Constantine went 4-for-5 with a grand slam, five runs batted in and three runs scored; the grand slam was his first career dinger on The Hill. In addition, his four knocks and five runs knocked in were career-highs, while three runs scored tied his best.
Sanford, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 and added his second triple of the year to go along with his dinger. His three runs batted in pushed his season total to 46, more than double the total of the next-highest Hilltopper, Dillon Nelson, who has 22.
After WKU was retired 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Blue Raiders scored four in the bottom half for the second-straight game.
The hosts recorded five hits off starter Troy Newell, who was able to get out of the inning when left fielder Ray Zuberer III recorded his eighth outfield assist of the year, nabbing Nick Carnevale at home plate.
Newell had recovered post three consecutive zeroes in the second, third and fourth, allowing only three baserunners while no Middle Tennessee runners got into scoring position during that span.
That allowed the Hilltoppers to plate two runs in the third on a base hit by Constantine and two more in the fifth on Sanford's homerun off the scoreboard against starter Peyton Wigginton. Just like that, the score was knotted at 4-4 at the halfway mark of the game.
But Newell found trouble in the bottom half of that frame, as Blake Benefield hit a two-run homerun to left field and Wigginton — also batting in the lineup — followed with a solo shot down the right-field line on the very next pitch to make it 7-4.
Reliever Jacob Green came in and got one out, but a two-out throwing error extended the inning and four unearned runs by the Blue Raiders followed and it was suddenly an 11-4 deficit for WKU.
Constantine's grand slam came in the very next frame as the Hilltoppers fought back to make it an 11-9 ballgame, but a pair of two-out, RBI doubles in the bottom of the sixth against righty Hunter Crosby pushed Middle Tennessee's lead back to 13-9.
The freshman Crosby fired a pair of scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and Sanford's RBI triple in the eighth scored Constantine to make it a little closer at 13-10, but that's where the final would stay.
Topper Notes
- Third baseman Nick Brunson went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one driven in out of the ninth spot in the order. The three knocks were a career-high for the Champaign, Ill., native, as he tallied the fourth multi-hit and multi-run performances of his career.
- Zuberer went 2-for-6 and scored two runs, posting his fifth multi-hit and sixth multi-run games of the season. His eight outfield assists lead the Hilltoppers.
- Nelson, Jack Wilson and Kevin Lambert each went 2-for-5 in the contest, recording their eighth, 11th and eighth multi-hit games of the season, respectively.
- WKU lost for only the second time this year when scoring five-plus runs in a game, falling to 14-2-1 in such instances.
- The Hilltoppers recorded a season-high 18 knocks but lost for the second-straight game when out-hitting their opponent. Entering the series, WKU had been 9-2 this year in such instances.
Up Next
The Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders face off for Game 3 of the weekend with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, April 7. It will be a duel of righties, as Reece Calvert goes for WKU and Zach Keenan starts for the Blue Raiders.
