April 10, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga.--Riding its longest winning streak since joining Division I, the Kennesaw State baseball team heads to Spartanburg, S.C., this Friday for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series with long-time rival USC Upstate. First pitch Friday is set for 6:00 p.m.

KSU's seven-game winning streak is its longest since the 2005 season when the Owls won seven in a row in April. During the streak, the Owls have outscored their opponents by a 52-23 margin.

Jacob Robbins has been the catalyst of the KSU offense during the stretch. The junior is batting .522 during the streak. Robbins has reached base safely to start each game of the streak and has scored each time as well.

Jace Whitmer has more than doubled his RBI total for the season during the streak. Whitmer has driven in 14 runs in the last seven games, bringing his total for the season to 26. That total ties Ric Bishop for the team lead in runs batted in.

Jay Morrow leads the Owls in batting average with a .336 mark. Morrow was hitting .172 after the February 29 contest against Wake Forest. Since then, he is hitting .395 with 19 RBIs.

The Owls and Spartans are both former members of the Peach Belt Conference. Until KSU joined Division I for the 2006 baseball season, the two schools had met at least three times per season since 1995. The Owls are 31-6 all-time against the Spartans.

Kyle Heckathorn is scheduled to start on Friday night for the Owls. The sophomore is 1-0 on the season with a 4.97 earned run average.

The two teams are scheduled to square off in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1:00 p.m.