WKU Tops FIU in Series Opener

Thursday, April 1

Miami, FL

6:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

12-13, 0

FIU

9-14, 0

WKU

FIU

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

4/1/2021 11:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

MIAMI – WKU Baseball topped FIU in its series opener, 9-2, Thursday night at FIU Baseball Stadium.

After the Panthers jumped out to an early lead with one run in the first frame, the Hilltoppers eventually pulled ahead in the fourth and controlled the game from there, coming away with the 9-2 victory.

"I thought we played an outstanding game tonight," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We came up with some timely hits – Davis [Sims] with a big two-run home run and Jackson [Gray] had three hits today. Then you look at the job that Jake [Kates] and Ryan [O'Connell] did – no walks and eight punchouts – they did an outstanding job.

"It was a good start to the weekend for the Tops. Tomorrow with the doubleheader, it'll be a challenge moving forward. But, I thought we played with a lot of energy and a lot of life today, so off to a good start here."

Jake Kates earned the starting nod for the Hilltoppers in his seventh appearance of the season, tossing a gem while allowing just two hits and one run (unearned) while striking out seven in 7.0 innings of work. Ryan O'Connell entered in the eighth to relieve Kates, surrendering just two hits and one run (unearned) while recording a strikeout in 2.0 frames.

At the plate, the Hilltoppers racked up 10 hits and seven walks, with three players producing multi-hit efforts in the contest. Jackson Gray led the way while going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run, while Eric Riffe and Jackson Swiney both added two hits apiece.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIU started the scoring with one run in the first frame.

The Hilltoppers then captured their first lead of the game following a two-run long ball to left field by Davis Sims in the fourth frame.

WKU tacked on another run in the top of the fifth, with Gray sending an RBI-single to shallow right field to make it 3-1.

The Hilltoppers extended their lead in the sixth inning, with Riffe singling to right field and Swiney scoring from second following a fielding error by FIU.

WKU then broke the game open with five runs in the top of the eighth. With the bases loaded, a throwing error by the Panthers' third baseman led to all three runners scoring to the put the game at 7-1. Gray then sent an RBI-single through the left side to plate Jack Wilson, followed by an error later in the inning on a popup to the shortstop that led to Ray Zuberer III scoring to give WKU a 9-1 advantage.

The Panthers would add one run in the bottom of the eighth, but were shutout from there, leading to the Hilltopper victory.

UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will continue their series against FIU with a seven-inning doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT on Friday, April 2.