Kennesaw State wins first ASUN baseball title since 2014

May 29—Kennesaw State defeated Liberty 10-6 to claim the 2022 ASUN tournament championship Saturday.

The win gives the Owls (35-26, 19-11 ASUN) their first tournament trophy since 2014 and an automatic bid to into the NCAA Regionals next weekend. They will find out where they play Monday when the NCAA Baseball Selection Show airs on ESPN2 at noon.

"This has always been our goal this year, and this should be our goal from here on out as a program," coach Ryan Coe said in a release. "We want to play championship baseball and that is what we did."

After dropping its first two games of the tournament, the Owls had to win three-straight to earn the conference crown. KSU defeated Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, then eliminated Lipscomb on Friday to reach the championship game.

"We come out here and play as hard as we can," Coe said. "That has been the motto of our team since day one. It doesn't matter who we are playing, where we are playing, or what the score is. We are going to play as hard as possible until the last out is made."

Jack Myers got the start and pitched four innings. The right-hander surrendered two runs on three hits in his third appearance of the tournament. Following the conclusion of the game, Myers was one of five Owls named to the All-Tournament Team.

John Bezdicek (5-1) threw four innings in relief. He entered on one-day of rest and bridged the game for the KSU bullpen. Bezdicek allowed one run and struck out three to earn the win.

Tyler Simon recorded the last out and tied a career-high with four hits. The senior finished 4-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored. He was named to the all-Tournament team and recorded a hit in all five postseason games.

Josh Hatcher was named the ASUN tournament MVP after hitting four home runs with nine RBIs for the week. The centerfielder was 1-for-5 with two runs scored Saturday and extended his hitting streak to 17 games.

Spencer Hanson had two doubles in a 2-for-5 afternoon at the plate. The designated hitter recorded multiple hits in three of the five tournament games.

Brayden Eidson collected two hits and one run scored in the tournament finale. Cash Young finished 1-for-4 with a double, RBI and was selected to the all-Tournament team and collected four doubles in the five postseason games.

Kennesaw State took an early lead. Hatcher walked and advanced to second on a single from Simon. Zac Corbin was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Donovan Cash. A walk drove in the first run of the afternoon and they added a second on a double-play ball by Young for a 2-0 advantage.

In the third, Simon lined the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in left to push the lead to 3-0. The homer was his seventh of the year.

The Owls added two more runs in the fourth. An RBI single from Hassan was followed by Nick Colina's sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.

Liberty cut into the deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and then loaded the bases in the sixth with only one out. Bezdicek ended the rally with two strikeouts.

KSU regained momentum in the seventh when Simon singled and Young and Hanson had back-to-back doubles. Eidson followed with an infield single which allowed the third run to cross the plate to make Kennesaw State's lead 8-3.

The Owls scored one more run in the eighth and one final insurance run in the top of the ninth.

Liberty scored three in the bottom of the ninth, but Smith Pinson closed the game.