June 1, 2009

Ole Miss 4, WKU 1

OXFORD, Miss. — Eighth-ranked Ole Miss (43-18) got a dominating pitching performance from ace Drew Pomeranz to claim the rubber match with Western Kentucky University (42-2) 4-1 in the 2009 NCAA Oxford Regional winner-take-all championship game in front of 8,255 fans at Oxford-University Stadium on Monday night.  The two teams split their first two meetings in the tournament.  The Rebels will now host Virginia in the best of three Super Regional beginning Friday at 1:00 PM. 

WKU closes out a remarkable, record-setting campaign that witnessed the program's first-ever Sun Belt Regular Season Championship, the deepest NCAA Tournament run ever, and just the fifth 40-win season in 90 years of Hilltopper baseball. 

Pomeranz (8-4), a Southeastern Conference Second-Team selection, saved the performance of his life for one of the biggest stages in college baseball.  The tall lefthander struck out 16 of the 29 Hilltoppers he faced, giving up just one unearned run on two hits and one walk in the complete game victory. 

"Drew Pomeranz, what a special night. He pitched like a big leaguer and certainly deserved that most outstanding player award for the tournament," said WKU head coach Chris Finwood.  "He was definitely the difference.  Our guys might be a little tired from playing 18 innings yesterday, but you really have to tip your hat to him.  Having said that, we had them 1-1 in a two inning game and that is what we were trying to do because anything can happen.  We walked the leadoff guy in the eighth and that led to a three-run inning, and that was the end of it."

Overshadowed by Pomeranz career-night was a superb outing from Hilltopper hurler Matt Ridings.  Working on just two days rest for the first time in his three-year college career, the junior from Franklin, Tenn. scattered seven hits over 7.0 innings, not walking a batter and giving up just one run, fanning four in the no decision. 

"I thought Matt was just outstanding coming off two days rest and 118 pitches against Missouri, going out there and giving up just one run in seven innings," said Finwood.  "He worked out of a couple of jams and made some big time pitches when he had to to save runs.  I couldn't be prouder of him, pitching in that venue in that atmosphere on short rest, which is outstanding."

WKU's first threat came in the bottom of the third when Jake Wells led off the frame by reaching on a throwing error by the shortstop.  He then advanced to second on a wild pitch, but with no one out, Pomeranz struck out Jared Andreoli and Matt Payton while getting Jeremy Coleman to fly out down the line in right to end the inning. 

In the fourth, Wade Gaynor drew a one-out walk, the only one issued by Pomeranz, stole second base, and was advanced to third on an groundout by Chad Cregar, but Terrence Dayleg lined out to Zach Miller at third for the third out. 

Ole Miss finally broke the scoreless tie in the sixth with a one-out, RBI double to right center by Kyle Henson, scoring Matt Smith from first base.  Smith had a 3-for-4 night with two RBI and two runs scored while Matt Snyder had the other multi-hit night going 2-for-4. 

WKU was able to scratch across a run in the home half of the seventh to knot the game up 1-1.  Cregar, the Oxford, Miss. native, singled through the right side of the infield with one out to end Pomeranz' no- hitter.  After stealing second, Cregar came around to score as Matt Hightower smoked a comebacker that ricocheted off the pitcher's leg and deflected out to the second baseman.  As Evan Burton mishandled the deflection, Cregar alertly rounded third and scored. 

The eighth inning, which proved to be the Rebels undoing in yesterday's

10-9 come-from-behind win by WKU, was the difference maker once again, only this time, it went in favor of Ole Miss.  Chad Adcock came on in relief of Ridings to start the eighth and walked Logan Power.  A Snyder single through the right side put runners on first and third with no outs, setting up Smith's game-winning triple to right center, making it a 3-1 Rebel lead.  David Phillips added an RBI double to score Smith before WKU worked out of the inning trailing 4-1. 

