Feb. 18, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - WKU and Belmont entered the seventh inning tied at 3-3 Tuesday evening at E.S. Rose Park but a home run by Belmont's Drew Ferguson in the seventh and an additional three runs in the eighth provided the winning margin for the Bruins as the Hilltoppers fell, 7-3.
The loss dropped the Hilltoppers to 2-2 on the season while Belmont improved to 3-1 on the year.
Trailing 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning, WKU used back-to-back drawn walks from seniors Scott Wilcox and Regan Flaherty to threaten for the first time. Junior first baseman Ryan Church moved Wilcox and Flaherty over to second and third with a sacrifice hit and sophomore third baseman Thomas Peter put the ball in play to create WKU's first score. Belmont pitcher James Buckelew fielded Peter's dribbler and tried to throw Wilcox out at home, but catcher Jamie Ritchie couldn't handle the throw and Wilcox crossed the plate to trim the count to 3-1.
With Flaherty standing at third and Peter at second, sophomore Trevor Lowe stepped to the plate and ripped a two-run single in the left center gap to tie the game up at 3-3.
The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when Ferguson led off the frame with his second home run of the game to give Belmont the 4-3 advantage. WKU looked primed to answer in the eighth after loading the bases via singles from Church and Peter along with Messex advancing to first on an error. With no outs and the bases full freshman Hunter Wood and sophomore Anderson Miller went down swinging and senior David Simmons nearly missed a grand slam, flying out to left field.
Belmont capitalized on WKU's missed opportunity later in the eighth, plating three runs to seal the victory.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Melchior was solid in his Hilltopper debut, tossing 3.1 innings while scattering four hits and giving up two earned runs. Junior Brandon Allen (0-1) pitched a career high 3.0 innings behind Melchior, striking out a pair of batters and scattering two hits and a run. Tate Glasscock, Ryan Thurston and Alex Mercer all made appearances out of the bullpen, with Mercer striking out two batters to end the eighth inning.
Wilcox drew three walks in the game, marking the fourth time in his career he has walked three times in a single game. Church extended his hitting streak to four games while Peter and Flaherty extended their reached base streaks to 11 games and 10 games, respectively.
WKU returns to the field Friday at Nick Denes Field as they play host to UNC Asheville at 3 p.m. (CT). The Hilltoppers will take on the Bulldogs in a three-game series with first pitch times set for 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Season tickets for the 2014 WKU Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online at WKUSports.com or by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED. The season ticket package includes 28 general admission tickets to any home games of choice for just $35.
For more information on WKU Baseball, follow @WKUBaseball on Twitter or visit WKUSports.com.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
