By: by Jason Hanes
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - Senior Drew Fowlkes had a three-run double and senior Sean McClurken had a pair of RBI singles, but three unearned runs in the eighth inning would doom Kennesaw State's baseball team as the Owls fell, 11-7, in 10 innings to Jacksonville in the regular season finale at Stillwell Stadium.
The Owls (32-23, 18-11 Atlantic Sun) scored two runs in the second as Will Howard and McClurken had back-to-back two out RBI singles to put the Owls on top. KSU stretched its lead to six in the third inning with four runs. With the bases loaded, Fowlkes stepped to the plate with a chance to do some damage. "[The pitcher] threw me two change-ups and I got ahead 2-0," said Fowlkes. "He threw me a fastball and I fouled it off, then he threw me another fastball and I was able to stay with it and drive it."
Fowlkes' shot into the gap in left center scored three, giving KSU a, 5-0, lead. Two batters later, the lead would bulge to six as McClurken collected an infield hit to score Fowlkes.
From there, runs would prove to be hard to come by. Jacksonville chipped away at the lead with four runs in the top of the fourth. The score stayed, 6-4, until the bottom of the sixth when Andy Chriscaden connected for a solo home run with a blast onto the balcony of the Bailey Building in left to put the Owls ahead, 7-4.
The score stayed the same until the eighth. With two men out, Jordan Dean was one pitch away from getting out of a jam with JU runners on the corners. A check-swing by Daniel Gulbransen sent a dribbler over the mound and to Peyton Hart at short. The ball would elude the KSU fielder's grasp, bouncing into left for a costly run-scoring error. The Dolphins would plate two more runs in the inning, tying the game, 7-7.
The score stayed the same until the 10th inning, when Jonathan Murphy connected for a two-run double and Adam Brett Walker powered a two-run home run to right center, giving the Dolphins the lead and win, 11-7.
"We had a good weekend all in all, winning two out of three," said KSU head coach Mike Sansing. "We try to win every game, but we were really trying to get that 2-spot in the conference."
Jimmy Appleby (1-0) earned his first win for Jacksonville with two scoreless innings of relief. Pitching on his third straight day, J.B. Johnson (4-3) took the loss for the Owls, allowing four runs in 1.1 innings.
The loss means Kennesaw State will be seeded No. 3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships next week and will face No. 4-seeded Mercer in Wednesday's third game. First pitch in Nashville on the campus of LIpscomb is set for 8 p.m. EDT.
Notes: Saturday was also Senior Day for the Owls as KSU honored Fowlkes, McClurken, Johnson, Bryan Blough, Jeff Brown, Jordan Dean and Bucky Smith...Ronnie Freeman had three hits for KSU, bumping his average to a team-high .380.
