May 24, 2003
Lafayette, La. - A slow start at the plate and in the field ended the Western Kentucky University baseball team's run to its first-ever Sun Belt Conference Tournament Saturday night in the championship game despite a late-inning rally as it fell 8-5 to Middle Tennessee.
The loss ended the Hilltoppers (34-22) run to it first championship game in the Sun Belt Conference and was the fourth time the lost in the title game as they lost in 1985, 1987, and 1999. Western won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament crown in 1980. WKU had won 10 of its last 11 games entering the title game.
The Toppers advanced to the title game by downing Florida International 13-9 in the first round, top-seeded South Alabama 10-9 in the second game and knocked out FIU 8-3 on Friday to advance to the title game.
Down 8-0 after giving up eight runs in the first three innings as WKU committed a season-high eight errors pushing its total to 19 for the tournament, Western tried to rally in its last three trips to the plate behind the hitting of Kevin Bearden (Sr., Tallahassee, Fla.). The Toppers stranded 10 batters in the first six innings.
After Bearden drove in Tim Grogan (Fr., Villa, Hills, Ky.), who had doubled, with a single in the seventh, the Hilltoppers scored four times in the eighth. With two away, David Lower (Sr., Anderson, Ind.) was hit by a pitch. Rafael Vallejo (So., The Bronx, N.Y.) singled up the middle moving Lower to third. A single to right by Matt Johnston (Jr., Clarkson, Ky.) drove in Lower.
Grogan then drew a walk loading the bases for Bearden. Bearden hit a bases-clearing triple off reliever Danny Borne to pull Western to within 8-5. Bearden drove in 10 runs in the tournament.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Hilltoppers tried to rally as Antone Towns (So., Louisville, Ky.) led off the inning with a single but was out at second on as Travis Brown (Sr., Kankakee, Ill.). hit into a fielder's choice. Lower put runners on the corners with two out as he singled up the middle, but Vallejo flew out to left to end the game.
The Hilltoppers found themselves in an early hole as Middle Tennessee scored eight runs in the first three innings and committed eight errors.
The Blue Raiders struck for four runs in the first inning off starter Grady Hinchman (So., Anderson, Ind.) got back-to-back singles from Beachum, who went to second on an error, and Chuck Akers to open the game.
Hinchman loaded the bases with no outs when he hit Chad Cooper. Josh Archer, who finished with three RBI, made Western pay as he hit a triple off the wall in right to clear the bases and scored on a single by Chris LeGuenec, who went to second on a throwing error.
Miscues on defense continued to plague Western Kentucky as it committed five errors in the next two innings allowing Middle Tennessee to score four runs. They got one in the third when Shane Kemp walked, moved into scoring on an error and scored on a single by Cooper.
In the third, the Hilltoppers defense self-destructed committing four errors allowing three unearned runs to score off Andy Baldwin (Jr. Campbellsville, Ky.). Baldwin gave up three unearned runs on three hits in four innings of work.
Matt Wilhite (Sr., Franklin, Ky.) kept the Blue Raiders from scoring any more runs in the game tossing four innings of hitless baseball. Wilhite lowered his season ERA to 1.78 in his 37th appearance of the season and 110th of his career.
WKU had runners on third base in the third, fourth and fifth innings but could not get a run.
Mobley (3-5), who beat WKU 6-2 in the regular season, got the win for Middle Tennessee as he allowed one run on eights and struck out seven batters. Chase Swing pitched the final 1-1/3 innings to get his 11th save.
