BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -Bowling Green Hot Rods General Manager Adam Nuse, WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart and WKU head baseball coach Matt Myers announced an expanded partnership between WKU Baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays Class A Affiliate on Wednesday, featuring an exhibition between the clubs as well as a Hilltopper contest versus Kentucky at Bowling Green Ballpark in the spring of 2015.
"It's a unique event for minor league baseball, only a handful of teams across the country have the opportunity to do this" said Nuse. "We're really excited about having another community event that the community and south central Kentucky can really be proud of."
The Hot Rods will host the Hilltoppers in exhibition play on April 7, 2015 at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Bowling Green Ballpark. The contest will be the first between the two organizations and will be counted toward WKU's 56 games allotted in its 2015 schedule. The game will not affect records or statistics for either squad.
Tickets for the exhibiton are on sale now at the Bowling Green Hot Rods Ticket Office, where fans can attend for $8 or $5 with a WKU student ID. The Hilltoppers will use wooden bats in the contest to match the Hot Rods.
"I didn't think it would really be possible for an already great partnership between WKU and the Hot Rods to get even better but it has," said Stewart. "I think the product will be excellent. It'll be a great thing for the Bowling Green community and obviously for our fans, fans of the Hot Rods and baseball fans in general. It's a unique concept. I think it's a win-win across the board."
Two weeks prior to the exhibition, WKU will host in-state rival Kentucky at the Bowling Green Ballpark on March 24 at 6 p.m. The Hilltoppers have played at least one game in the downtown venue for five-straight seasons and will extend that streak to six with duels against the Wildcats and the Hot Rods.
The Bowling Green Hot Rods and their facility have accommodated the Hilltoppers for seven previous regular-season games in the past and played host to the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, where WKU also won a game.
"How awesome for baseball, especially in our community?" said Myers. "This is going to be great for our community. With the Kentucky game, it's great for college baseball in our state. Now we get to flip it to a professional and amateur team going at each other."
WKU is 6-1 all-time against Kentucky and Louisville at the Bowling Green Park, including a perfect 3-0 mark against the Wildcats. In three previous meetings with Kentucky at the Bowling Green Ballpark, the Hilltoppers have outscored the Wildcats 38-18. The last meeting was the longest game in WKU history as it took the Hilltoppers 18 innings to slide past Kentucky courtesy Trevor Lowe's walk-off home run.
The Hilltoppers concluded fall practices last week and will continue individual work until the official practice period begins in January. WKU opens its season in Myrtle Beach, S.C. where it will take on Maryland, Richmond and Canisius in the Baseball at the Beach Tournament.
To keep up with the Hilltoppers and for more information on WKU Baseball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUBaseball.
