December 7, 2018 marks 70 days until Opening Day for the 100th Season of WKU Hilltopper Baseball, and over the next 70 days, WKU Athletics will treat fans to unique moments and interesting history from Hilltopper Baseball, all leading up to First Pitch at Nick Denes Field on February 15, 2019.
| DAY 70 (December 7) |
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| The 1978 WKU Baseball club went 26-19-1 under the direction of coach Barry Shollenberger, including an 8-3-1 record in Ohio Valley Conference play to claim the West Division regular-season title. During the campaign, the Hilltoppers put up a 13-game win streak, which was the longest in program history at the time. After leading WKU with a then-program-record 11 homeruns with a .408 batting average, Jim Atkinson was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 13th round of the 1978 MLB Draft. |
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| DAY 69 (December 8) |
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| Catcher Hugh Poland is a 1994 WKU Hall of Fame inductee, having earned nine letters as a Hilltopper; three apiece in football, basketball and baseball. Poland signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent and played over 1,000 games in the Minor Leagues before making his MLB debut in 1943 with the New York Giants at the age of 33. The Thompkinsville native is pictured here as a Cincinnati Red, when he hit a career-best .333 (6-for-18) during the 1947 season. |
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| DAY 68 (December 9) |
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| A two-year letterwinner for WKU in the late 1980's, Gary Mueller had an astounding 1988 campaign to earn First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors. The first baseman led the Hilltoppers that season with a .340 batting average (84-for-247), 19 doubles and 66 RBI. Under the direction of head coach Joel Murrie, the club went 43-21, including a 14-4 record in SBC play, to claim a West Division title for the second time in four years. |
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| DAY 67 (December 10) |
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| To cap one of the greatest seasons in WKU Baseball history, third baseman Wade Gaynor had a performance to remember in the 2009 Oxford Regional. That season as a whole, Gaynor slashed .373/.457/.778 with 25 homeruns, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 84 runs scored, 77 RBI and 23 stolen bases. In five games at Swayze Field, he went 7-for-21 (.333 batting average) with a team-high three homreruns and eight RBI. He celebrated with catcher Matt Rice after this pictured dinger. |
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| DAY 66 (December 11) |
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| The 1980 WKU Baseball club went a program-record 47-13-1 under the direction of first-year coach Joel Murrie, including an 17-3 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play to claim the regular-season title, then a 4-1 tally in the OVC Tournament to double up with that trophy. The 47 wins were an OVC single-season record until the 2018 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles put up 53 victories. There was a program-record 19-game win streak in the mix, as well as the first-ever NCAA Regional appearance. |
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| DAY 65 (December 12) |
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| Although Carlos Akins was only with WKU for the 1995 season, he etched his name in the Hilltopper record books. The Oklahoma City native and Hutchinson CC (Kan.) transfer piled up 41 stolen bases that year, which still stand as an all-time high mark. Overall, he slashed .319/.437/.495 with team highs of 22 doubles, four triples and 64 runs scored. Akins earned First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 12th round of the 1995 MLB Draft. |
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| DAY 64 (December 13) |
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| The 1981 WKU Baseball club went 41-18 under the direction of coach Joel Murrie, including a 9-3 record in Ohio Valley Conference play to claim the North Division regular-season title. Following a program-record 47 victories in 1980, it marks the only time in Hilltopper history that teams reached 40+ wins in back-to-back years. Slugger Mike Williams paced the offense, as he was voted 1981 OVC Player of the Year after leading the team with a .423 batting average, 21 homeruns and 77 RBI. |
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| DAY 63 (December 14) |
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| Coach Jim Pickens (center) presents pitchers Dero Downing, Jr. (left) and Stan Markham (right) with team uniforms. The WKU duo played in the late 1960's, as Markham led the Hilltoppers in both innings pitched and wins. The lefty piled up 13 wins and 183 innings in four seasons from 1966-69. Downing tied Markham with a team-high 2 wins; he was the son of WKU's fourth university president, Dr. Dero G. Downing, who held the position from 1969-79. |
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| DAY 62 (December 15) |
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| The 1982 WKU Baseball club went 37-10 under the direction of coach Joel Murrie, including an 11-3 record in Ohio Valley Conference play to claim the North Division regular-season title for the second-straight season. The 10 losses are the fewest by any Hilltopper team that played at least 20 games. Catcher Ralph Antone paced the offense, hitting .411 with 62 hits, 17 homeruns, 56 RBI and 51 runs scored. He would go on to earn All-OVC and All-South Central Region honors. |
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| DAY 61 (December 16) |
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| On Mach 12, 2018, outfielder Jacob Rhinesmith became the first WKU player in program history to be named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Hitter of the Week. In four games from March 6-10, he slashed an astounding .550/.571/1.250, hitting 11-for-20 with six extra-base hits (four homeruns and two doubles). He also scored 10 runs and drove in eight for the Hilltoppers. In addition, Rhinesmith was named the College Sports Madness National Player of the Week. |
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