February 5, 2019 marks 10 days until Opening Day for the 100th Season of WKU Hilltopper Baseball, and over the next 10 days, WKU Athletics will treat fans to unique moments and interesting history from Hilltopper Baseball, all leading up to First Pitch at Nick Denes Field on February 15, 2019.
| DAY 10 (February 5) |
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| Lefty Bart Carter burst onto the scene by earning 2007 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and ended up with his name scattered in the all-time WKU record books. In his rookie campaign, Carter finished 6-5 with a team-best 4.13 ERA in 19 appearances with a pair of complete games, including a three-hit shutout against Little Rock. By the time Carter wrapped up his career as a Hilltopper, his 21 wins ranked tied for fourth, 78 appearance were sixth and 214 strikeouts stood ninth. |
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| DAY 9 (February 6) |
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| Infielder Brad Worley was an iron man for the Hilltoppers, playing in 231-of-232 possible games from 1989-92, while starting 229 of those. The 231 games played rank third in program history, while his 888 at-bats are second-most and 278 hits stand fourth all-time in the WKU record books. Worley led the 1990 team with 37 runs scored and four triples en route to earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors. He also led the 1992 club with 85 hits and a career-high .366 batting average. |
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| DAY 8 (February 7) |
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| Catcher James Davis takes a moment to survey the situation from behind the plate during a practice in his senior season of 1995. Davis was a four-year backstop The Hill from 1992-95, making 179 starts while putting up a .321/.385/.504 slash line with 217 hits, 146 runs scored, 140 RBI and 88 extra-base hits, including 49 doubles. Davis earned back-to-back First Team All-SBC honors to cap his collegiate career, then was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 20th round of the 1995 MLB Draft. |
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| DAY 7 (February 8) |
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| With a .981 fielding percentage in 1,047 chances, 232 base hits, 180 runs and a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American nod, second baseman Matt Payton finished his four-year career at WKU as one of the most complete student-athletes in program history. His 221 games played ranks fourth on the all-time charts, while his 10 triples in 2010 and 17 career three-baggers are both Hilltopper records. Meanwhile, Payton's 232 hits stand tied for 11th and 180 runs are tied for fourth. |
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| DAY 6 (February 9) |
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| After coming to WKU from Miami Dade JC, Rick Alfonso served as the backup backstop to Rene Zarate during the 1980 and 1981 seasons, when the Hilltoppers went a combined 88-31-1. Coach Barry Shollengberger, who brought Alfonso to The Hill, called him the best high school catcher he had ever seen. Those two years, Alfonso played in 32 games and went 28-for-80 (.350 batting average) with four homeruns, six doubles and 21 RBI. And he was tough as nails, as depicted in this picture. |
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| DAY 5 (February 10) |
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| Righty Marty Mason pitched on The Hill from 1979-80 after transferring from Lurleen B. Wallace CC. In 20 career starts he threw 14 complete games, a mark that remains second on the all-time charts, and went 13-6 with a 3.94 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 132 innings while allowing only 107 hits. He was an All-OVC honoree in 1980 and then signed an undrafted free agent deal with the New York Yankees. In a seven-year Minor League career, he went 46-27 with a 2.59 ERA in 276 appearances. |
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| DAY 4 (February 11) |
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| Big Red, WKU's athletic mascot, was born in the fall of 1979 and celebrates its birthday on December 1. Big Red can be best described as the Spirit of Western. The huge, furry, lovable creature was originally designed and built by WKU student Ralph Carey ('80 graduate) of Cincinnati, and made its debut during the Hilltoppers' 1979-80 basketball season. This photo was taken in the spring of 1980, and could quite possibly be Big Red's first appearance at Nick Denes Field. |
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| DAY 3 (February 12) |
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| Ben Morrison came to WKU as a outfielder but his high-octane arm nudged him to transition to relief pitcher. The move paid off, as the righty capped his career with 13 saves; six coming in his sophomore season of 2015 and the other seven in 2018. Morrison shined as a redshirt senior, producing a 2.21 ERA in 36.2 innings, with 42 strikeouts and only 31 hits allowed. He earned Second Team All-CUSA honors and was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 10th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. |
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| DAY 2 (February 13) |
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| Righty Steve Stemle was one of the most stellar pitchers of the 1990's for WKU, and the most recent Hilltopper to make it to the Major Leagues. Stemle pitched on The Hill from 1996-98, starting 39 games with 240 strikeouts in 252 innings, while recording 18 wins and 10 complete games; all of which rank in the top 10 in program history. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 5th round of the 1998 MLB Draft, and made 11 appearances for the Kansas City Royals in 2005 and 2006. |
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| DAY 1 (February 14) |
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| The 2009 WKU Baseball club boasted one of the most prolific offenses in Hilltopper history and is the most recent group to make the NCAA Regionals. The team went 42-20 under the direction of coach Chris Finwood, including a 21-8 record in Sun Belt play to claim a share of the regular-season title. The Hilltoppers totaled a program-record 538 runs scored, to go along with 1,152 total bases and 290 walks. As a TEAM, WKU slashed .330/.423/.526 that season in 2,190 at-bats. After defeating Missouri and host Ole Miss, WKU was one win away from advancing out of the 2009 Oxford Regional. WKU had a program-record five players drafted following the season; Wade Gaynor, J.B. Paxson, Chad Cregar, Terrence Dayleg and Evan Teague. |
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