Owls Hit Three Long Balls in Win Over UGA

THE STORYLINE: 
· Kennesaw State used three solo home runs and key defensive innings to defeat Georgia Tuesday evening, earning a hard-fought 5-4 decision at Foley Field in a non-conference midweek showdown.  
· The Owls hit three solo home runs and Georgia left 11 runners stranded to earn its first road victory of the season.
· With the victory, the Owls improved to 5-3 overall while SEC foe Georgia dropped to 3-5 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
·  The Owls hit solo home runs in the first, second and sixth innings off the bats of Austin Upshaw, Forrest Bramlett and Taylor Allum, respectively, to help take a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning.
· In what became a tight, grind-it-out contest, the Owls used a combined seven pitchers on staff to hold off 11 Bulldog runners on base.
· Georgia left two runners stranded in the second, two more in the third and bases loaded in the seventh, as the Owls turned key double plays, strike outs and made good pitches to get out of inning-ending jams.
· The Owls’ staff allowed just five hits and four runs (three earned) while punching out seven Bulldogs, as senior RHP Brock Turner picked up the win.
· The senior was the first pitcher in relief for the Owls, allowing just two hits and one earned run in 2.2 innings of work.
· Offensively, the bats of Allum, Bramlett and Upshaw combined to go 4-for-9 (444) at the plate with three home runs and drove in all five RBI.  
 
QUOTEABLE
“I thought offensively we came out swinging early and were aggressive to put some runs up on the board,” head coach Mike Sansing said. “It’s encouraging to see our offensive get off to a great start and our experienced guys led the way. We thought our pitchers came in and threw the pitch when we needed it and that was a good sign.”
 
#NESTNOTES: 
· For the second time in KSU program history, the Owls defeated the Bulldogs in Athens in back-to-back years (2013-14), and have now won at Foley Field in four of the past five seasons.
· Kennesaw State’s victory marked the fourth of its past five games, and is outscoring teams by a 38-13 margin during the span.
· Austin Upshaw hit his ninth career home run with a solo blast in the first inning. The Buford, Ga., native, is now three HR shy of moving into the Top 10 all-time KSU D-I career home runs list.
· Taylor Allum added to his single-season HR career high totals, hitting his fourth of the season against Georgia. He leads the team with four HR and 10 RBI.
· Freshman catcher Daniel Seres, a Canton, Ga., native, made his collegiate debut, moving behind the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.
· Erich Stahl picked up his first save of the season and ninth of his career. He now sits 12 saves shy of becoming KSU’s all-time saves leader in program history.
 

Source: ksuowlssports.com
Link: Owls Hit Three Long Balls in Win Over UGA