BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A walk-off two-RBI double in the bottom of the 12th inning by Eric Riffe led to a WKU Baseball 5-4 victory in its series-opener against Cincinnati Friday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers never held a lead in the contest until Riffe's game-winning knock, as strong pitching from both sides led to a defensive stalemate throughout the matchup. WKU battled back from one-run deficits in the fourth, eighth, ninth and 12th innings to earn the eventual victory.
"Hopefully this win will help our team continue to mature and continue to understand how hard you have to play," said head coach John Pawlowski. "I mean, Cincinnati is a very good team. They are very offensive, they can do a lot of quality things and in order to beat a team like that you have to play at a high level and I thought we did that today."
Jake Kates earned his first career start in the contest, tossing 7.0 innings of one-run ball while striking out a career-high 11 batters. Mason Vinyard, Dalton Shoemake and Bailey Sutton all made relief appearances in the matchup, with Sutton earning the win after surrendering just one run and striking out three in 4.0 innings of action.
"Tonight, the resiliency we showed and the way we battled against a very good team in Cincinnati is just awesome," said Kates. "I think it just shows that we'll be fine throughout the rest of the year and this was a really great win for us."
Offensively, the Hilltoppers were actually out-hit 10-5, but were able to take advantage of 11 walks and timely hitting. Riffe, Kevin Lambert, Matt Phipps, Jackson Swiney and Ray Zuberer III all contributed one hit apiece in the contest, with Riffe's 12th-inning double sealing the deal.
"I think a big win like this deep in the game, just to grind it out, just felt good," said Riffe. "Going into tomorrow I just think it was a big momentum swing."
SCORING SUMMARY
After three scoreless innings to start the game, Cincinnati got on the board first with a solo shot in the top of the fourth.
WKU evened the game in the seventh frame, with Lambert sending a single up the middle to score Phipps.
Cincinnati regained its lead in the eighth, using a sac fly to make it 2-1.
The Hilltoppers answered back in the bottom of the inning, as a single to left center by Swiney plated Ty Crittenberger.
The back-and-forth continued in the ninth, with the Bearcats putting the game at 3-2 after scoring from third on a passed ball.
WKU once again answered back in the bottom of the frame. Following a walk and two hit-by-pitches, Swiney stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and was also hit by a pitch, sending home Jack Wilson from third for the game-tying run.
Both teams went scoreless in the next two innings before the Bearcats used an RBI-groundout to take a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 12th.
Continuing their trend, the Hilltoppers again found a way to fight back. Phipps opened the inning with a single before advancing to second on a throwing error by the third baseman. Lambert later walked in the inning, putting runners on first and second. Riffe then finished things off for WKU, roping a double to right field and scoring Phipps and Lambert for the 5-4 walk-off win.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will close out their series against Cincinnati with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Nick Denes Field.
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