Adcock (1-3), the winner in last night's historic victory, suffered the loss, charged with three runs on two hits and one walk while not recording an out.

Matt Rice, Cregar, and Gaynor earned spots on the NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament team, the most selection since the 1980 team placed four. 

May 31, 2009

WKU 10, Ole Miss 9

OXFORD, Miss. — With their season down to its final six outs, third- seeded Western Kentucky University (42-19) scored six in the eighth inning and then one in the ninth to rally from a 9-3 deficit and earn an improbable 10-9 come-from-behind win over eighth-ranked Mississippi

(42-18) on Sunday evening at Oxford-University Stadium in the 2009 NCAA Oxford Regional. 

In addition to having to play an elimination game against second-seeded Missouri earlier in the day while the defending Southeastern Conference Champions rested, the Hilltoppers rallied in front of 8,377 Rebel fans to knock off the top-seed and force a winner-take-all showdown tomorrow at 7:00 PM.  WKU will be playing in its first-ever NCAA Regional Championship Game after equaling the program's entire NCAA Tournament win total of three in this NCAA Oxford Regional. 

"I've been doing this for 21 years and that is probably the best ballgame I have been a part of in terms of comebacks, the stage and the atmosphere. I have been saying it all year about these kids. To go out there and play the way they did today for 18 innings and to beat a heck of an Ole Miss ballclub in front of a great crowd with that type of comeback is an amazing feeling," said WKU head coach Chris Finwood, the

2009 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.  "I couldn’t be more proud of them. We had a lot of big hits and they never gave up. We were able to battle back and put up a bunch of runs off an outstanding bullpen.

It was a heck of a win for

us and our program." 

Trailing 9-3 heading into the top of the eighth, WKU first baseman Jake Wells led off with a single to left field.  Jared Andreoli then drew a walk, a rarity for Rebel closer Jake Morgan who had issued just four free passes in 37.0 innings this season.  Matt Payton then slapped a base hit to left field to load the bases with no one out. 

Senior centerfielder Jeremy Coleman singled to right field, scoring Wells from third and then stepped in Matt Rice.  His record-breaking hit was a memorable one as he smoked a Morgan offering to right center, plating two as WKU drew within three at 9-6.  Rice, who had a career- best 5-for-5 game, recorded his 101st hit of the season, breaking Rob Tomberlin's 24-year-old school mark of 100 hits in a season.  The CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Third-Team All-American has hit safely in 56 of the 60 games he has played in 2009 while catching the last 22- straight games for the Toppers. 

With the tying run coming to the plate in the form of Wade Gaynor, the junior third baseman crushed a three-run blast over the left center field wall, his second of the game and 25th of the season, to knot it up at 9-9.  WKU scored all six runs with no outs and touched up the Ole Miss closer for six earned runs on five hits and one walk in six batters faced. 

As a team, eight of the nine batters for WKU had at least one hit, combining for a season-high 17 singles and three home runs. 

In the bottom of the eighth, reliever Chad Adcock worked out of a runners at first and second, two-out jam by getting Matt Smith to ground into a force out at second. 

Leading off his second-straight inning, Wells wasted little time in completing the dramatic comeback victory, smashing a solo shot over the right field wall for the game winner.  It was his first long ball in 18 games, and his fifth of the season. 

Garrie Krueger (2) struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect ninth for his second save of the season.  Adcock (1-2) earned his second career victory after working the eighth. 

Ole Miss grabbed the early 3-0 lead before Andreoli's RBI groundout in the fourth got the Hilltoppers on the board.  But the Rebels continued to put distance between themselves and the Toppers with two in the fifth and then two more in the sixth on an RBI single up the middle by Kevin Mort, making it 7-1. 

After WKU could not come up with the key hit, with just one run to show for 11 hits through six innings, Rice and Gaynor delivered back-to-back solo home runs on two pitches in the top of the seventh to trim the deficit to 7-3.  But with runners at first and second with one out, Matt Hightower grounded into a four-six-three double play to end the threat. 

