Tops Down Mountaineers 4-3 on Sunday; Split Series 2-2

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WKU SPORTS) – WKU Baseball (8-5) defeated West Virginia (7-6) 4-3 to split the four-game series 2-2 on Sunday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.

A four-run second inning from the Hilltoppers provided all the offense they would need on their way to the one-run victory over the Mountaineers. Two RBI from Austin Haller and a two-run long ball from Dylan O’Connell gave WKU a three-run lead in the second while Dawson Hall earned his second winning decision of the season and Mason Burns claimed his second straight save to clinch the series split after dropping the first two games.

“It all starts with pitching. It all starts on the mound. Hall started it off great for us. He kind of ran out of gas towards the end there, but there was [Grant] Burleson stepping in there. He really stepped up in a big part of the game. He got us through and get us to [Mason] Burns. Burns has been Burns overall for us. We extended him a little bit today, but he was pretty conservative last night with the three outs he had to get, so he felt pretty good. Obviously, he did a really good job today.”

Hall got the starting nod in the series finale and was strong through five innings of work. The sophomore fanned four Mountaineers while surrendering two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks. The only earned run allowed came off a solo home run to start the second inning for West Virginia. Hall was relieved by Grant Burleson in the sixth inning after walking the first batter. The junior escaped unscathed in the sixth but allowed one run in the seventh on an RBI groundout from the Mountaineers. The right-hander finished with 1.2 innings pitched, conceding one run on one hit and one walk. Mason Burns entered with two outs in the seventh and forced a groundout to end the frame. The senior closer held the WVU offense scoreless for rest of the game, notching four strikeouts along the way. In the top of the eighth, the Mountaineers loaded the bases with three straight singles to start the inning but Burns struck out two straight and forced a pop fly to end the inning. The Bloomington, Ind. native had no issues in the top of the ninth, sitting down the side to give the Tops the 4-3 win.

Offensive productivity was hard to come by for the Hilltoppers, striking for four runs in the second, but zero the rest of the way. Two RBI from Austin Haller got the Tops on the board in the second with a single. Hw was 1-for-2 on the day with a couple of RBI and a run scored. Leadoff man Dylan O’Connell produced the only multi-hit performance on the day, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, a run scored, and two stolen bases.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will play their third straight midweek game on the road at Bellarmine on March 5 at 3 p.m. CT.