When Anderson Miller went to bat Tuesday night at home against Austin Peay in the eighth inning with the score tied at 5 and the bases loaded, he wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity to put the game away. 

Instead, the junior outfielder smashed a ball to centerfield in the 10th with senior Ryan Messex on first and freshman Steven Kraft on second to end the game in walk-off fashion. The matchup against the Austin Peay Governors took nearly four hours to conclude.  

The win is the first in walk-off fashion for the Hilltoppers (22-20) since March 2014 and just the third since the dramatic 18-inning thriller against then nationally ranked Kentucky in April of 2013.  

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Miller’s stylish win began with Kraft, a freshman in his first career start for WKU.  For an inexperienced Hilltopper with just seven prior at-bats to his name, Kraft set up the game winning run, and managed a 3-for-4 mark from the plate with double and a walk.  

The win evens the record of WKU and Austin Peay, who now both sit at 22-20 overall on the season. 

Sophomore Ben Morrison put up a crucial performance for the Hilltoppers as the closer, striking out six of the seven Governors that came to bat with him on the mound. Coming in for a pivotal ninth and tenth inning performance, Morrison earned his second win of the season. 

The Hilltoppers played a reverse away fixture in Clarksville, Tennessee Wednesday night, but as of press time for this edition of the Herald, the results were not finalized. 

The team travels next to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a vital three-game series against MTSU.  Despite posting an impressive non-conference record that includes going undefeated against all Kentucky opposition, the Hilltoppers are still battling for a spot in Conference USA post-season play.