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Highlights: Methvin | Kirkpatrick
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In his first Division I start in his home state, Paul Kirkpatrick pitched a complete game and led WKU Baseball to a 4-3 victory over UTSA. The righty from Austin retired 15-of-16 batters to cap the game with five scoreless frames as the Hilltoppers hung on to a one-run lead and evened the Conference USA series.
Thomas Peter sparked a two-out rally in the first inning when he flared a single over the head of the third baseman, and Hunter Wood followed by drawing a four-pitch walk. On a 3-2 pitch with the runners on the move, first baseman Nathan Methvin laced a double down the right-field line to score both.
But the Roadrunners responded with two of their own in the bottom half. With runners on first and second to lead off the inning, Kirkpatrick seemed to escape damage when Bryan Arias lined to second baseman Tyler Robertson, who tapped the base to his right for a double play. But Ben Brookover, the next man up, hit a two-run shot to left field to set the contest back to square one.
Wood led off the third inning with a towering solo homerun to right-center field, his fifth of the season, to give WKU (11-21, 4-7) its lead back. Two frames later, UTSA put the tying run across once again with an RBI groundout by Mason George with runners on the corners.
The Hilltoppers' righty put the clamp down there, however, holding the Roadrunners scoreless with only one baserunner for the rest of the game.
WKU took the lead for good in the sixth inning, when Wyatt Featherston was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Kevin Lambert bunted him to second. UTSA (15-15, 5-6) then made a pitching change from its righty starter Tyler Giovanoni to lefty reliever Karl Craigie to face Bryson Smith. The Hilltoppers' freshman - making his first-career start at third base - hit an RBI liner up the middle for the eventual game-winning run.
"We challenged our club, because today's game was about nothing more than pride," head coach John Pawlowski said. "Last night they ambushed us pretty good early and we never really recovered. But turning the page today, I think this was our most complete defensive game all year and that was exciting to see, supporting what Paul Kirkpatrick did on the mound."
Topper Notes
- Paul Kirkpatrick had previously boasted the longest start by a WKU starter this season (8.1 innings vs. Ohio on March 4), but set a new high mark by finishing all 27 outs. It was the first complete game by a Hilltopper since Justin Hageman on March 21, 2014, in a 4-1 win vs. Texas State.
- Hunter Wood hit his first homerun since WKU's C-USA opener vs. UAB on March 18 in the first game of a doubleheader. In league play, 6-of-7 hits off the senior catcher's bat have been for extra bases. The only single by Wood in C-USA action came in the ninth inning on a bouncer up the middle, making for his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Tyler Robertson reached base three times for the second straight game, going 1-for-2 with two walks; he stole a base in the third inning and was caught trying to swipe second in the fifth. Kaleb Duckworth stole his team-leading seventh bag of the year, while Colie Currie increased his on-base streak to 11 games with an opposite-field triple in the second inning - his team-best fourth three-bagger.
- By out-hitting the Roadrunners 7-to-6, the Hilltoppers improved to 8-0 when amassing more hits than their opponents this season.
Play of the Day
Not only did WKU not commit an error on the afternoon, the hosts made a handful of spectacular plays in the field to help Paul Kirkpatrick earn the victory. Most notably...
- Tyler Robertson made a sliding stop on a ground ball to his left to end the first inning.
- Bryson Smith made a leaping stab at a chopper down the left-field line and threw to first for the out in the second frame.
- Hunter Wood made a sliding catch on a foul pop behind home plate to begin the fifth.
- Nathan Methvin made a catch on a foul pop as he reached over the wall down the right-field line to begin the sixth.
- Kevin Lambert made a diving stop on a one-hopper to his left and threw to first for the final out of the seventh.
What's Up Next
The Hilltoppers look for their third series win of the season Sunday with first pitch against the Roadrunners at 12 p.m. The hosts will send a southpaw, Steven Dressler, to the mound, while WKU's starter remains TBA at this time.
