Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Western loaded the bases with nobody out on back-to-back walks and a single off the bat of Tim Grogan. That ended the evening for EKU starter Eric Anthrop, as Blake Anderson came in and was greeted by a Jordan Newton sacrifice fly to score Corteze Armstrong. On the play, all three runners moved up, and an errant throw by Colonel shortstop Lucus Waters allowed Matt Ransdell to score and make it a one-run game. Marcus Ross followed with a double that plated Tim Grogan to tie the game at 5-5, and Casey Hamilton gave the Toppers a 7-5 lead when he hit his second home run of the season over the wall in left center.
Western added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hamilton drove home Grogan and Newton with a one-out single, stretching the lead to 9-5. Steven Muck was able to hold EKU scoreless over the final 2.2 innings to record his third save of the season.
The Colonels jumped out early with a pair of runs in the first inning as Bryan Stevenson plated Derrick Bussell with an RBI double, then came around to score on a groundout by Chris O’Dell to give EKU a quick 2-0 lead. Eastern added a third run in the second as Tony Wells led off with a single, and came around to score on a squeeze bunt by Brussell to make it a 3-0 game.
Western got on the board in the bottom of the second when an Antone Towns sacrifice fly brought home Newton. It remained a 3-1 game until the bottom of the fourth when Newton led off the frame with a double, and two outs later was plated by a Ross triple off the wall in center as Western cut the EKU lead to 3-2.
The Colonels extended their lead in the sixth when a two-out single by Brett Bolger plated a pair to stretch the advantage to 5-2 before Western plated five in the sixth to take the lead and hold on for the victory.
Hamilton led the Hilltopper offense with a pair of hits and four RBI. Ross and Ben Cooper also added a pair of hits for Western. Western pitchers limited the Colonels to eight hits, with Bolger driving in a two runs.
Garrett Stembridge (1-0) got the win in relief of Ryan Landrum, who pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Anderson (3-2) suffered the loss for EKU.
The Hilltoppers get back into conference play with a three-game home Sun Belt series with Middle Tennessee over the weekend (April 15-17). First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CDT).
