KENNESAW, GA—Kennesaw State scored all of its runs in the sixth inning and later and that was enough for the Owls to score a come-from-behind 8-2 victory over visiting NJIT Friday night in the first game of the three-game weekend Atlantic Sun Conference baseball series between the teams.
NJIT, which had a four-game winning streak go by the wayside, is 12-16 overall and 2-1 in the A-Sun. Kennesaw State is 12-19 overall and 3-1 in league play.
The Highlanders took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, but when it was over, Kennesaw State had poured six runs across the plate on four hits, including a pair of home runs. The Owls then added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. NJIT, meanwhile, had built a 2-0 lead on runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
The losing pitcher was NJIT starter
Sean Lubreski (4-3), who worked around errors in three of the first four innings to carry the shutout into the sixth, but was tagged with five runs in the fateful frame. He allowed one of the home runs and had yielded three runs when he departed with two men on base and no one out.
Owl 3B Jeremy Howell blew the game open for KSU, powering a three-run homer as the first batter faced by NJIT reliever
Tommy Derer.
Lubreski was credited with five innings pitched, plus five batters faced in the sixth and was charged with five runs, five hits and two walks, while striking out two. He had allowed two hits and no runs through the first five innings.
Derer, who walked two in addition to giving up the home run to Howell (1-for-3), was followed in relief by
Chris Gibbons and
Andres Fernandez, each of whom allowed a Kennesaw State run.
The Owls used four pitchers, as well, with the win going to the first reliever, senior RHP Brock Turner (1-1), who pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed one hit. Junior LHP Richard Lovelady followed Turner with two perfect innings and junior RHP Erich Stahl finished with a scoreless ninth inning.
NJIT left three runners on base through the first four innings, but broke through in the top of the fifth with one run. Freshman 3B
Tom Brady led off with a double, was bunted ahead to third base on a sacrifice and scored when 2B
Johnny Malatesta singled to center field.
The sixth-inning run for the visitors was set up by DH
Stephan Halibej's one-out double down the left field line, knocking the Owls starting pitcher, junior LHP Mason Ward, out of the game after he had gone 5.1 innings and allowed five hits and two runs.
After the second out of the inning, 1B
Bryan Haberstroh (2-for-3) doubled to score Halibej with NJIT's second run. But that would be all of the scoring for the Highlanders on Friday night.
Kennesaw State began the bottom of the frame with a leadoff home run by 1B Austin Upshaw. C Brennan Morgan followed with a double and LF Alex Liquori walked.
CF Jordan Getzelman, who would finish the game 2-for-4, then reached base on a controversial play that didn't help NJIT's Lubreski. Getzelman's ball was hit to the infield and thrown to third base attempting to get a force out.
The runner, Morgan, was called safe at third base, even though the ESPN3 television replay clearly showed that the throw beat the runner at third. NJIT coach
Brian Guiliana went out to argue his case, but with no replay reviews in college baseball, the safe call stood, loading the bases.
The next batter, RF Taylor Allum, delivered a two-run single, knocking Lubreski out of the game. And Howell homered after that.
Getzelman hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning and Morgan hit a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.
For NJIT, Haberstroh was the only player with more than one hit. Of the seven hits for the Highlanders, four were doubles. C
Cody Kramer joined Halibej, Haberstroh, and Brady with two-baggers.
Half of Kennesaw State's eight hits went for extra bases, including three home runs, one each for Upshaw, Getzelman, and Howell, plus a double for Morgan.
The series is slated to continue on Saturday with a 1 pm game in KSU's Stillwell Baseball Stadium.
