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Wood's RBI Single | Morrison's Final Out
Interviews: Currie | Morrison | Pawlowski
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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. —Colie Currie's two-out action in the eighth inning led to the tie-breaking run in WKU Baseball's 7-6 victory over Florida Atlantic on Senior Day. After singling in a tie contest, the center fielder stole second and scampered home after a pair of Owls' errors, giving the Hilltoppers a Conference USA series win.
All six senior position players started for WKU, combining to go 7-for-21 at the plate. Thomas Peter added a walk and hit by pitch for that group, which scored three and drove in five on the afternoon.
Just like Saturday's game, the Hilltoppers got down 4-0 after three innings. But relievers Bailey Sutton, Evan Acosta and Conner Boyd were able to strand 11 Owls in the first four innings to keep WKU within reach.
The Hilltoppers scored one in the fourth, three in the fifth and another two in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead going into the eighth frame. Boyd came in during the fourth inning and put up four consecutive zeroes to settle down the FAU offense.
Still, the visitors started that top of the eighth with back-to-back doubles that chased the submariner for Ben Morrison with the lead down to 6-5. A wild pitch by Morrison ended up scoring the Owls' tying run, Stephen Kerr, from third base after a sacrifice bunt.
Stepping to the plate with two outs in the eighth, Currie slapped a single through the six-hole for his third hit of the day. With a 1-1 count on the next hitter, Hunter Wood, Currie stole second and took third base when the catcher's throw went into center field. After another errant throw, the Jackson, Tennessee, native dove head-first through home plate to score uncontested.
Morrison worked a clean ninth inning - including a strikeout on a 92-MPH fastball - to clinch the one-run win and the series for the Hilltoppers.
Topper Quotes
- "All weekend we played very well and today we played with no worries. I got the steal sign so I was trying to get a good jump, then they threw it away and I just tried to get home. If you keep your head up, good things happen." - CF Colie Currie
- "It was a fun game to be a part of, we had some opportunities and we took advantage of them. It felt like old times, I'm glad to be back out there. Every week I get stronger and maybe more in the groove." - RHP Ben Morrison
- "I'm just proud of our seniors. All of those guys who played today gave us everything they had and they deserve it. They've been the cornerstone of this program, they're the guys who held it together this year and I'm proud of each and every one of them." - HC John Pawlowski
Topper Notes
- Colie Currie notched WKU's 25th three-hit performance of the year, which was his team-best sixth such game. He tied Thomas Peter with his 18th multi-hit contest. Leiff Clarkson, Kevin Lambert and Hunter Wood also contributed two base knocks.
- Four complete innings and 63 total pitches on the day were career-high marks for Conner Boyd. The righty helped the Hilltoppers strand 17 Owls, which was a season high for both FAU and any of the previous 51 opponents for WKU.
- The Hilltoppers improved to 8-6 in pinstripe tops, compared to 8-30 in all other jerseys. It was the team's second win on Sunday, the other one coming March 26 in a 4-2 game at Middle Tennessee in WKU's other C-USA series victory.
What's Up Next
With Sunday's game as the finale at Nick Denes Field, the last C-USA series of 2017 will take place May 18-20 at FIU. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday contests in Miami are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. CT.
