THE BASICS
Records: Kennesaw State (19-25, 8-7), Lipscomb (22-19, 8-7)
Score: Kennesaw State 0 , Lipscomb 1
Starting Pitching Matchup: RHP Denton Norman  vs. RHP Gabe Friese
Key Players:  Gabe Friese (6.1 IP, 0 ER), Chris Erwin (1-for-3, 1.2 IP, 0 ER), Taylor Allum (2-for-4), Austin Upshaw (1-for-4)
 
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (XML)
 
THE STORYLINE: 
· After roughly a two and a half rain delay, Lipscomb hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Kennesaw State, 1-0, at Dugan Field in the ASUN series finale Sunday afternoon.
· Owls' RHP Gabe Friese and Bisons' righty Denton Norman went mano a mano on the rubber as the two dueled things out in the center of the diamond, keeping both teams off the scoreboard until the Bisons scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the ninth.
· With the loss, Kennesaw State dropped to 19-25 overall and 8-7 in ASUN play, while Lipscomb improved to 22-19 and 8-7 in league action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
· In a game where runs were hard to come by, Friese and Norman countered each other the entire day in a back-and-forth, grind-it-out battle with no give between the two.
·  Friese, a Kennesaw native, dazzled in 6.1 innings or work, keeping Lipscomb batters off balanced and allowed just four scattered hits –including just one extra base hit— and no runs.
· The righty punched out six Lipscomb batters and did not allow a hit over his final 1.1 frames to keep the game scoreless.
· The Bisons answered Friese's hard work with Norman, who ended his day going 8.0 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five.
· After throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes, Chris Erwin relieved Friese in the seventh, and tossed 1.2 scoreless innings to keep the ballgame deadlocked at 0-0.  
· The contest reached the top of the ninth frame, but severe weather rolled into the area and forced a delay for more than two hours.
· A walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth proved to be the difference maker for Lipscomb, earning a series win.
· The two teams combined for just 10 hits on the day and left a combined 13 runners on base.
· The Owls were paced offensively by Taylor Allum (2-for-4), Austin Upshaw (1-for-4) and Erwin (1-for-3).
 
#NESTNOTES: 
· Gabe Friese made his fifth start of the season Sunday afternoon and 37^th for his career. The senior is now tied second for all-time starts in KSU D-I history (Jordan Hillyer, 2013-15). Josh Carr is the all-time leader with 38 starts from 2010-12.
· Friese continues to climb the ladder in the all-time record book, totaling 181 career strikeouts which now has him fifth in program history. The all-time leader is Kyle Heckathorn (2007-09) with 254.
· Friese also ranks tied for sixth in program history with 55 total appearances, with the leader sitting at 96 (Justin McCalvin (2011-14).
 
UP NEXT
Kennesaw State takes seven days off before its next game on May 8, hosting Western Carolina at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon. The tilt is scheduled to be shown on ASUN.TV at Stillwell Stadium.