Sanford collects four more hits in Western Kentucky loss

Team Nova Scotia alum Jake Sanford (Dartmouth, N.S.) collected four more hits for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in their 15-4 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday. Photo: WKU Athletics

April 24, 2019

By Bryan Fyalkowski

WKU Athletics

JAKE SANFORD LINES 4 HITS, RAISES AVERAGE TO .423 IN LOSS TO WILDCATS

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Baseball suffered its second loss of the season to in-state rival Kentucky, as the Wildcats defeated the Hilltoppers by a score of 15-4 on Tuesday night at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Right fielder Jake Sanford (Dartmouth, N.S.) went 4-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored, pushing his slash line to a season-high .423/.500/.885. It was his fourth four-hit game of the year and 14th multi-run game of the season. Entering the day, a .885 slugging percentage would lead the nation, while a .423 batting average would rank sixth. He also has 138 total bases that would rank second, 66 hits that would rank seventh and 51 runs that would rank eighth.

Visiting Kentucky (21-20) hit six homeruns — including three by right fielder Ryan Johnson — that accounted for nine of the team's first 11 tallies. The Wildcats matched their run output in the first head-to-head matchup, which was a 15-0 win at Kentucky Proud Park on March 21.

Through four innings it was a 2-1 game, with righty Jeff Ciocco and lefty Jack Lambert holding Kentucky to two runs on four hits through the first four frames. WKU got on the board when first baseman Jack Wilson led off the bottom of the fourth by working an 11-pitch walk and Sanford followed with a single to the gap that put runners on the corners. Designated hitter Dillon Nelson grounded a single into left field to score Wilson, but the remaining two Hilltoppers were stranded by starter Dillon Marsh.

The Wildcats hit three solo homeruns and scored a run on a wild pitch over the next two frames to extend their lead to 6-1 before the WKU offense got going again in the bottom of the sixth. This time, it was a leadoff single by Wilson followed by a double into the right-field corner by Sanford that put a pair of runners in scoring position for Nelson. The junior from Omaha, Neb., came through with a sacrifice fly to right-center that scored Wilson and moved Sanford to third, and he would later score on a wild pitch.

The 6-3 deficit would be as close as the Hilltoppers (18-20-1) would get, however, as Kentucky scored nine runs over the final three innings. Sanford doubled with one out in the eighth for his fourth hit of the night and later scored on a two-out, RBI single by shortstop Kevin Lambert.

Topper Notes

-WKU fell to 7-3 all-time at Bowling Green Ballpark, including 4-2 against Kentucky. After winning their first six games at the venue, the Hilltoppers have lost three of the past four.

-Wilson went 1-for-3 and recorded his seventh multi-run game. He extended his hit streak to a season-high six games and has also reached base in eight straight contests. The Elizabethtown native's .316/.432/.416 slash line ranks second among active WKU hitters.

-Nelson went 1-for-3 and recorded his eighth multi-RBI game. He became the second Hilltopper to reach to 30-RBI mark, as he ranks second on the team to Sanford's 55 runs batted in.

-Lefty Drew Strohm made his first appearance since March 21 — the last game against Kentucky — and tossed 0.2 scoreless frames. In the fifth action of his season, the St. Louis, Mo., native tossed his second scoreless outing.

Topper Quotes

"It was competitive for half the game, but the second half Kentucky did a great job. They got themselves in really good hitting counts, we left some balls up in the zone and they put some great swings on it. If you do that against anybody — especially a team like that — they're going to swing the bats well." — Head coach John Pawlowski.

"We have to get ourselves ready to go this weekend. We're right in the thick of things in Conference USA — we kind of control our own destiny — and we're in the position to play well and go to Biloxi. As the season goes on, the games get more important and more challenging, which will be fun for our group." — Head coach John Pawlowski.

"We tried to stay positive and keep our attitudes high and keep battling until the end of the game. We just have to keep pushing through it and get ready for a big series this weekend; we have to go down there and play well." — Junior Jake Sanford.

Up Next

WKU travels to San Antonio, Texas, to take on C-USA foe UTSA. The three-game, Friday-to-Sunday set will have first pitch times of 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and 12 p.m. The Roadrunners currently stand eighth in the league with an 8-10 record, compared to the Hilltoppers' fourth-place standing with a 9-8-1 mark.