Reckart’s Big Day Leads Tops over Bruins on Tuesday

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball defeated the Belmont Bruins 9-7 on Tuesday night at E.S Rose Park in Nashville, Tenn. The Hilltoppers move to 4-0 for the first time since the 2011 season when they won their first five games before their first loss.

With two runners on in the top of the second inning, Drew Reckart hit the first Big Red Bomb of the season over the left field wall for a three-run home run to put the Hilltoppers in front 3-0. Reckart finished the day 3-for-3 with four RBI in his second start of the season for WKU.

“Sometimes in baseball, I do not know if you are deserving of the win, but someone has to win,” said head coach Marc Rardin. “I thought we were resilient with four errors and thirteen strikeouts, but yet we kept competing. There is something to be said when you are learning and you are trying to get the program to the next level, you have to find ways to win on those nights as well. I thought we did that tonight. We showed some toughness with doing that tonight.”

Freshman pitcher Nic Schutte started his first collegiate game on the mound. The Louisville native went two innings giving up two runs on two hits with one walk. Four Hilltoppers made relief appearances in Cal Higgins, Dawson Hall, Dalton Mesaris, and CJ Weins. Higgins made his WKU debut in the third inning recording three strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work while surrendering three runs. Hall earned the win in his second relief appearance of the season. The Bowling Green native totaled four strikeouts in 2.2 innings while only surrendering one hit. Weins earned his first save of the season, pitching the final two frames claiming two strikeouts, while not allowing a hit.

At the plate, WKU racked up 11 hits and eight walks, with three Hilltoppers producing multi-hit efforts. Reckart led the way, going 3-for-3 with four RBI and a home run. After a rough start to the season, junior Ty Crittenberger went 3-for-4 on the day with a double and two singles, while scoring two runs of his own. In his second start of the season freshman Camden Ross hit two doubles and a RBI in a 2-for-4 performance at the dish.

SCORING SUMMARY

In the top of the second, Reckart blasted a three-run home run to put the Tops on front 3-0, but the Bruins responded in the bottom of the third posting three runs of their own to tie the game.

Reckart hit his fourth RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth scoring Crittenberger to take a one run advantage. The next batter, Aidan Gilroy singled to left to score Ross and extend the Tops lead to 5-3.

Once again, Belmont responded, hitting a two-RBI single to tie the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth.

In the seventh, Ross hit his second double of the day, scoring Tristin Garcia and giving WKU a 6-5 lead.

The Tops added to it in the top of the eighth, scoring two more off a two-RBI single from Ty Batusich to put the score at 8-5.

The Bruins made it a one run game in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two of their own and loading the bases with no outs to making the score 8-7.

WKU responded, loading the bases with no outs right back and scratching another run of its own off a bases loaded walk from Kirk Liebert, putting the final tally at 9-7.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will begin their four-game series at home against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. CT.