With one strike needed to secure the seven-inning no-hitter, junior left-hander Bryson Vawter delivered a zone-scraping pitch, closing out WKU’s 12-0 run-rule win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Tuesday night at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers improve to 16-13 in the season and 14-7 at Nick Denes Field.
On the mound, WKU used seven pitchers, with each of them getting an inning of work. The arms shut out the Golden Eagles and only allowed two walks while striking out six. After a shaky performance against Louisville, junior right-hander Jude Favela was given the start. In his sole inning, the only base runner reached by a fielding error.
“We did make a couple of routine errors, but the big thing is they just kept pitching,” said Head Coach Marc Rardin. “You know, you give a lot of energy, and you give a lot of great effort and all of a sudden you create some luck for yourself.”
WKU also dominated in the batter’s box, where they racked up 14 hits and went 8-19 with runners on base. The Hilltoppers went 5-6 to lead off innings. Senior designated hitter Daniel Stewart led the team, going 3-3 with two RBI.
“We hit rock bottom on Saturday over at Sam Houston. I think we made that evident to everybody,” said graduate outfielder Parker Coley. “That was rock bottom. That was not Western Kentucky Baseball and from there on we called that the halfway point of the season.”
Sophomore infielder Reid Howard was written into the lineup and went 1-1 with one RBI, a stolen base, and a seven-pitch walk after missing 10 games due to getting hurt in game one against FIU.
After going three up three down in the first inning, the Hilltoppers scored in the following four innings, gaining a 9-0 lead after the fifth inning. The scoring was highlighted by graduate outfielder Parker Coley, who stole home to make it 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
WKU put up a four-run fifth frame, which was ignited by a solo home run by fifth-year infielder Kyle Hayes, who has the most home runs for the Hilltoppers with seven. The scoring continued in the inning with back-to-back RBI singles by Steward and junior catcher Ian Nguyen. The fourth run came in thanks to a bases-loaded walk by junior infielder Lane Arroyos, making the game 10-0.
The Hilltoppers added two more runs in the sixth frame started with an RBI double by Arroyos. A pinch-hit sacrifice groundout by junior infielder Grayson Godbee gave WKU a 12-0 lead and the dugout energy for the final three outs.
“It’s a contagious thing no different than the people who talk about 500 high fives. You know just the human touch, the human juice. If you’re juiceful you’re useful, if your juiceless then you’re useless,” Rardin said.
WKU Baseball will return to action to face Liberty in a three-game Conference USA series April 2-4 at Nick Denes Field. First pitch on Thursday is set for 6 p.m.
