CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – WKU Baseball (12-6) claimed its sixth win in the last seven games by beating Austin Peay (11-5) 12-9 in a thriller at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Juniors Blake Cavill and Ethan Lizama combined for seven RBI on just two swings with a grand slam from Cavill and a go-ahead three-run home run from Lizama in the eighth inning to help lead the Hilltoppers over the Governors on Tuesday night.
The Tops utilized eight arms on the mound with sophomore relief pitcher Elliott Rossell earning the first win of his collegiate career. The right-hander entered with one out in the seventh inning and didn't allow a run on one hit in 1.0 inning of work. Senior Mason Burns tallied his third save of the season with a clean frame in the ninth.
WKU totaled five runs in the second inning that started with sophomore Dylan O'Connell driving in a run with a single through the left side. Two pitches later, Cavill launched a ball over the right field wall for his second grand slam and third home run of the season.
The Governors got three runs back with an RBI single in the second and a two-run home run in the third to cut the Tops lead to 5-3.
In the fourth, a sacrifice fly from junior Brady Browning scored a run before the Tops added another on a wild pitch to extend their lead to four.
Austin Peay would not go away as the Governors struck for five runs in the home half of the fifth to take an 8-7 lead going into the sixth.
The Hilltoppers responded two at-bats later, scoring on a balk with junior Caleb Marmo on third to tie the game at 8-8 in the seventh.
In the bottom half of the inning, Austin Peay retook the lead with an infield single.
The Tops were looking to rally trailing by one in the late stages and they did just that. With two runners on in the top of the eighth, Lizama blasted a ball over the batter's eye to regain the lead for WKU. Just a few at-bats later, junior Joey Baran, who entered to catch in the seventh, added an insurance run with a single to right to give the Tops a 12-9 lead.
Junior Cal Higgins entered to start the bottom of the eighth and was nearly perfect, only surrendering a walk as tonight's setup pitcher. WKU turned to Burns for the final three outs and he didn't waste any time as he threw just 11 pitches. Burns, a usual strikeout pitcher, had to work a bit for the final three outs as he recorded two assists on his way to his third save of the season to help the Hilltoppers claim the win on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will hit the road for a three-game series at Southeast Missouri State this weekend with first pitch on Friday set for 6 p.m. CT. All three games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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.
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