MARIETTA, GA– Owls baseball lost two of three games to Rutgers last weekend in their opening series at S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field.
The Owls came out strong Friday, taking the victory in their first game of the season. At first, things looked grim for Kennesaw State. Down 3-0 by the seventh, the Owls didn’t go away. The team accounted for five hits and five runs in the seventh inning alone. The Owls held the Scarlet Knights through the ninth, securing a 5-3 victory.
Due to inclement weather, Friday’s single game became a doubleheader. The Owls went into the second game of the day with boosted confidence. Tied 0-0 by the top of the fifth, Rutgers broke the silence with an RBI single, and KSU responded in the bottom frame with a home run by Nate Anderson. The Scarlet Knights pulled ahead 3-1 in the ninth inning, taking the win and ultimately tying the series.
The two teams faced off in a rubber match on Saturday. Nolan Sliver was the starting pitcher for the first time this season, and he gave up no runs for the opening three innings. In the top of the fourth, Sliver gave up two runs and Ty Bayer, who made his debut at the mound, gave up three.
The teams held one another until the top of the eighth, when Rutgers’ Brennan Hyde hit a home run to put the Scarlet Knights up 6-0.
Down 6-0, the Owls scrapped for a comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Anderson and Evan Holstein each scored for KSU, but the Scarlet Knights quickly snuffed out the Owls rally. Rutgers responded in the top of the ninth with an RBI double and held the Owls in a swift bottom half, ultimately winning the game 7-2.
Throughout the final game of this series, the Owls’ used a total of seven pitchers. Freshmen Nolan McKinstry, Peter Jezerinac, and Bayer pitched for the first time this year. Coach Ryan Coe recognized that while the results weren’t ideal, it was important for those players to get experience on the mound and assimilate them into the season.
“It was good to get those guys out there,” Coe said. “Next time they’ll be better.”
Winning only one game, Coe was not pleased with the performance of the team. However, he said he’s confident moving forward. Coe said the beginning of the season is about getting players in the right spot and trying various line-ups to see what works best.
“We made a lot of mistakes that cost the game when you’re playing a powerful team,” Coe said. “But you’re never as good or bad as you think you are the first series.”
This series’ schedule was heavily adjusted due to inclement weather. Saturday’s game was moved to a doubleheader Friday, and Sunday’s game was moved to Saturday. Pitchers that Coe planned to play in Sunday’s game couldn’t pitch Saturday, and the team felt the intensity of playing back-to-back games in a difficult series. Overall, the lack of time to prepare and regroup had a negative impact on the Owls’ performance.
This week, KSU will play against the Georgia, Mercer and Columbia. Coe said the main priority going into this week is to stop making simple errors.
“We made mistakes, so don’t make those same mistakes again,” Coe said. “We have to learn from the experience and get better.”
The Owls buckle down as they prepare for Tuesday’s game against fierce opponent, UGA.
