Baseball Falls 14-9 In Sunday Rubber Match In Kentucky

Sunday, February 24

Bowling Green, Ky.

1:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

WESTERN KENTUCKY

February 24, 2008 | Baseball

Feb. 24, 2008

Final Stats

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A two-run second inning broke a 1-1 tie and helped propel the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to 14-9 victory over the Bowling Green State University baseball team Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of their season opeing three-game set. The Sunday contest was held at WKU's Nick Denes Stadium.

With the victory, the Hilltoppers improved to 2-1 on the young season, while the Falcons now fall to 1-2.

Leading the way on the afternoon for the Falcons were sophomore outfielders T.J. Blanton and Dennis Vaughn, who combined for eight hits and three RBI. Blanton finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI, while Vaughn finished a perfect 5-for-5 also with two runs scored and an RBI.

Getting the start on the mound for BG on the day was junior right-hander Marty Baird who threw 3.1 innings giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits as he was saddled with his first loss of the year.

Earning the win on the hill for the Hilltoppers was left-hander Matt Hightower who went a full five innings giving up three Falcon runs (two earned) on six hits.

WKU took an early 1-0 lead in the first, before BG tied the game up with a single run in the top half of the second. However, a two-run Hilltopper second would give them a 3-1 lead, which they took all the way to the bottom half of the fourth where they added three more.

Down 6-1 in the top of the fifth with one out, Vaughn collected his then second hit of the day on a single to left that started a Falcon rally. He'd be followed by Blanton who reached base on a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher that was scored as an error as Blanton ended up reaching first and Vaughn advanced to second. Junior Ryan Shay continued to swing his hot bat then as he plated Vaughn on a double down the left field line that got Blanton over to third. He would be brought home on an RBI groundout by Logan Meisler that brought the score to 6-3.

That would be as close as the Falcons would get though as the Hilltoppers countered with three more runs in bottom half of the inning to give them a 9-3 advantage. Hightower, who also saw time at designated hitter, would account for two of those runs as he hit a blast to right center off BG freshman Patrick Martin for a two-run shot that brought Martin's day to a close. Hightower was proceeded in the inning by a one-out triple by Matt Payton, who would score on a wild pitch in the next WKU at bat by Scott Kaskie. Kaskie followed with a single that setup Hightower's shot as the Hilltoppers looked for the series victory.

WKU added two more in the sixth as the Falcons could only muster a single run in the seventh, before platting five runs in the final two innings.

Trailing 13-6 in the top of the eighth, the Falcons made one last desperate run to get back in the game. With one out, pinch hitter David Borcherdt drew a walk to bring Vaughn to the plate. He followed with his fourth hit of the day on a single to right that moved Borcherdt to second. Both runners then scored on a triple to right by Blanton. Clay Duncan would pick up the inning's final RBI on a hit to left that was misplayed by the first baseman to bring home Blanton.

BG went on to add two runs in the ninth, but it wouldn't be enough.

The Hilltoppers would hold a final 16-15 edge in hits as the Falcons committed two errors in the game with WKU committing three.

Toeing the rubber on the day for BG besides Baird and Martin were sophomore Phil Hettlinger and freshman Charles Wooten.

The Falcons will return to action Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Dayton, Ohio for a single midweek game with the Dayton Flyers. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. from UD's Time Warner Cable Stadium.