Eagles Score Late, Defeat Kennesaw State 4-2
3/24/2009 4:21:00 AM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Tied at 2-all in the eighth inning, Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) launched the go-ahead home run as Georgia Southern recorded a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over Kennesaw State Tuesday night (March 24). The Eagles improved to 17-4 overall, 13-1 at J.I. Clements Stadium.
With one out in the eighth, Porter hammered a 0-1 fastball over the 55-foot tall batters eye in centerfield (385 feet) to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead. Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) drew a two-out walk then A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bryant) lined a single to right field. Jordan Craft had the ball go under his glove which allowed Miller to score from first on the play.
Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College) walked the first batter in the ninth but got the next two outs. Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) issued a walk but got pinch-hitter Jon White on a pop up to end the game.
“I wanted to do something special for the team. The first pitch he hung a curveball, and I told myself if he threw a fastball I wanted to make good contact. I got my pitch and hit it pretty well. That's probably the longest home run I've hit to date,” said Porter.
The Owls (9-10) took advantage of two-out hitting in the first inning for a 2-0 lead, thanks to Ric Bishop's home run. Starter Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) gave up only two hits over the next five innings, walking one and striking out six in six innings of work.
Kennesaw held the Eagles in check with only one hit allowed until the sixth inning. Jonathan King (Athens, TN/Young Harris) walked to start the sixth and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) walked and Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) reached on an infield single. Wirnsberger walked to bring home another run. Kyle Blackburn (Marietta/Walton) hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Bucky Smith, who could not come up with the play allowing the tying run to score.
Both teams managed only five hits apiece. Bobo improved to 2-0, getting a strikeout on three of the five outs he recorded, while Kamppi picked up his team-leading fourth save. Charles Matthews (Athens/Spartanburg Methodist) worked a scoreless seventh inning. The GS pitchers fanned 10 Owls and allowed just three walks.
Wes Tignor (0-2) suffered the loss in relief, charged for one run on two hits in 1.1 innings. Starter Chad Jenkins pitched two scoreless then Justin Edwards was charged for two runs (one earned) on two hits in four innings. Andrew Martin had two of the team's five hits.
The Eagles travel to South Carolina on Wednesday night (March 25), first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
