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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A day after Ryan Thurston accumulated 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings, starter Paul Kirkpatrick followed with his own gem, but WKU Baseball lost to Ohio by a score of 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The righty from Austin, Texas, threw a Hilltoppers' season high 8.1 innings on 102 pitches - including 77 strikes - with two strikeouts compared to no walks. He scattered eight hits and allowed three earned runs, walking off the mound in the ninth inning to an ovation from the home dugout and the 402 in attendance.
The Bobcats scored a run in the third, fourth and seventh innings, however, as starter Butch Baird and relievers Jake Rudnicki and Jake Roehn combined to shut out WKU for the first time this season.
Logan Weins replaced Kirkpatrick after the starter allowed a base hit, and the lefty got the Bobcats' Connor Callery to ground out to first base on one pitch. Conner Boyd then came in for the final out of the inning, a soft pop fly to right field by Devon Garcia to keep the game within three runs.
Hunter Wood - who stole his first career base earlier in the contest - doubled over the center fielder's head with two outs in the ninth to keep the game alive, but pinch hitter Kaleb Duckworth popped to first base for the final out.
"Stellar performance from Paul Kirkpatrick. He's going to go out there and get ground balls and make the other team put the ball in play," head coach John Pawlowski said. "No walks, two strikeouts in 8.1 innings; just a solid outing and he put the team in position to win… They have some quality arms over there and we just weren't able to generate anything offensively today."
Topper Notes
- Paul Kirkpatrick fell just shy of becoming the first Hilltopper since Justin Hageman on March 21, 2014 (vs. Texas State) to pitch a nine-inning complete game. Through a team-high 18.2 innings in his first three starts, he has struck out six and not walked a batter.
- Kevin Lambert singled to left-center field in the seventh inning, extending his on-base streak to 11 games to begin his career on the Hill. With Hunter Wood's double in the ninth, it meant WKU has had at least one extra-base hit in all 11 contests thus far.
- Conner Boyd remains perfect out of the bullpen. The submariner has retired all nine batters he has faced across five appearances and stranded 11-of-11 inherited baserunners in the process. With Boyd and Logan Weins finishing off the final two Ohio batters, the Hilltoppers' bullpen recorded its third scoreless outing of the season.
Play of the Day
After giving up a run in the seventh inning, Paul Kirkpatrick made a statement coming out for the eighth. He induced a pop up and got a swinging strikeout of Michael Klein - his second of the day - to run up two quick outs. Then, Ohio's Evan Bourn lined a pitch to right-center field, where Colie Currie laid out completely to make a sensational diving catch and help Kirkpatrick earn the 1-2-3 frame.
What's Up Next
With the series tied 1-1, the Hilltoppers and Bobcats will face off Sunday at 1 p.m. in the rubber match. Ohio probable starter is righty Michael Klein, who has served as the team's designated hitter for the first two games of the series. WKU's pitcher remains TBA at this time.
