May 8, 2002
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Western Kentucky University baseball team left a season-high 17 runners on base, and Chris Broadus hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 9-9 tie, both helping give Vanderbilt a 10-9 victory Tuesday at Hawkins Field. The loss was the third-straight for the Hilltoppers (32-14), while the win snapped a four-game skid for the Commodores (20-24). The game was delayed for approximately one hour due to rain.
WKU stranded two runners in each of the first four innings, and another in the eighth, and left three on base in both the fifth and seventh. Trevor Keesling (Jr., Pendleton, Ind.) led the Toppers, going 2-for-4 with a season-high five RBI, while Travis Brown (Jr., Kankakee, Ill.) contributed with three hits to tie a season high.
Western took the lead in the top of the first when Keesling ripped a two-out double to right that plated Tanner Townsend (Sr., London, Ky.) and Jeff Pacholke (Sr., Prairie DuSac, Wis.). Townsend singled with one out, and Pacholke drew a walk from Commodore starter Jeff Sues.
VU answered with three runs in the bottom of the second when Scott Shapiro hit a solo home run off Hilltopper starter Kenny Hughes (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.), and Scott Vanderhoff smacked a two-RBI single to center to make it a 3-2 game.
Keesling tied the contest in the top of the third, scoring Pacholke with an RBI triple off the wall in left, and Kevin Bearden (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) regained the lead for WKU,4-3, when he scored Keesling with a groundout to second.
The Commodores responded with three runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, while Western added another in the top of the fourth to make it a 9-5 game heading into the final five innings of play.
Over the course of the next four innings, WKU slowly chipped away at the Commodore lead, plating two runs in the top of the fifth, and one each in both the seventh and eighth to erase the four-run deficit and tie the game at nine. The Hilltoppers scored all four runs on two hit batsmen, one walk--each with the bases loaded--and another on a wild pitch.
Broadus then put VU ahead for good, scoring Vanderhoff with the game winner in the bottom of the eighth. The Toppers got a runner on board in the top of the ninth when Patrick Ransdell (Sr., Bowling Green, Ky.) walked with two outs, but pinch-runner Rafael Vallejo (Fr., The Bronx, N.Y.) was caught stealing at second to halt a comeback.
The Hilltoppers used four pitchers to give up a combined 12 hits, with Grady Hinchman (Fr., Pendleton, Ind.) earning the loss to fall to 0-2 on the season. Hinchman held the Commodores hitless in 4.0 innings of relief. Hughes allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits with one strikeout in 2.0 innings.
Vanderbilt used four pitchers to give up a combined nine hits, with Dean Bennett earning the victory to improve to 2-2 on the year.
The Hilltoppers return to action Saturday (May 11) in a doubleheader against New Mexico State at Nick Denes Field. Game one is set for a 2 p.m. start, while game two will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.
