BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Baseball honored its 10 seniors prior to the home finale vs. FIU, but the Hilltoppers dropped the game by a score of 8-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing 8-0 in the ninth inning, the Hilltoppers mounted a four-run rally thanks to a bases loaded, two-run single by Ray Zuberer III and a pair of Panthers' errors.
Paul Kirkpatrick started the game with only one earned run in the first five frames, but the Panthers put up a four-spot in the sixth to extend their lead. The senior righty struck out eight, his second-most in an outing for his career on The Hill.
Luke Brown led the team with a 3-for-4 performance, while Tyler Robertson walked and added a base hit. WKU had leadoff singles in the first, fourth and fifth frames, but the second batter hit into a ground-ball double play each time.
Senior Ben Morrison struck out four in 1.2 innings of work, but the Panthers scored a pair of unearned runs with him on the bump. Senior Devon Loomis worked a 1-2-3 top of the ninth on only seven pitches, striking out one.
WKU was shut out through the first eight innings by FIU lefty Logan Allen, who allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven on 100 pitches. It was the first Conference USA sweep suffered by the Hilltoppers this season, and the team fell to 6-3 in league series finales.
Up Next
WKU finishes up the 2018 regular season with a road midweek game at No. 23 Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, May 15 with a 2 p.m. first pitch from Cookeville. Then, the Hilltoppers travel to Boca Raton for the final C-USA weekend, a Thursday-to-Saturday three-game set against Florida Atlantic from May 17-19.
