Photo courtesy of KSU Athletics
MARIETTA, Ga— Donovan Cash made history and a James McGee walk-off single earned the Owls a 9-8 win over West Georgia Tuesday at S. Walter Kelly Memorial Field.
After battling back from a first-inning 4-0 deficit, Kennesaw State found itself clinging to an 8-7 lead with two outs in the top of the ninth. Facing Ryan Renfroe, West Georgia’s Cooper Prince homered to right to tie the game at 8-8.
In the bottom frame, Owls catcher James McGee was called for the final out of the inning out for leaning into a pitch with Chris Cole as the potential winning run on second base.
McGee earned his shot at redemption in his next at-bat, however.
After a scoreless 10th inning, McGee came to the plate with Cole on first and Wesley Alig on second. Facing a full count, McGee hit an opposite field single to right field, plating Alig and giving the Owls the 9-8 victory.
“It couldn’t get no worse because I just messed up my team leaning into ball four the (at-bat) before,” McGee said. “I was blessed to be in the spot, but I just tried to treat it like another (at-bat).”
Entering the game tied for the most home runs in KSU baseball’s Division-I program history with Andy Chriscaden at 29, Cash went deep twice on Tuesday to not only break the record but further build upon it.
“I was thinking about it and at the end of the day it’s just me hitting the ball hard and it just happens to go over the fence,” Cash said. “I don’t really go out and try to (hit home runs). There’s some at-bats where I might go out and try to hit it a little bit harder than others, but every at-bat’s the same and I just go out and treat it as such.”
Nate Anderson opened the scoring for the Owls in the first inning after they found themselves in the four run hole with a solo home run, his seventh of the year.
After UWG extended its lead back to four in the top of the second inning, the Owls earned a run back in the bottom frame when Jackson Chirello scored on a throwing error following a Shamaar McDuffie single to make the score 5-2.
Cash’s first home run cut the Owls deficit to 5-4 in the third, before UWG’s Brady McDevitt pushed it back to 7-4.
A Cam Suto solo home run, his eight of the year brought the Owls back within 7-5 in the fifth.
In the sixth, McDuffie scored on a passed ball to bring the Owls within a run at 7-6, with Cash coming to the plate and Anderson on third.
Cash’s second home run vaulted the Owls ahead 8-7, a lead they kept until the ninth.
The win marks four straight victories for KSU following its sweep of Sam Houston State last weekend, and coach Ryan Coe said he can see the team really start to come together.
“Everybody’s kind of stabilizing, kind of finding their roles and filling in for the guys who have been hurt,” Coe said. “Hopefully we’re getting a little bit of a groove with that.”
The Owls will continue play at home this Thursday with their series opener against Florida International.
