SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - WKU Baseball (19-20; 6-11 CUSA) fell to Missouri State (26-10; 14-3 CUSA) 8-6 in 12 innings Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first two innings of play went quietly with just one hit for each side.
- WKU opened the scoring in their half of the third with a walk and then back-to-back singles from Hayden Robbins and Lane Arroyos.
- Arroyos drove in Alberto on his base hit to take the early lead.
- The Bears scored three in the bottom of the frame to go ahead by two.
- WKU cut that down to one in their fourth inning with two outs.
- A base hit from JP Acosta was followed up by a double off the bat of Ian Nguyen into the right center field gap to score Acosta and make it a 3-2 game.
- In the Hilltopper fifth with Austin Haller on third, Kyle Hayes lifted a two-out single over the head of the leaping Missouri State second baseman to even the score.
- In the bottom of the sixth, back-to-back doubles gave the Bears back the lead.
- The Hilltoppers put runners on second and third with a throwing error and a double from Robbins.
- Arroyos reached on a fielder's choice that scored Alberto to even the score at four.
- With runners in the corners for Hayes, a groundout to the shortstop scored Robbins and gave WKU a 5-4 advantage.
- Parker Coley singled to leadoff the eighth and with one out a Nguyen sacrifice fly gave the Hilltoppers a two-run lead.
- A two-run Missouri State bottom of ninth sent the game into extra innings.
- A two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th gave the Bears the win.
NOTABLES
- With the loss, the Hilltoppers fall to 19-20 on the year and 6-11 in CUSA play.
- Gavin Perry started for WKU on Saturday. Perry finished his afternoon allowing four runs (earned) on six hits with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.
- Out of the bullpen WKU used Dawson Hall, and Zach Lyles.
- Hayden Robbins, Parker Coley, and JP Acosta all finished 2-for-5 with a run scored.
- Acosta has now picked up two or more hits in back-to-back games. Acosta has now achieved this feat on four occasions.
- Lane Arroyos, Kyle Hayes, and Ian Nguyen all logged two RBIs.
- Arroyos' final stat line read 1-for-3 with three walks and two RBIs.
- Robbins along with Nguyen each recorded a double on Saturday.
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers and Bears will wrap up the three-game set on Sunday, April 19. First pitch from Hammons Field is set for 1 p.m. CT with audio streaming on the Varsity Network.
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 X and @WKUBaseball on Instagram.
