Belmont got out to a 3-0 lead off WKU starter Jack Lambert. The lefty posted a scoreless first frame, but allowed a solo homerun to Hagan Severance to begin the second, and then walked the bases loaded to begin the third.
Reliever Jeff Ciocco came in to the situation and proceeded to give up a two-run, ground-rule double to Chandler Adkins. After that, a big play by third baseman Nick Brunson stymied the rally. With Bruins on second and third, the Champaign, Ill., native backhanded a chopper hit down the line and tagged the lead runner out, then fired to first for the double play.
Ciocco got the next batter to foul out to Brunson and keep the score 3-0, and the Hilltopper bats responded.
Left fielder Ray Zuberer III led off with a double to right field, then first baseman Richard Constantine blasted a homerun over the left-center field wall. It was the Huntsville, Ala., native's second homerun in his past three games and it brought WKU within 3-2.
After the dinger, right fielder Jake Sanford walked and designated hitter Dillon Nelson reached on a throwing error by pitcher Stone Shelby that put runners on second and third with zero outs. Second baseman Jack Wilson and freshman center fielder Jackson Swiney followed with run-scoring ground outs to give the Hilltoppers a 4-3 lead.
WKU added two more runs in the sixth when catcher Collin Hopkins brought home shortstop Kevin Lambert with an RBI single, then scored himself later in the inning on a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Nelson. Thanks to 4.1 scoreless frames from Ciocco, 0.2 from Jacob Green and a zero by freshman righty Hunter Crosby in the eighth, the Hilltoppers entered the top of the ninth with a 6-3 lead.
But Crosby walked the leadoff batter in the ninth and then Belmont got a two-run homerun from John Behrends to cut the deficit to 6-5. In came righty Joe Filosa from the bullpen, but two base hits, a sacrifice bunt, one hit by pitch and two bases-loaded walks later, WKU found itself trailing 7-6.
Righty Kenny LaPierre pulled a Houdini act in relief of Filosa, painting the edge on a 3-2 fastball for out No. 2, then getting a ground out to Brunson at third base for out No. 3 to keep the Hilltopper deficit at one heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Sanford led off with his fourth walk of the game — becoming the first WKU hitter to earn four free passes since Scott Wilcox on March 15, 2014 — and Nelson followed with a base hit through the left side. After Wilson sacrificed them over, Swiney was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kevin Lambert hit a high chopper that the second baseman was unable to handle, scoring Sanford to tie the game while the Tampa, Fla., native reached on the Bruins' third error of the night.
Pinch hitter Sam McElreath pinch hit and hit a soft liner that short-hopped the second baseman's glove. Although Kevin Lambert was tagged out going from first-to-second, McElreath beat the potential double play throw to first and Nelson crossed home with the game-winning run and an 8-7 final score.
It was the Hilltoppers' fifth walk-off win of the season, and third that did not come on a base hit. Previously, Kevin Lambert reached on a bases-loaded error against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 16, and Swiney scored from third base on a balk to beat Eastern Illinois on Feb. 24.
Topper Quotes
- "We just needed to find a way to win tonight, and I'm really proud of what our guys did. We were up and next thing you know we're down by one run, but we put together quality at-bats in the ninth inning and found a way to walk out of here with an 8-7 win, and we'll certainly take that. Hopefully it will give us some momentum going into the weekend." — Head coach John Pawlowski.
- "That was exciting. We've been working hard and finally glad to get back on the winning ways. It took some late-inning heroics, but it was fun nonetheless ... To be a successful baseball player you have to be confident in your own abilities. Our coaches always tell us to stay ready and when you get your chance make the most of it, and that's what I've been trying to do." — Junior Richard Constantine.
- "Joe is a good guy for us, he comes in and shuts the game down all the time. Normally when he goes in the game, that means my day is over. But I came in for him and had his back, just like always does for me, and it worked out. To stay prepared, you always have to think you're going to go in, no matter what, even if it's the ninth inning like that." — Junior Kenny LaPierre.
Up Next
WKU travels to Huntington, W.Va., to take on Conference USA rival Marshall. The three-game, Friday-to-Sunday series against the Thundering Herd will take place from April 12-14, with first pitch times of 2 p.m., 1 p.m. and 12 p.m. CT. After getting out to an 18-10 start, Marshall has lost four in a row after suffering a weekend sweep at Southern Miss, then falling at Virginia Tech by a score of 7-0 on Tuesday night.
