The loss dropped WKU to 27-24 overall and 14-14 in the Sun Belt, while MTSU improved to 27-25-1 and 13-14 in the league.
Mother Nature controlled the early stages of the game as the start was delayed one hour and 46 minutes by rain. Once things got underway, WKU starter Matt Ridings blanked the Blue Raiders on three hits through four innings of work. The Toppers were able to plate the first run of the game when Wade Gaynor picked up the team’s first hit of the night with a second-inning single, and came around to score on a two-out base hit by Matt Rice.
Ridings also picked up for strikeouts — including two in the top of the fourth inning — before his start was cut short by another one-hour, 32-minute rain delay in the middle of the fourth.
Once play resumed, the Raiders were able to take a lead in the top of the fifth when a two-run double by Taylor Dennis brought home a pair to make it a 2-1 game. However, the Hilltoppers took advantage of a MTSU error to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Scott Kaskie reached on a throwing error, and moved into scoring position with his 19th stolen base of the season. He then came around to score on a Matt Hightower double to pull WKU even.
Topper reliever Adam Balcom ran into trouble again in the sixth as he gave up back-to-back singles before Rawley Bishop reached on an error to load the bases with one out. Bryce Brentz then hit an opposite-field grand slam to right center to give the Blue Raiders a 6-2 lead.
WKU was able to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but only got one run when a J.B. Paxson sacrifice fly drove in Gaynor to cut the Blue Raider lead in half. After MTSU reliever Brad Robinson threw a perfect seventh inning, the Toppers got to him in the eighth as Jake Wells singled and Rice followed with his fourth home run of the year into the right-field bullpen to cut the Raider lead to 6-5.
Middle Tennessee added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Tyler Burnette led off the inning with a double and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Zach Hudson to make it a 7-5 game. Langdon Stanley then shut down the Hilltoppers in the ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Wells paced the Hilltoppers with three hits, while Gaynor and Rice had two hits apiece. Rice also drove in a game-high three runs. Dennis led the Blue Raiders with three hits, while Brentz and Burnette had two hits each.
The teams will continue their weekend series on Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT).
