March 23, 2001
Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky baseball team committed seven errors in a 12-7 loss to Arkansas State Friday night.
The Toppers (15-9, 1-3 SBC) got on the board in the first as 2B Brian Houdek (Sr., Dyer, Ind.) scored on a wild pitch by Indian starter Tony Arthur. RF Tim Cleland (Sr., Klamath Falls, Ore.) then reached on an infield single plating 3B Nick Turner (Jr., Louisville, Ky.) to give WKU a 2-0 lead.
The Indians (9-15, 2-2 SBC) got on the board in the second as DH Tommy Goforth drove in LF Kyle Brunen with a single to left. Western answered in the third as Turner laced a two-out double down the right field line and scored on a single by DH Ryan Cattell (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) to increase the Western lead to 3-1.
ASU tied the game in the sixth CF Nick Martin had an RBI single to center and 3B Allen Mazzanti hit a sacrifice fly to center plating RF Lane Stafford with the tying run. Arkansas State added three more in the seventh thanks in part to three Hilltopper errors. The Indians then got five hits in the seventh off Hilltopper reliever Mike Belch scoring five more runs to take an 11-3 lead.
Western rallied in the bottom of the eighth as Turner doubled to left center and scored on a single by Cattell. Pinch hitter Patrick Ransdell (Jr., Bowling Green, Ky.) then singled to left center scoring Cattell. CF David Lower (So., Alexandria, Ind.) followed with a two-run home run to left off Indian reliever Keith Vorhoff to pull the Toppers back within four at 11-7. However, ASU added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single by 2B George Sterner and Goforth shut down Western in the ninth to end the game.
Arthur picked up the win for ASU allowing 11 hits and six runs while striking out five over 7.1 innings of work. Hilltopper starter Ryan Hutchison (Sr., Vincennes, Ind.) suffered the loss allowing five runs on eight hits over 6.1 innings. Turner led the offense going 5-for-5 with three runs scored.
The same two teams will meet again tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CST) in the second of a three-game series.
- WKU -
