BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball dropped its first game of the 2020 season via a 5-3 10-inning loss to Valpo in its series finale Monday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers now move to 2-1 on the year after collecting wins over the Crusaders in the first two contests of the series.
Both teams battled back-and-forth throughout Monday's matchup, with multiple lead changes occurring throughout the 10-inning contest. Each squad scored in the fourth and sixth frame to put the score at 3-3, with Valpo's two-run 10th-inning ultimately being the decider.
"Our guys competed," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We put ourselves in a position to win, but today was probably the day where we didn't execute as well as we had the first two games. I thought offensively, we got out of our zone a little bit and did some things that maybe we've got to work on and clean up - but that's the nature of it. We've got to learn from those mistakes and come back ready to go again on Wednesday."
Aristotle Peter, a transfer from Sinclair Community College, earned the start in his first appearance for the Hilltoppers. The junior recorded three strikeouts while allowing just one hit and two runs (one earned) through 5.0 innings of action.
WKU also saw relief appearances from Ryan Luckett, Jake Kates and Bailey Sutton, with Kates producing an impressive eight strikeouts in 3.0 frames on the bump.
Offensively, the Hilltoppers produced seven hits on the day, including their first two home runs of the season. Matt Phipps and Jack Wilson both recorded multi-hit performances, with Phipps going 2-4 and Wilson batting 2-for-5. Kevin Lambert, Jackson Swiney and Ray Zuberer III each added one hit apiece, with Swiney and Zuberer both blasting long balls in the fourth inning.
SCORING SUMMARY
The Crusaders got on the board first, with a Valpo runner scoring from third on a passed ball in the top of the fourth.
WKU immediately answered in the bottom of the inning, taking a 2-1 advantage following solo shots from Zuberer and Swiney.
Valpo later regained the lead in the top of the sixth via a two-run homer to right field.
The Hilltoppers again answered back in the bottom of the frame, with an RBI-double by Lambert scoring Davis Sims and evening the game at 3-3.
Both teams went scoreless through the next three frames before the Crusaders used a bases-loaded squeeze bunt and an RBI-single to take a 5-3 advantage and the eventual win.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will host Murray State at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Nick Denes Field.
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
