Game 1
Making his first career start following 8.1 scoreless innings to start the season, lefty Dalton Shoemake was lights out for the first three frames. He shut out ULM on 35 pitches with one strikeout and one baserunner, via walk.
The Warhawks got on the board in the fourth, however, as they led off with a four-pitch walk and double off the center-field wall by infielder Chad Bell to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Shoemake was able to get three straight ground outs, but two of them were productive outs that got the runners home for a 2-0 lead.
After ULM scored one more in the fifth, Shoemake was lifted for reliever Kenny LaPierre, who recorded the final out of that frame and posted two more zeroes after that.
The Hilltoppers appeared to score their first run of the game in the fifth, albeit in a non-ideal situation of infielder Sam McElreath hitting into a 4-6-3 double play with zero outs and the bases loaded. However, infielder Jack Wilson was ruled to have committed interference as he slid in head-first to the second-base bag.
Both of the lead runners had to retreat to second and third and after pinch hitter Richard Constantine was intentionally walked, freshman center fielder Jackson Swiney flew out to center field for the third out as the deficit remained 3-0 after five innings.
The Hilltoppers got on the board one inning later when infielder Davis Sims knocked a two-out, RBI double off the center-field that scored right fielder Jake Sanford from first base.
Sanford tied the game for WKU in the eighth, slashing a 3-1 pitch from Warhawk reliever Landon Longsworth over the left-field fence for a two-run homerun that scored designated hitter Dillon Nelson. It was his first Divison I homerun after the transfer from McCook Junior College (Neb.) hit 23 in 108 games for the Indians over the past two years.
Righty Jacob Green began the ninth inning on the mound for WKU and left with one out and the bases loaded after two walks and a hit by pitch. Righty Joe Filosa came in and got two straight outs, but one was a fielder's choice that scored the run to put the Warhawks ahead, 4-3.
Wilson produced his second single of the game with one out in the ninth, but McElreath hit into his second 4-6-3 double play for the 26th and 27th outs.
Topper Notes - G1
- WKU has out-hit North Florida (8-to-5) and Louisiana Monroe (8-to-4) but lost its first two games of the Cox Diamond Invitational. In 2018, the Hilltoppers were 16-6 when out-hitting their opponents and had been 3-0 this season when doing so.
- Swiney got WKU's first hit of the contest with two outs in the third inning, reaching base for the seventh time in an eight plate appearance span. He finished the game 1-for-3 and led the Hilltoppers with a .400 batting average and .513 on-base percentage after facing ULM
- The WKU pitching staff allowed only four hits for the first time since March 24, 2018, at Rice, but hit five batters for the first time since April 29, 2017, at Louisiana Tech.
Game 2
Following a scoreless first frame from starters Reece Calvert and Will Neely, WKU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
Catcher Matt Phipps led off the inning with a single up the middle, then got into scoring position with two outs with a stolen base. On the very next pitch, freshman center fielder Jackson Swiney lined an RBI single into center field and Phipps touched home with the first run of the game.
The lead did not last long, however, as first baseman Luc Lipcius drove a three-run homerun off Calvert to right-center field. Righty Bailey Sutton came on in relief and allowed three more runs - two earned - with the help of two throwing errors that gave a number of free bases to Tennessee.
"We didn't hand the ball well that inning, we tossed it around a little bit and you can't do that against good teams with good speed," head coach John Pawlowski said. "But our guys battled back, I thought our team competed well and we gave ourselves an opportunity to get back in the ballgame."
Trailing 6-1, the Hilltoppers chipped back in striking distance with solo homeruns by infielder Davis Sims in the third and right fielder Jake Sanford in the sixth.
Sims' towering fly ball to right field just cleared the outstretched glove of Justin Ammons for his first dinger at WKU, pushing his collegiate total to 18. Sanford's shot cleared the 400 sign in straightaway center field, grazing the batter's eye at Blue Wahoos Park on the way down.
Although the Hilltoppers fell short, righty Eric Crawford was a highlight out of the bullpen with 3.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts and only four baserunners allowed. He and righty Joe Filosa - who got the final two outs in the bottom of the sixth - were able to keep the Volunteers off the board for the final four frames.
"It was good to see Davis Sims and Jake Sanford leave the yard, I was very pleased to see them take some good swings against some good arms," Pawlowski said. "I know those guys are going to hit some homeruns and drive the ball for us.
"Also, Eric Crawford was very good against one of the better-hitting teams we've faced this year."
Topper Notes - G2
- Sanford became the first Hilltopper to homer in two games on the same day since Jacob Rhinesmith in both ends of a doubleheader on March 10, 2018, vs. Bowling Green.
- Since allowing three runs in his first appearance at WKU, Crawford has recorded five consecutive scoreless outings. He has fired 9.1 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing only seven hits and four walks in that span.
- In Filosa's past three appearances, the graduate transfer from Ohio Dominican has retired all seven batters he has faced, including all four on Saturday.
Up Next
The Hilltoppers will travel to Richmond to take on Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, March 5. The past two games at Earle Combs Stadium have been wild ones, with WKU winning by a score of 13-9 in 2018 and the Colonels coming out victorious in a 16-15, 10-inning contest in 2017.
