WKU 5, Evansville 3 (PDF)
EMERSON, Ga. - Junior outfielder Anderson Miller crushed a full-count slider over the right field fence to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Hilltopper bullpen shut the door from there as WKU (2-1) defeated Evansville, 5-3, Saturday night at Perfect Game Park South.
Cool, soggy conditions made for a difficult environment for both squads that traveled over five hours to play the neutral-site series but thanks to two-run homers from Miller and senior designated hitter Philp Diedrick along with impressive performances from relievers Tate Glasscock and Ben Morrison, WKU prevailed to take game one.
With the game tied at 3-3 and two down in the seventh inning, Miller sent Brent Jurceka's full-count offering sailing out of the park to put WKU in front for good at 5-3. Miller's blast put the momentum right back in WKU's dugout after Evansville (2-2) had battled back from a 3-1 hole to tie the game in the top half of the inning.
Glasscock, a senior reliever, struck out three and didn't allow a hit in 1.2 innings of relief to bridge the gap to Morrison, who recorded his first-career save by retiring the Aces' side in the ninth with 13 pitches. Glasscock had his number called with the bases full of Aces and just one out in the seventh but he responded by striking out two and limiting the damage to one run on a two-out error. He shut down the top of Evansville's lineup in order during the eighth to pick up his first win since April 22, 2012.
Josh Bartley strung together another efficient start on the mound, surrendering just three hits and one run while striking out four in five innings of work. The junior right-hander retired eight-straight Aces at one point and left the game with a lead for the second-straight week. His counterpart, Evansville's Connor Strain, registered a quality start by striking out three Hilltoppers and allowing three runs through six innings.
Diedrick ended Strain's day on the mound with a tie-breaking, two run shot of his own in the sixth inning. For the second-straight game Diedrick smacked an opposite field, two-run homer and his jack also sent Miller racing home to push WKU's advantage to 3-1. Both Diedrick and Miller finished with a pair of RBI and drew walks. Miller and senior catcher Ryan Messex each tallied two hits and Miller added a pair of runs scored to spark the offense.
The teams were scheduled to play a double-header but were forced to postpone that until Sunday due to the rainy conditions and rapidly cooling temperatures. WKU and Evansville will play a double-header beginning at 2 p.m. (CT) Sunday with southpaws John Harman and Austin King slated to get the ball for the Hilltoppers.
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