Kennesaw State Baseball Visits Panthersville

The 27-11 Georgia State Panthers baseball team hosts the 21-18 Kennesaw State Owls today at 6 PM for the 2nd and final matchup of the 2011 season. GSU defeated the Owls on March 23rd in Kennesaw by a score of 6-3 after a dominant outing by pitcher Will Campbell.

Freshman reliever and recent mid-week starter Sam Agnew-Wieland will get the start today for the Panthers. This will be his 3rd start of the season and he's 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA. Sam has a WHIP of 0.96 and has struck out 29 batters in 25 innings pitched (11 total appearances). Opposing batters are hitting just .202 on him for the season and have managed only 2 extra base hits, both doubles. Sam's wins have come against a powerful Mercer lineup and Alabama State.

The Owls will send sophomore Catlan Kendrick against Sam. Catlan is 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA and will also be making his 3rd start on the season and 11th total appearance. He's pitched 22.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.32 while opposing hitters are batting .274 against him. He' thrown 17 strikeouts on the season. Catlan pitched the 9th inning in the 6-3 GSU win and allowed 1 hit and walked 1 but allowed no runs to score.

The Georgia State lineup is hitting .314 as a team currently led by Mark Micowski who's hitting .369. Sophomore Drew Shields is now hitting .362 and has really stepped up for the Panthers during Joey Wood's injury. The team is scoring 7.7 runs per game on the season. Micowksi, Brandon Williams and Rob Lind all had a 3-hit game against the Owls in March.

KSU is hitting .278 as a team and has scored an average of 6.1 runs per game this season. Ronnie Freeman, who was 2-for-4 in the first game, leads the team with a .367 average. Ethan Herron also had a 2-for-4 day against the Panthers in March and is hitting .328 on the season. Home run leader Andy Chriscaden homered in the March meeting and drove in 2 runs. He still leads the KSU offense with 9 home runs and 45 RBIs.

I expect the Panthers to complete the season sweep over the Owls in front of the home crowd. GO PANTHERS!!!

DH Joey Wood is Out for the JMU Series

Joey Wood is still resting his back and will not be with the team at James Madison this weekend. Drew Shields will likely take his place as he did in the Delaware series where he went 5-for-9 at the plate with 3 RBIs.

Panthers Baseball Remains Unbeaten Against Ivy League

The Panthers defeated the Harvard Crimson today by a score of 9-3. Will Campbell had an odd first inning allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and 3 steals. He settled in and pitched another 5 innings allowing a total of 6 hits and 3 runs. Our outstanding freshman Sam Agnew-Wieland entered and pitched a quick 2 innings allowing only 1 hit and recorded 2 strikeouts, I know, what's new. Zach Chastain closed the game for the Panthers in the 9th. Zach has now pitched 5.1 innings without giving up an earned run.

I give the game ball on offense to Joey Wood after going 2-for-3 with 4 RBI's including a 2-run HR to left center field in the 5th inning. Joey received the start in left field today to allow Brett Maxwell the day off. Drew Shields had a productive game going 3-for-4 and driving 2 runs. Mark Micowski, Rob Lind and Carter Sackett also had a multi-hit day at the plate.

Box Score: 3 Runs, 8 Hits and 1 Error for the Crimson; 9 Runs, 14 Hits and no Errors for the Panthers

The Panthers host out-of-conference Murray State for a 3-game series Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Game times are at 6 PM, 1PM and 1PM respectively. Sunny skies ahead so wear the sunscreen when you get out there this weekend, especially on Saturday. Should be in the upper 70's for tomorrow's first pitch, sitting around 80 on Saturday and Sunday will be a little cooler in the high 60's.

Look for the series preview tomorrow.