Hilltoppers Outhit No. 6 Louisville

Tuesday, March 21

Louisville, KY

4:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

15-7

#6 Louisville

18-2

WKU

Louisville

3/21/2023 8:01:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – WKU Baseball outhit No. 6 Louisville 14-13 in a 15-8 loss on Tuesday night in Louisville, Ky.

The Hilltoppers drop to 15-7 (1-2 in C-USA) while the Cardinals improve to 18-2.

"Offense has been doing well. Coach Fournier has done a great job with that," said head coach Marc Rardin. We had some great approaches again tonight. After the game, even Coach McDonald gave our offense credit for being tough outs and having great approaches. That is all great, but you go to the midweek, and we are using some arms that need to work too, but they are not very competitive and the competitiveness has to be there every day, whether you are throwing 84 or 94. You have to get balls in the zone you cannot be afraid to be hit, but we just gave them some freebees, then gave up a hit. We were not able to let our defense help us. We were not able to give ourselves a chance when we are just going to hit and walk guys."

RHP Cole Eigenhuis recorded his third straight midweek start pitching just a single frame totaling two strikeouts while allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks. WKU utilized six relief pitchers following Eigenhuis' departure. Cam Tullar, Nic Schutte, Cal Higgins, Beau Coffman, Mason Burns and Jack Bennett all combined for nine strikeouts in 7.0 innings while surrendering 12 runs on 10 hits and six walks.

At the plate, WKU recorded 14 hits with four Hilltoppers claiming multi-hit performances. Tristin Garcia was responsible for three RBI in a 3-for-5 effort with a double while Lukas Farris hit a solo shot in a 2-for-4 day with two RBI and a run scored. Brayden Johnson also contributed with a solo home run of his own in a 2-for-3 outing.

SCORING SUMMARY

The Cardinals homered in the bottom of the first and notched two more on a throwing error by the Hilltoppers to take an early 3-0 lead.

Louisville added another in the bottom of the second with an RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Hilltoppers answered with three of their own in the top of the third with an RBI single from Tristin Garcia, an RBI hit by pitch by Lukas Farris, and an RBI groundout courtesy of Ty Batusich to make the score 4-3.

Two RBI doubles from Louisville put its lead at 6-3 in the bottom of the third.

Brayden Johnson launched his first home run of the season in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 6-4.

Another Hilltopper home run from Lukas Farris made it a one run game at 6-5 in the fifth.

WKU took the lead in the top of the sixth, 7-6, with a two-RBI double from Tristin Garcia.

The Cardinals answered in the bottom of the frame with five runs by way of an RBI walk, a fielding error by the Tops, a sacrifice fly, and a two-RBI single to take back the lead, 11-7.

A sacrifice fly and a three-run home run added to the Cardinals' lead in the seventh to put the score at 15-7.

A late, ninth inning RBI single from Ty Crittenberger put the final run on the board to make the final score 15-8.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will host their first Conference USA series against Louisiana Tech beginning on Friday, March 24, starting at 6 p.m. CT 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.