WKU Falls in Tight Battle with U of L

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Photo - WKU Athletics

For the second time this year, WKU Baseball was edged by in-state rival Louisville, this time by a score of 5-4 on Tuesday night at Jim Patterson Stadium. Luke Brown went 3-for-4 for his 11th multi-hit game in his past 17 starts, raising his batting average from .195 to .319 in that span.

Things got busy early for both pitching staffs, as the Hilltoppers and Cardinals were tied 3-3 following a 44-minute first inning.

Steven Kraft and Jacob Rhinesmith walked against Louisville starter Michael Kirian, who was lifted after the first two batters of the game. Reliever Austin Dickey came in and hit Colie Currie on the first pitch, which set up Tyler Robertson’s eighth sacrifice fly of the season and a 1-0 lead.

Ray Zuberer III followed with an RBI single into right field to extend his team-high on-base streak to 12 games, then Brown singled to load the bases once again for Jake Ryan. The catcher worked a seven-pitch walk that scored a third run for the Hilltoppers, and they carried a 3-0 advantage into the bottom of the first.

But the Cardinals evened it back up on a two-out, two-run single by Josh Stowers. During the next hitter, Stowers stole second and third, then came home on a wild pitch by WKU starter Troy Newell, which made it a 3-3 ballgame.

Devon Loomis, who got the final out of the first inning then worked a scoreless second, allowed a two-out RBI single to Justin Lavey that gave Louisville a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third.

But back came the Hilltoppers in the fifth, as Rhinesmith led off the inning with his third walk of the night. With one out, Robertson hit a line drive off the foot of pitcher Bryan Hoeing, who made an errant throw to first base trying to get the out. That allowed Rhinesmith to come around to score, making it a 4-4 game.

Maddex Richardson went a team-high 2.2 innings out of the WKU bullpen and allowed only one run, but it ended up being the winning run for the Cardinals (27-13). Lucas Dunn led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and moved to third with one out, then Pat Rumoro lifted a sacrifice fly that was just deep enough to center field, making it a 5-4 game.

The Hilltoppers (19-21) had runners in scoring position in the sixth and eighth innings, but were not able to score an equalizer. Louisville reliever Shay Smiddy got the final five outs for the save.

(Courtesy WKU Athletics)

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