Hilltoppers Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Bellarmine

Tuesday, February 28

Bowling Green, KY

3:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

7-2

Bellarmine

5-2

Bellarmine

WKU

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

2/28/2023 7:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball dropped its first midweek game of the season against Bellarmine, 9-7, on Tuesday night at Nick Denes Field.

This marks the second straight loss for the Hilltoppers after winning their first seven games of the 2023 campaign. WKU moves to 7-2 on the year, while Bellarmine improves to 5-2.

"From the first inning they just came out and punched us. They rattled off three or four hits in a row, a three-run home run and we were having to fight back from that," said head coach Marc Rardin. "We end up leaving 14 runners on-base tonight and it is a two-run game. Most of the time, teams do not win games, the other team loses them. As much as they played well and did not make as many mistakes, we also gave it to them in so many ways, so that is disappointing, but that is how we are going to have to learn."

RHP Nic Schutte got the start for the second time this season for the Hilltoppers allowing five hits and four runs while striking out one in 1.0 inning. Five relief pitchers saw action out of the bullpen, with the group combining to allow seven hits and five runs while recording 11 strikeouts in 8.0 frames.

At the dish, WKU tallied 13 hits, seven walks, and was hit by five pitches with three players producing multi-hit performances. Drew Reckart led the way with a 2-for-6 outing, knocking a double and a triple, while Ty Batusich went 1-for-3 with a walk and two-RBI.

SCORING SUMMARY

The Knights opened the scoring in the first inning, using a three-run home run and an RBI double to take a 4-0 advantage.

WKU responded in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly from Ty Batusich and an RBI single from Kirk Liebert.

Bellarmine extended its lead to 6-2 in the top of the third off an RBI single and an error from the Hilltopper defense.

They added another in the fourth off another WKU error, putting the score at 7-2.

A single from Matthew Meyer scored Aidan Gilroy to keep it close at 7-3.

The Knights got their eighth run in the top of the seventh with an RBI single, making the score 8-3.

The Hilltopper offense found a rhythm in the bottom half of the frame, scoring three runs off an RBI single from Batusich, a sacrifice fly from Gilroy, and an RBI walk from Brett Blomquist to cut the Bellarmine lead to 8-6.

An RBI walk added another for the Knights in the top of the ninth to give them the 9-6 advantage.

The Tops loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with no outs, but only managed to scratch one run, making the final score 9-7, in favor of Bellarmine.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will host its second straight four-game series this weekend against Northern Illinois with the first game of the series beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 3 at Nick Denes Field.

How to follow WKU Baseball: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Baseball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKU_Baseball on Twitter and @WKUBaseball Instagram.