The baseball team played three home games over the weekend against Sacred Heart, claiming a 3-2 victory in Friday’s matchup before splitting Saturday’s doubleheader with a 4-2 loss and a 7-6 win.
The Owls took to Stillwell Stadium Friday, March 9, coming off a close 3-1 midweek loss at Jacksonville State, and went ahead early in the game with Griffin Helms hitting a two-run home run in the second inning.
Senior starting pitcher AJ Moore pitched six shutout innings, allowing only two hits and tying his career high with nine strikeouts. In his fourth start of the season, Moore is just five outings away from becoming the all-time leader in starts in KSU’s Division I history.
After Jake Franklin’s single drove in a third run for the Owls, Sacred Heart gave them a scare in the ninth inning, scoring two runs and putting themselves in a position to tie, and possibly win, the game. The Owls prevailed and held off the Pioneers’ last-minute push to get the win.
Saturday’s doubleheader, which initially had one game played on Saturday and one on Sunday, was rescheduled to a 10:30 a.m. start due to a forecast that correctly predicted the impending inclement weather.
Despite starting pitcher Brooks Buckler having a career-high seven strikeouts, the Owls were unable to get the win.
Grant Williams, who had two hits and two runs batted in, provided the Owls’ only runs of the game with RBI singles in the first and sixth innings. Buckler allowed two runs, one in the second and one in the fourth. The two teams entered the ninth inning tied at two runs apiece.
The Owls gave up two more runs to the Pioneers in the top of the inning and were shut out in the bottom of the inning to end the game.
In the final game, Williams and Tyler Simon led the Owls with three hits while Williams had two RBIs. Starting pitcher Jake Rothwell pitched six innings, allowing only one run, and had a career-high of eight strikeouts.
KSU scored five runs over the first three innings. Helms, Williams, Taylor Allum and Garrett Hodges all hit doubles to help score those five runs. LaDonis Bryant drove in Simon in the sixth to give the Owls a 6-1 lead.
Sacred Heart made a comeback over the final three innings, scoring four in the seventh and one in the ninth, holding the Owls scoreless. In the tenth inning, Simon singled to lead off and was eventually driven home for the game-winning run from Matt Mixon’s squeeze bunt, ending the game 7-6.
Next up, the Owls will travel to Athens to play The University of Georgia, and the game will take place on Tuesday, March 13, at 5 p.m.
