RICHMOND, Ky. — In a high-scoring midweek contest typical to Earle Combs Stadium, WKU Baseball outlasted Eastern Kentucky by a score of 13-9 on Tuesday evening. Jacob Rhinesmith went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. The junior center fielder fell a double shy of the cycle while also adding a pair of walks and a stolen base.
In all, seven Hilltoppers put up multi-hit games, while the pitching staff allowed only three runs in the final seven frames.
Lefty Evan Acosta earned his second win in the past three games, as he was the first WKU pitcher out of the bullpen to post a scoreless outing. Prior to Saturday's 5-4 win at Rice, Acosta had only one win in his first 48 appearances on The Hill.
Righty Michael Martin secured the final four outs for the save, the first of his collegiate career in 54 appearances between WKU and UC Irvine.
Just as they did in Saturday's 5-4 win at Rice, the Hilltoppers jumped ahead 4-0 in the top of the first inning. Ray Zuberer III led off with a walk and Steven Kraft followed with a single through the left side. That brought up Rhinesmith, who blasted a three-run homerun over the fence right-center on a 1-1 breaking ball.
It was the JuCo transfer's second consecutive midweek game with a homerun and his Conference USA-leading ninth of the season.
Following the long ball, Tyler Roberston doubled and Richard Constantine singled to put runners on the corners for Luke Brown. The freshman chopped a single through the left side to give the Hilltoppers a 4-0 lead, the first seven visitors reaching base in the process.
But back came the Colonels, scoring three two-out runs off WKU starter Michael Darrell-Hicks in the bottom of the first, which lasted 35 minutes.
WKU responded the next time up to hit, as Steven Kraft blasted pulled a two-run homerun that was hit so far the left fielder didn't move. The senior's first homerun of the season, and ninth of his career, extended the Hilltoppers' lead to 6-3.
But back came the Colonels, tying the game at 6-6 courtesy of a three-run, wind-aided homerun by Alex Holderbach off reliever Maddex Richardson. Lefty Troy Newell relieved Richardson and induced an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play and then proceeded to toss a scoreless third. But Newell did allow a run in the fourth frame as EKU took a 7-6 lead.
It didn't last long, however, as Rhinesmith led off the fifth with a triple down the right-field line and scored on a ground out by Robertson. With the bases empty, Constantine and Brown followed with hits and Colin Butkiewicz drove them both in with a single to left, giving WKU a 9-7 lead.
Conner Boyd pitched 2.1 innings struck out a season-high three batters, but did allow an unearned run in the sixth that allowed the Colonels to inch back to a 9-8 deficit.
It stayed that way until the eighth inning, when the Hilltoppers added a pair of unearned runs themselves after the EKU center fielder dropped a high fly ball by Kraft with two outs, allowing Zuberer to hustle home from first base. After an intentional walk to Rhinesmith, Robertson came through with an RBI single to left and an 11-8 lead.
Up three runs, Martin inherited a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and allowed only one run to score before winning an eight-pitch battle against Jake Lewis, who represented the game-winning run, for the third out.
Two more unearned runs in the top of the ninth, capped by an RBI double by Zuberer that scored Kevin Lambert, made it 13-9, and Martin finished it off with a perfect bottom half to clinch a WKU win.
Play of the Day
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and an 11-8 Hilltopper lead, Michael Martin came in to face Nick Howie. The Colonels' designated hitter ripped a ball down the third-base line that would have scored all thee runners, if not for a diving stop by Chase Larsen. He was not able to get an out and a runner scored on the single to make the score 11-9, but the stop from the junior saved what would have been the tying run scoring from first base.
Topper Quotes
- "We put up four runs early, but you know four runs isn't going to be enough. Winds blowing straight out at 20 MPH, every fly ball is an adventure. We talked about how hard you have to play and run everything out, and we were able to do that today." — Head coach John Pawlowski
- "College baseball midweek can be an adventure, you got kids who are so strong. With these aluminum bats and the wind blowing like that, you're going to see some runs, and both teams certainly took their swings today." — Head coach John Pawlowski
Up Next
With Easter Sunday upcoming, WKU hosts UTSA for a Thursday-to-Saturday set in Conference USA action from March 29-31. First pitches on Thursday and Friday will be at 5 p.m., while the series finale will begin at 11 a.m. All three games will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