Smith seemed to end all chances of a Hilltopper comeback in the bottom of the seventh frame by hitting a two-run homer to right as Ole Miss again led by its largest margin 9-3, setting up the heroics of the final two innings.

Wells finished 4-for-5 for WKU while Gaynor was 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.  Playing in his hometown of Oxford, Miss., Chad Cregar turned in a 3-for-5 performance.

WKU 11, Missouri 6

OXFORD, Miss. — Western Kentucky University (41-19) jumped on the Missouri Tigers (35-27) early for the second time in three days to post an 11-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Oxford-University Stadium and advance to the program's first NCAA Regional Championship round appearance in 29 years.  The third-seeded Hilltoppers won their second game in three tries in the NCAA Oxford Regional, eliminating the Tigers, and will now face top-seeded and eighth-ranked Ole Miss at 5:00 PM. 

WKU jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two innings and never looked back, building as much as an 11-3 cushion before Missouri plated three cosmetic runs in the ninth.  In two games, Missouri starting pitching surrendered 13 runs in 2.2 innings of work to Hilltopper hitters.

The Toppers got on the board in the bottom of the first on an RBI single back up the middle by Chad Cregar, scoring Matt Payton from third base.  Senior shortstop Terrence Dayleg slapped a two-out, two RBI single through the left side as WKU grabbed a 3-0 advantage after one inning.  The senior duo of Cregar and Dayleg combined for 10 RBI, going 7-for-9 and scoring four times.  Cregar's five RBI tied a season- high while Dayleg equaled his career-best with five runs driven in. 

In the second inning, Wade Gaynor's sacrifice fly scored Jeremy Coleman and then Cregar crushed a 1-2 offering from Tiger starter Ian Berger over the wall in right field for a three-run homer as WKU led 7-0. 

Missouri battled back with two in the top of the third coming on a bloop single by Greg Folgia and then an RBI single to right by Aaron Senne, both with two outs.  Another two-out base hit, this time in the fifth, by Steve Gray pulled the Tigers within 7-3. 

Gaynor singled through the right side to score Payton from third in the sixth as WKU increased its lead to 8-3.  Gaynor then stole second base, giving him 20 on the season.  Along with his 23 home runs, he becomes the first Hilltopper in school history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a single season. 

Matt Hightower (7-3), the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, tossed 5.0 innings, scattering eight hits and one walk, striking out one and allowing three earned runs in earning the win for WKU.  Evan Teague tossed 4.0 innings of relief, tying a career-long outing, allowing three earned runs on six hits, striking out one. 

Berger (3-4) suffered the loss for Missouri after surrendering seven earned runs on six hits and one walk in 1.2 innings of work. 

Cregar had four hits to lead the Hilltoppers while Dayleg tallied three and Jared Andreoli and Gaynor each had two.

Vanderbilt 6, Middle Tennessee 0

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Middle Tennessee’s record breaking season came to an end on Sunday afternoon in a 6-0 loss to Vanderbilt in an elimination game at the NCAA Louisville Regional.

Junior Chad Edwards took the loss on the mound but held the Commodores to just two runs through the sixth inning. Edwards allowed two runs on three hits in 5.2 innings of work.

Middle Tennessee used four pitchers in relief who combined for 2.1 innings of work allowing four runs on six hits.

“It was a really good ball game until the latter innings. Cotham lived up to his billing and Chad matched up with him well. He got the ball up on the solo home run but 2-0 was very manageable and we executed well defensively. In the dugout, it felt like we were getting shutout by five or six runs but it was just two so Chad did a good job of keeping it close,” head coach Steve Peterson said.

The Blue Raiders had four hits on the day with senior Rawley Bishop, juniors Stuart Meinhart and Blake McDade and sophomore Tyler Burnett each had one hit on the day. Bishop’s hit was a double and the only extra base hit on the day for Middle Tennessee.

