The baseball team played five games in the past week, dropping both games against Mercer before taking two of three against Samford over the weekend.
The opening game of the week took place at Stillwell Stadium against Mercer on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The Owls had little success in the first game as the Bears’ starting pitcher Christian Vann allowed just two hits in six innings of play and largely contributed to their 4-0 shutout victory.
The team traveled to Macon to play the second game on Wednesday night and delivered a stronger offensive performance. Jaylen Smith went 1-for-4 with four RBIs, a three-run home run and a bases-loaded walk. Despite strong offense from the Owls, including eight hits, Mercer pulled out a win 7-5.
The Owls opened up their three-game series with Samford on Friday, March 2, with a 9-3 victory. KSU’s AJ Moore faced off against Cody Shelton on the mound.
Grant Williams and Smith each led the team with three hits, but Smith also had three RBIs. Terrence Norman had two hits, one RBI and a career-high four runs scored. Moore had seven strikeouts in four innings pitched, just three shy of his personal best.
The Owls scored six of their nine runs between the second and fourth innings, out-hitting the Bulldogs 14-6.
Saturday’s matchup against Samford featured the exact same scoreline as the first, 9-3. This time, the Owls scored six of their runs in the fifth inning alone
Taylor Allum, Jake Franklin and LaDonis Bryant all led the team with three hits while Garrett Hodges had two RBIs. Pitcher Brooks Buckler allowed three runs and recorded two strikeouts in his first start for KSU.
In the breakout fifth inning, Franklin, Hodges, Norman and Tyler Simon all had RBIs to make the game 8-2.
Yet again, the Bulldogs could not keep up with the Owls’ offense and were out-hit 15-5.
The third and final game of the series took place on Sunday as the Owls lost the game 2-1 in a low-scoring pitching duel.
Hodges drove in the Owls’ only run of the game in the ninth inning with an RBI single, but that was all the team could score as their comeback bid was halted.
Samford’s pitcher Samuel Strickland pitched a no-hitter into the seventh inning when he was taken out of the game. The team no-hitter was continued into the ninth inning until Smith got on base with a single.
Unlike the first two games, some impressive pitching from the Bulldogs allowed them to out-hit the Owls 7-2 and avoid being swept in the series.
The Owls move on from this weekend with a 6-7 overall record. With conference play looming at the end of the month, they will be looking to make the most out of the non-conference games they have left.
The Owls’ next game will be in Alabama to take on Jacksonville State on Tuesday, March 6.
