May 14, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - In its home finale, the Western Kentucky University baseball team downed Eastern Kentucky 9-8 in 12 innings when Travis Brown (Sr., Kankakee, Ill.) scored on a throwing error at Nick Denes Field on Wednesday night.
The win was a season-best fifth straight for the Hilltoppers (29-20) and second on the season for Igor Roiberg (Jr., Toronto, Ontario) (2-3) who pitched 3-2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Western has won three of its last five games in extra innings. The Colonels fell to 19-27 and have lost 10 straight games.
In the bottom of the 12th inning, Brown walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rafael Vallejo (So., The Bronx, N.Y.). After Eastern pitcher Andy Polzin intentionally walked Tim Grogan (Fr., Villa Hills, Ky.), Matt Gunning (Jr., Victoria, B.C.) hit into an apparent double play. Colonel shortstop Jonathan Woodard threw the ball into the dirt past first base allowing Brown to scamper home from first.
EKU had tried to get something going in the top of the tenth as Josh Anderson led off with a single. He tried to stretch it into a double but was thrown out by Vallejo.
The Colonels got on the board with two runs in the first inning off Travis Sewell (Fr., Utica, Ky.), who was making his first career start. Woodard reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a single by Neil Sellers. Woodard scored when Adam Visnic grounded out to short. A wild pitch by Sewell brought in Sellers.
Western tied the game in the bottom of the second. Trevor Keesling (Sr., Hagerstown, Ind.), Matt Ransdell (Fr., Bowling Green, Ky.) and John Kitley (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) led of the inning with singles. Kitley's hit allowed Keesling to score. After a pitch hit Michael Wilhite (Fr., Franklin, Ky.), freshman Phillip Thayer (Portland, Tenn.) drove in Ransdell.
The Colonels scored two in the third and two in the sixth to take a 6-2 advantage.
In the third, Derrick Bussell led off the inning with a double off Sewell and scored on a two-out double by Sellers. Visnic drove in Sellers with a single.
Eastern extended its lead to four in the sixth with a pair of runs off Chris Conley (Fr., Somerset, Ky.). Woodard drove in both runs with a single.
The Hilltoppers took the lead with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning off Nick Barte with no outs. Keesling led off the inning with a triple. Barte loaded the bases by hitting Ransdell with a pitch and then walked Johnston. Back-to-back infield singles by Gunning and Brent Miller (So., Muncie, Ind.) scored Keesling and Ransdell. Vallejo followed with a bases loaded walk off Scott Goetz bringing in Johnston. Grogan drove in Gunning with a fielder's choice. Western tied the score when Brown, who pinch ran for Miller, scored on a double steal.
In the seventh, WKU pushed its lead to 8-6. Lower reached on a one-out single and scored on a double by Johnston to right off Goetz.
Eastern tied the game by adding runs in the eighth and the ninth.
In the eight, Josh Anderson reached when he was hit by an Adam Prida (Jr., Tampa, Fla.) pitch and stole second and third. Anderson, who stole three bases on the evening, scored on a sacrifice fly by Sellers.
The Colonels tied the game in the ninth when Stephen Carter scored on a single by Keith Bolger. Greg Estep who had doubled to get on base, tried to score on the play but gunned down at the plate by Lower.
The Hilltoppers close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series in New Orleans before playing in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament next week at Louisiana-Lafayette.
