WKU Baseball: Tops Fall to WVU After Bullpen Struggles

Coming into this season, there was one major goal for the WKU baseball team: Find a way to get consistent pitching.

The starting rotation has been better than last year, but the bullpen is still lacking in consistency. Friday afternoon was no different, as the Western Kentucky bullpen gave up five runs in 2.2 innings in a 7–5 loss to West Virginia.

Ryan Thurston got the start for WKU and pitched well, tossing 6.1 innings while only giving up six hits and two runs. When Thurston left the mound in the top of the seventh, WKU led 4–2.

Thurston exited the game for Jacob Green who put down the one batter he faced. John Pawlowski went back to his bullpen for Austin Tibbs, who got out of the seventh unscathed.

The eighth inning for WKU was another story. The Mountaineers had three straight hits off of Tibbs to start the inning before Pawlowski went back to his bullpen to bring in setup man Connor Boyd. West Virginia countered the move by bringing in pinch hitter Chase Illing, who sent a 3–1 pitch over the wall in right center field to give West Virginia a 6–4 lead.

WKU cut the deficit to one after Sam Brown had an infield hit that scored Tyler Robertson. West Virginia added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a towering home run by Darius Hill before finishing off the Tops for a 7–5 win.

The Tops surrendered the first run of the game in the second inning, but took their first lead of the night in the bottom of the fourth on a Colin Butkiewicz home run, his first of the year, to right center field to give them a 2–1 lead.

Thurston surrendered the tying run in the top of the fifth, but the Tops immediately answered back on a Colie Currie RBI triple. Sam McElreath knocked him in on a sacrifice fly, giving WKU a 4–2 lead.

The Hilltoppers will be back in action for game two against West Virginia tomorrow at 1 p.m. before finishing off the series on Sunday with the first pitch at 12 p.m.

Final Stats