Feb. 18, 2007

Final Stats

Kennesaw, Ga. - Junior Steven Strausbaugh blasted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the top of the sixth inning to give Western Carolina a 2-1 lead. However, five Catamount errors, including two in a four-run bottom of the seventh, led Kennesaw State to a 5-3 win, preventing a WCU sweep at Stillwell Field on Sunday afternoon.

After falling behind 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Western rallied to take its first lead of the game in the visitor half of the sixth. With two down in the frame, junior Barrett Shaft doubled down the left line and the next batter, his classmate Strausbaugh, drove one over the fence in right center field to give WCU the advantage.

Western (2-1) held the lead until the bottom of the seventh when the Owls rallied with four unearned runs to pull ahead 5-2. Lead off man Clint Roques reached on an error and was sacrificed to second put a runner in scoring position with one out. A second error in the frame put runners at the corners when relief pitcher Chris Masters gave up a two-run triple down the left field line to push KSU ahead, 3-2. The Owls added an RBI single and a run scored on a passed ball to surge ahead by three.

The Catamounts rallied in the ninth inning as both transfer John Ingram and junior Jason Haynes drew one out walks and were moved to second and third, respectively, when freshman Kenny Smith reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. The next batter, freshman Tyler Kirkpatrick, grounded out to third, scoring Ingram from third to pull Western to within two. But KSU relief pitcher Justin Freeman got freshman Nick Liles to fly out to left to end the game.

Shaft finished the day 3-for-4 with a double to lead Western, with Strausbaugh's home run giving the junior a game-high tying two RBI.

Sophomore Drew Saberhagen suffered his first defeat of the season, allowing three unearned runs in 6.2 innings of work with four strikeouts and one walk. Junior Ryne Nelson faced two batters to record the final out in the seventh inning with freshman Daniel Ottone tossing one inning in the eighth.

Western Carolina opens the home portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting the Connecticut Huskies for a three-game series at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon, with both Saturday and Sunday's games slated to begin at 1:00 pm.