BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University baseball team dropped the series opener to Kennesaw State, 11-9, Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 3-6 on the season. Kennesaw State improved its record to 4-6 with the win.
 
"Honestly, offensively, it was mostly good, other than that sequence there with the Renfroe guy in relief where he really found a fastball that we didn't think he had and command of it where he started sitting 94-95 on every pitch," Samford head coach Tony Daivd said. "Any time you're down 8-1 in the middle innings and you come back and take the lead, there's a lot to be said that is good from that."
 
Samford was led in the loss by Jackson Harris, going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Michael Gupton went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Jake Souders went 2-for-5 in the loss. Austin Tommasini (0-1) pitched 1.1 innings in relief, giving up three runs on four hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
 
For KSU, Cooper Williams went 4-for-5 with a grand slam and six RBI. Donovan Cash went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. Ryan Renfroe (1-0) pitched 2.1 innings in relief, allowing two unearned runs on three hits to earn the win on the mound for the Owls. Smith Pinson picked up his first save of the season, tossing the final 2.0 hitless innings.
 
Kennesaw State jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the first inning on a two-run homer by Cash. Samford plated its first run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 2-1 when Gupton led the inning off with a solo home run.
 
The Owls plated six runs in the top of the fourth inning, powered by a grand slam by Williams, to push the lead to 8-1. Samford came back with four runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth inning to take a 9-8 lead. In the fourth inning, Harris drove in two runs and Gus Gandy and Jeffrey Ince drove in a run each. In the fifth inning, Parker McDonald, Gupton, Ince and Harris drove in a run each as Samford took the lead.
 
The lead, however, was short lived as Kennesaw State plated three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 11-9 lead. Williams drove in two runs and Cash drove in one as the Owls took the lead for good.
 
Samford and Kennesaw State will continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.


 
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