April 26, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Ryan Bicondoa (Sr., Lovelock, Nev.) tied a career high with 14 strikeouts for the third time in his last six starts, while breaking the Western Kentucky single season strikeout record (119) to lead the Hilltopper baseball team to a 4-1 series-opening victory over New Orleans Friday at Nick Denes Field. The win is the fourth-straight for the Hilltoppers (29-10, 9-3 Sun Belt), while the Privateers (22-20, 8-8 Sun Belt) drop their second-in-a-row.
Bicondoa controlled the UNO bats throughout, allowing just one unearned run on six hits to earn his sixth-straight victory--all against SBC foes--and improve to 7-2 on the season. It was his sixth consecutive start with at least 12 strikeouts and seventh-in-a-row with at least 10. Amazingly he walked just one batter and was one out away from earning his fifth complete game victory of the season.
The first four innings went scoreless, with both teams collecting just three hits combined as Bicondoa and Privateer starter Brandon Kling controlled the game on the mound. In the top of the fifth, Bicondoa fanned his seventh batter of the evening, giving him 112 on the season to break Heath Haynes' single season strikeout record of 111, set back in 1991.
In the bottom of the fifth, WKU broke the scoreless tie when Patrick Ransdell (Sr., Bowling Green, Ky.) walked, and Travis Brown (Jr., Kankakee, Ill.) followed with a triple to the gap in left-center, plating Ransdell to put the Toppers ahead, 1-0. David Lower (Jr., Alexandria, Ind.) stepped up and increased the lead to two when he scored Brown with an RBI single to left.
After Bicondoa shut down the UNO bats in the top of the sixth, Western increased its lead to 3-0 in its half of the inning when Nick Turner (Sr., Louisville, Ky.) smashed a leadoff double down the left field line, and two batters later Trevor Keesling (Jr., Pendleton, Ind.) launched a sacrifice fly to center, plating Turner to make it a 3-0 contest.
The Hilltoppers tacked on another in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of an RBI single by Jeff Pacholke (Sr., Prairie DuSac, Wis.) to make it a 4-0 WKU advantage.
Matt Wilhite (Jr., Franklin, Ky.) relieved Bicondoa with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, fanning Kody Valverde with the bases loaded to earn his fourth save of the year. The appearance was the 22nd for Wilhite, who currently stands in fifth place on the Hilltopper career list with 62.
Kling earned the loss for the Privateers, allowing four runs on five hits with six strikeouts in 8.0 innings to fall to 4-3 on the year.
The series resumes Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. (CDT) at Nick Denes Field.
