Category | Sports

Owls soar with seven game win streak

Published on April 15, 2008 by The Sentinel

    The KSU Baseball team is turning up the heat, with their seventh
win in a row.  Presbyterian’s effort was not enough to stop the Owls as
the Blue Hose dropped both games of the doubleheader on Tuesday evening
at Stillwell Stadium. The Owls scored 15 runs in two games with 20 hits
on the night.  Defense was a key factor in the spectacular wins and
Presbyterian’s offense was no match for the Owls’ pitching.  The KSU
lineup combined to allow just one run on the entire day, sweeping
Presbyterian College, 9-1 and 6-0.

    Sophomore Jace Whitmer was the star of this doubleheader against Presbyterian College on Tuesday night.  Whitmer drove in six runs over the two games, tying the team lead for RBIs with 26.  “Jace has been swinging the bat well over the past couple of weeks,” head coach Mike Sansing said. “He’s just found a good groove and we’re getting guys on base to take advantage of it.”

    In game one the Owls, who have moved to 17-16 on their season, opened the game strong by scoring five runs in the first inning.  Whitmer smashed a three-run double to send Jacob Robbins, Bucky Smith and Jay Morrow all across home plate.  Drew Fowlkes then followed Whitmer’s RBIs with a single to push the lead to four runs, and then reached home himself to make the score 5-0 in just the first inning. The scoring would halt for both sides until the fifth inning when Fowlkes sent Morrow in to score a run for the Owls and then reached home himself on a Blue hose error, making the score 6-0.  Presbyterian’s only rally started in the sixth inning when they scored their only run of the entire evening.  KSU then brought in three more runs in the seventh inning on an Andrew Martin hit with the bases loaded and a wild pitch to score Josh Whitaker.

    KSU had four players with two hits in the contest with Fowlkes leading the way. Fowlkes was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

    In game two, defense was crucial for the Owls, with the Blue Hose having ten hits to KSU’s eight.  Even with these numbers, the Owls still managed to keep Presbyterian scoreless while notching six runs. Whitmer led KSU in the second game, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs.  Pitchers Kyle Clayton, Ryan Rodebaugh, Kenny Faulk, and Bubba Blalock combined to keep Presbyterian scoreless throughout the second game.

      The Owls started off with a 1-0 lead after a Smith bunt single was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Morrow. Then Whitmer brought him in for the RBI. The game stayed quiet for the next few innings, until KSU extended their lead in the fourth inning with two runs by Tendler and Wooley from a Curtis Van Wyck single through the middle. Tyler Stubblefield placed a bunt perfectly, sending Van Wyck into scoring position. With two men out, Smith and Morrow both earned walks to load the bases for the Owls with Whitmer up to bat.  The standout sophomore showed up with another hit, sending Van Wyck and Smith both to home and making the score 5-0. Ending the scoring for the day, Whitaker sent a single down the left field line to bring home Morrow, leaving the score at 6-0, the final for the night.

    Photo by Carl Zornes