BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Kendall Thamm picked up
his second win of the weekend and Logan Fiasco delivered a clutch base hit,
propelling the ULM baseball team to a 7-6 victory over Western Kentucky in 12
innings Sunday at Nick Denes Field.
A Judd Edwards single and a hit by pitch
drawn by Justin Stawychny gave ULM (21-23, 9-12 SBC) two men on with one out in
the top of the 12th. Fiasco came through
with an RBI single to the gap in right center field to score Edwards and take
the lead back (7-6).
Thamm (4-2) walked David Simmons with two
outs in the bottom of the 12th frame, and a wild pitch and throwing error
allowed the tying run to reach third base.
Thamm struck out Jared Andreaoli swinging to ice the victory.
Fiasco led five Warhawk hitters that had two
base hits. Joey Rapp paced ULM with
three RBIs.
Cale Wine retired six consecutive batters
until Steve Hodgins laced a triple to the gap in right center field in the
bottom of the third inning for the first hit of the game. Simmons sent a 1-0 Wine offering through the
middle for an RBI single, giving Western Kentucky (18-26, 9-12 SBC) a 1-0
lead. Scott Wilcox lined a one-out
double down the right field line to score Simmons and up the Hilltopper lead to
2-0.
Caleb Clowers lined a 0-2 offering from
Austin Clay through the left side in the top of the fourth inning for the first
ULM hit of the day. Jeremy Sy followed
with an infield single and advanced to second base on a throwing error by
Clay. Rapp turned on the first pitch he
saw from Clay and blasted it off the left field wall, scoring Clowers and Sy to
tie the game at 2 with a one-out double.
Western Kentucky retired Edwards and Corben Green to strand Rapp at
second base and end the inning.
Western Kentucky retook the lead on a Wilcox
double off the right field wall, which brought home Hodgins and Simmons (4-2). Andreaoli scored on an RBI groundout to
second by Casey Dykes to push the lead to 5-2.
Les Aulds laid a perfect drag bunt down the
first base line in the top of the fifth inning with men at second and third,
scoring Stawychny to close the deficit to 5-3 and move Brandon Alexander to
third base. A sacrifice fly to center by
Clowers brought Alexander across (5-4).
Wine sat the Hilltoppers down in order 1-2-3
in the bottom of the fifth, forcing Devin Kelly, Adam Lavelle and Ryan Huck to
ground out consecutively to shut down the Western Kentucky offense.
Fiasco ripped a leadoff double to the gap in
left center field to open the top of the seventh inning, and then moved further
into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Aulds. A Clowers RBI groundout to second base plated
Fiasco and tied the game at 5-5. A
two-base error by Wilcox at second base allowed Sy to move into scoring
position with two outs. Rapp made the
Hilltoppers pay, roping his second double of the game off the left field wall
to score Sy and give ULM its first lead of the game (6-5).
Rapp made a nice play to stab a sharp
grounder down the first base line by Wilcox in the bottom of the seventh,
robbing the Hilltoppers of a leadoff single.
After a pair of one-out base hits off Fraser Adams, Andrew Richardson
needed just three pitches to induce Kelly into the 6-4-3 double play to strand
two Western Kentucky runners.
An errant throw by Alexander in the bottom of
the eighth inning allowed Blake Crabtree to score from third base, tying the
game at 6-6.
Aulds slapped a single into right field in
the top of the ninth inning before taking second on a sacrifice bunt from
Clowers. Aulds stole third base with Sy
at the plate facing a 0-2 count. Ross
Hammonds (0-5) punched Sy out on a 3-2 offering for the inning's second
out. An intentional walk to Rapp gave
Edwards a chance with runners on the corners.
The ULM third baseman worked a full-count walk to load the bases. Green swung through a 2-2 pitch to strand all
three runners.
Back-to-back singles off Richardson in the
bottom of the ninth gave Western Kentucky two on with one out. An error in the field by Sy loaded the bases,
but Wil Browning got Crabtree to pop out to Clowers at second for a big out
number two. A pop out by Huck ended a
thrilling ninth inning to send the game to extra frames.
ULM hosts UALR in the final Sun Belt Conference series of the season at Warhawk
Field next weekend. ULM alum Willie Robertson from the hit A&E show Duck
Dynasty and the Outdoor Channel's Buck Commander Protected by Under Armour will
attend the game on Saturday. Willie will
throw out the honorary first pitch during a pre-game ceremony and sign
autographs for fans at Warhawk Field from 6-7 p.m. Adult general
admission for the game is $8.
