WKU Baseball Outlasts UTSA in wild elimination game
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Facing elimination in the Conference USA Tournament, WKU Baseball came through with a dramatic 10-9 extra-inning walk-off win over UTSA to keep its season alive on Thursday night at Pat Patterson Park.
The walk-off win was the Hilltoppers’ eighth of the season, with the squad also recording its 20th comeback victory of the year.
With the game tied at nine apiece in the bottom of the 10th inning, a sac fly by Ty Crittenberger to center field gave Justin Carlin just enough time to score from third on a bang-bang play at the plate, giving the Hilltoppers their sixth extra-innings victory of the season.
“They just played so hard today,” said head coach John Pawlowski of the team’s performance. “I’m just really proud of them and the way they competed. What an exciting college baseball game. I really liked the way we went about our business in a back-and-forth game. UTSA can really score. I felt like no lead was safe with their lineup. Just some exciting plays by us.
“That replay stuff is nerve-racking, especially right there at the end of the game. I was sitting there wondering do I jump for joy or tell Mason [Vinyard] ‘let’s go back out there and get three more outs.’ So, it was definitely an exciting game for the Tops.”
WKU utilized three pitchers on the mound in Sean Bergeron, Jake Kates and Mason Vinyard, with Vinyard picking up his team-high sixth win of the season after closing out the game with 3.1 frames of scoreless ball while striking out five batters.
At the plate, the Hilltoppers racked up 11 hits and 11 walks, with three players producing multi-hit performances. Jackson Gray led the way, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI, while Carlin and Kevin Lambert added two hits apiece in the contest
