Lipscomb 6, WKU 5 (PDF)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- WKU led Lipscomb 5-1 and had allowed just two hits entering the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night at Ken Dugan Field but Bisons' shortstop Grant Massey capped a five-run rally with a walk-off bunt single to drop the Hilltoppers, 6-5.
The Hilltoppers (23-24) cruised behind the starting pitching of junior Austin King through eight innings and had a four-run lead when they called on sophomore closer Ben Morrison in the ninth. Lipscomb (31-15) touched Morrison for four hits, two of which were run-scoring doubles, and received the game-winning bunt single from Massey. Tyson Ashcraft and Allan Hooker both smacked RBI doubles in the gaps to cut the WKU lead to 5-3, Michael Gigliotti tied the game with a bases-loaded single and Massey won it for Lipscomb with his bunt up the third base line.
The loss spoiled King's stellar start, which was the longest by a WKU pitcher in 2015. King, a junior lefty, allowed just two hits and an unearned run while striking out four in 7.2 quality innings.
Lipscomb could only record a bunt single against King in its first five innings at the plate and finished with two hits total against WKU's southpaw. King struck out four batters and forced both nine groundouts and fly outs. Lipscomb's lone damage against him came in the third inning when first baseman Adam Lee drew a two-out walk and then scored on a two-base throwing error by WKU third baseman Danny Hudzina, who was trying to throw out Gigliotti at first base.
King's dominant pitching kept the Lipscomb lead at 1-0 before the Hilltopper bats came alive in the sixth inning. Senior first baseman Ryan Church was plunked to start the inning, moved to second base on a long fly ball from Hudzina and stole third to give WKU its best scoring chance to that point. Senior outfielder Philip Diedrick erased the one-run deficit with the swing of his powerful bat as he launched John Pryor's 1-1 offering over the right field fence to put the Tops ahead, 2-1.
Rookie second baseman Steven Kraft kept the momentum rolling for WKU in the seventh inning as he roped his second hit of the day into centerfield. Junior outfielder Anderson Miller followed with a single that scooted Kraft to third base and Kraft came home to score on a wild pitch during Church's at bat. With Miller standing on second base, Church smacked a single into the right centerfield gap to score Miller and extend WKU's lead to 4-1.
King retired the Bisons in order during the seventh inning to keep the lead intact and used a double-play ball to record WKU's first two outs of the eighth inning. Redshirt sophomore reliever Kevin Elder came in for the final out of the frame and struck out Massey to get the job done.
Church ripped his 14th double of the year to the right centerfield gap in the ninth inning to score Miller once more and give WKU a 5-1 cushion headed to the bottom half. The Tops turned to Morrison to finish off the Bisons, but they showed resiliency with five hits in the ninth after being limited to two knocks in the first eight frames.
Morrison was tagged with his first loss of 2015 while Lipscomb reliever Dalton Curtis picked up his second win. Will Blalock tossed five scoreless innings and held WKU to four hits out front for the Bisons.
WKU out-hit Lipscomb 13-7 and had four players tally multiple hits in the contest. Church and Diedrick both recorded three hits and drove in two RBI while Miller and Kraft added two hits apiece.
The Hilltoppers have now suffered five one-run losses in their last eight games and look to get back on track at Marshall this weekend. Both the Hilltoppers and Herd are jockeying for a spot in the C-USA Championship and will square off in a three-game series beginning Friday at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W. Va.
