By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor
The Kennesaw State baseball team will continue its historic season this weekend when the Owls (40-22) travel to Louisville (48-15) for a spot in the College World Series. KSU comes into the best-of-three series ranked 12th in the nation while the Cardinals are fifth.
First pitch on Friday, June 6, is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on Saturday. Each of the first two games will be aired live on ESPNU with game three on Sunday if necessary at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
KSU reached the Super Regionals after winning the Tallahassee Regional last weekend which included two wins over Alabama. The Owls are seeking their first-ever appearance in the CWS as a Division I program. “This has been a tremendous season for us,” Owls head coach Mike Sansing said at a press conference earlier this week. “We’ve had an incredible run and I’m so proud of the players.” Sansing, who’s currently in his 23rd season with Kennesaw State, has also taken the team to an NAIA and NCAA Division II national title during his tenure. He’s now the only coach to have taken a team to an NAIA Title, Division II Title and a Division I Super Regional.
“The team has a lot of confidence because of our play in the last 25 games,” Sansing notes. “We understand that we may be looked at as an underdog because we have a short history in Division I but its not something that we think about.”
The Owls have been paced by an elite offense which has produced 661 total hits, good enough for third in the nation. The .300 team batting average is also good enough for a top 25 ranking as do the 377 runs scored. As a team the Owls have now played 37 games with double-digit team hits including a 20-hit night during the Regional win over Georgia Southern.
Catcher Max Pentecost continues his stellar performance at the plate, now coming in at No. 1 in the nation with 110 hits this season. The catcher also held the longest active hit streak in the NCAA at 36 games. He’s a finalist for the Dick Howser Award.
KSU has now won 26 of its last 27 games, a stretch that included the nation’s longest win-streak of 16 games. The Owls have now won their last seven in a row as well.
Closer Justin McCalvin set the new standard for saves in the KSU record book, earning his 16th of the season to set the new single-season high.
Starting pitcher Travis Bergen was named the Tallahassee Regional Most Outstanding Player after picking up a pair of wins during the four games. Bergen has not allowed a run in his last three outings and has allowed just one earned run in his last five.
KSU earned a plethora of postseason awards from the A-Sun including Pentecost becoming the first KSU Player of the Year and All-First Team selection along with McCalvin. Along with the A-Sun awards, Cornell Nixon, Brennan Morgan, Bo Way, Pentecost and Bergen were all named to the Tallahassee Regional All-Tournament Team, Bergen taking home MVP Honors.
The Cardinals earned their second straight NCAA Super Regional berth and the fourth in the last eight seasons by winning the Louisville Regional last weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium. Winning 21 of its last 25 games overall, Louisville swept through the double-elimination regional with wins over Kent State (5-0), Kansas (6-3) and Kentucky (4-1).
Louisville is hosting its second NCAA Super Regional in school history and the first since defeating Oklahoma State in 2007 to earn the program’s first College World Series berth. Riding a six-game postseason winning streak at home, the Cardinals are 13-4 all-time in NCAA Championship games at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Sports Inquirer 
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