April 15, 2001
Las Cruces, N.M. - Western Kentucky got its first Sun Belt Conference series sweep of the season, pounding New Mexico State 16-7 on Sunday.
Western (25-15, 9-6 SBC) struck right away scoring four times in the first inning. LF Matt Fox (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) set the tone as he led off the frame with is sixth home run of the season over the wall in left. After 2B Brian Houdek (Sr., Dyer, Ind.) was hit by a pitch, 1B D.J. Johnson (So., Hudson, Ky.) singled to right to put runners on the corners. Catcher Ryan Cattell (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.) followed with a three-run homer to left to put WKU on top 4-0.
The Toppers played long-ball again in the third. Houdek led off the inning with a single to center, and after Johnson lined out to second, Cattell hit his second homer of the game over the wall in left-center. DH Jeff Pacholke (Jr., Prairrie DuSac, Wisc.) followed with a home run off the scoreboard in left-center to give Western a 7-0 lead.
The Aggies (25-17, 3-11 SBC) got on the board in the third as catcher Chad Dias hit a solo home run to left off Western starter Ryan Hutchison (Sr., Vincennes, Ind.) to make it a 7-1 game. NMSU got another run in the fourth as DH Ryan Kenning double doubled to left-center field with one out. SS Jason Larsen followed with a single to center to drive in Kenning to make it a 7-2.
The Hilltoppers put up three more runs in the fifth, all with two outs. Cattell continued his hot hitting with a one-out double down the left-field line. Pacholke reached by catchers interference and after Marcangeli recorded a strikeout, RF Brent Miller (Fr., Muncie, Ind.) doubled down the line in right field to score Cattell. CF Tim Cleland (Sr., Klamath Falls, Ore.) and SS Luis Rodriguez (Sr., Rio Piedra, Puerto Rico) followed with back-to-back singles to plate two more runs and extend the WKU lead to 10-2.
New Mexico State added a run in the eighth as RF Cory Harrington hit a one-out solo home run to left, making the score 10-3. However, Western score six more times in the ninth. Nick Turner (Jr., Louisvlle, Ky.) led off the inning with a walk, and after a Tanner Townsend (Jr., London, Ky.) single, David Lower (So., Alexandria, Ind.) doubled to left, driving in Turner. Cleland followed with a walk to load the bases and Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to center, plating Townsend. Fox singled to left to load the bases again and Houdek doubled to right, driving home two more runs. Johnson then singled to left, scoring Fox. Kenneth Yaeger (Fr., Bowling Green, Ky.) reached on an error, allowing Houdek to score and make it a 16-3 game.
The Aggies added Kurt Minnick (Fr., Anderson, Ind.) walked the first two batters he faced. Pinch hitter Michael Gmetro followed with a double to right to score a run. After LF Jesse French grounded out to third, 2B Anthony Purkiss doubled to left to score two more runs. Igor Roiberg (Fr., Toronto, Canada) replaced Minnick and gave up a single to Scott Hammer which plated Purkiss to make it 16-7, but Roiberg retired the last two hitters to end the game.
Hutchison (7-5) picked up the win throwing 8.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out eight. Cattell led the offense with three hits and a game-high five RBI.
Western returns home Tuesday as it hosts Vanderbilt a 6 p.m. (CDT).
-- WKU --
