NASHVILLE, Tenn. – WKU Baseball fell to No. 3 Vanderbilt, 12-1, in its midweek matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores, a team that is in the national championship conversation annually, executed on both sides of the ball en route to their third win of the season.
"Give Vandy credit, they played a complete game tonight," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We really didn't have many opportunities against one of the top teams in the country. It was great to see Jackson Gray continue to have quality at-bats, and Dalton Mesaris showed a clean inning of work. We will go back to work tomorrow and get ourselves ready for a three-game set versus Cincinnati this weekend."
Aristotle Peter got the starting nod against the Commodores in his first appearance of the season, allowing five earned runs while striking out five in 3.0 innings of work. The trio of Devyn Terbrak, Luke Stofel and Dalton Mesaris all saw relief action in the matchup, combining to allow four earned runs while fanning seven batters in 5.0 innings of action.
Offensively, the Hilltoppers produced five hits in the contest. Jackson Gray led the way with a 2-for-2 performance, while Matthew Meyer, Davis Sims and Jack Wilson all contributed one hit apiece.
SCORING SUMMARY
Vanderbilt opened the scoring in the first frame, with an RBI-groundout to second base scoring a runner from third.
The Commodores added to their lead in the second inning, using an RBI-double to make it 3-0.
WKU scored its first and only run in the top of the third, as a hit by Eric Riffe to third base led to Gray scoring on a throwing error at the plate.
Vanderbilt answered back in the bottom of the inning, with a three-run long ball putting the game at 6-1.
The Commodores would continue to rack up runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, leading to the eventual 12-1 final.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will return home to host Cincinnati for a three-game series beginning at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 26 at Nick Denes Field.
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