fellow senior LaDonis Bryant drove in the final runs of the game with a two-run single.
The second game was the battle of Jakes with junior Jake Rothwell of the owls facing off against Jake Stevenson. However, the real stars of the show were the batters in an offensive shootout that ended in an 11-8 Owls loss.
Sophomore Garrett Hodges got things going for KSU with an RBI single in the second inning. A few at-bats later, senior Grant Williams hit a grand slam to give the Owls a 5-0 lead going into the third.
Minnesota answered quickly, scoring six runs in the top of the third inning with two two-run singles and a two-run triple to take the lead 6-5.
Sophomore Terrence Norman hit a two-run single in the bottom of the third to restore the Owls’ lead. The Gophers then walked Grant Williams with the bases loaded, scoring Norman to make the game 8-6, which would prove to be the final time the Owls would score during the game. The Gophers scored in the fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth innings to seal the win.
Junior Brooks Buckler, who made his KSU debut, went up against Bradley’s Sam Lund on Sunday that resulted in a 6-4 loss for KSU.
Senior Griffin Helms scored a two-run double in the first inning to give the Owls a 2-0 lead. Grant Williams extended the lead to four with a two-run double of his own in the fourth inning.
Buckler held the Braves scoreless until the fifth inning when they scored four runs, tying the game 4-4. Buckler was replaced by freshman Jared Staples in the same inning.
Bradley took the lead in the seventh through a solo home run and scored one run in the ninth to seal the victory.
Up next, KSU plays in-state opponent UGA at home on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 5 p.m.
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