“I am a purist when it comes to baseball and good pitching will beat good hitting any day of the week. We had a good inning against Minor because he didn’t throw well the first inning but once he settled down we had difficulties. I don’t think its just my hitters their pitching has been able to do that throughout the season. They were just too much for us and had the upper hand,” Peterson said.

Vanderbilt had just four hits headed into the eighth inning but scored four runs on five hits in that inning to break the game open. The Commodores had nine hits on the day led by Aaron Westlake who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and scored two runs.

Westlake put the first run and hit on the board for the Commodores with his solo home run to right field in the second.

Vanderbilt added another run after a sacrifice fly to right field by Liddle scored a runner from third making it 2-0 in the sixth.

In the eighth inning, White hit a two-run shot to right field adding two more runs to the Vanderbilt total. Then a single by Giobbi added another run to the board extending the lead to five, 5-0. Vanderbilt ended the inning scoring four runs on five hits to take a 6-0 lead.

Middle Tennessee ends the 2009 season with a 44-18 record, the best in school history, and with both the Sun Belt regular season and tournament championships under its belt. The Blue Raiders also broke a number of single-season records including wins, double plays, runs, home runs and doubles to name a few while individual players also broke a number of single-season and career records during the campaign.

May 30, 2009

Ole Miss 7, WKU 4

OXFORD, Miss. — After falling behind 7-0 to the eighth-ranked team in the country, Western Kentucky University (40-19) made a valiant comeback, bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, but came just short against Mississippi (42-17) 7-4 in the winners bracket of the NCAA Oxford Regional.  The third-seeded Hilltoppers will now play in an elimination game against second-seeded Missouri, a team they beat 11-5 in the opening round, on Sunday at 1:00 PM. 

A pitchers duel through four innings, Ole Miss got a three-run homer from Matt Snyder to make it a 5-0 Rebel lead.  The designated hitter made his only hit of the evening a big one, smacking the first pitch he saw from Topper starter Shane Cameron over the right field wall. 

Cameron (5-2) suffered his first loss since April 5 at FIU, scattering nine hits and three walks, giving up seven earned runs and striking out three in 5.2 innings.  The Topper bullpen gave WKU the opportunity for a comeback, holding the Rebels scoreless over the final 3.1 innings as Garrie Krueger, Ben Paxton, and JB Paxon combined for four hits and one walk, fanning four over that span. 

A pair of soft singles by Jordan Henry and Logan Power in the sixth upped the Ole Miss advantage to 7-0, but in the bottom of the inning, the Toppers got their bats going.  Wade Gaynor led off with a double to right center and Chad Cregar followed with a two-run blast to left center to draw WKU within 7-2.  For Cregar, an Oxford, Miss. native, it was his 18th home run of the season. 

After the Rebels went quietly in the seventh, Matt Rice delivered a two- out, two RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Gaynor and Matt Payton as WKU closed within 7-4.  For Rice, it was his 95th hit of the season, now five shy of Rob Tomberlin's all-time record of 100 set 24 years ago. 

In the eighth, still trailing 7-4, Jared Andreoli drew a leadoff walk and CJ Wamsley delivered a one-out, pinch-hit single as the Hilltoppers brought the tying run to the plate twice in the frame.  Rebel closer Jake Morgan (9), however, struck out Payton and Matt Hightower on called third strikes to end the threat. 

Phillip Irwin (8-3) allowed four runs, three earned, on 11 hits, but did not walk a batter and struck out nine in 6.2 innings.  Morgan notched the save tossing the final 2.0 innings of relief. 

Over the final four innings, WKU out hit the Rebels 8-2 and outscored Ole Miss 4-2. 

Payton, Gaynor, Andreoli, and Rice each had two hits to lead the Hilltoppers while Cregar and Rice drove in two RBI each. 

Power finished with a 3-for-4 night for Ole Miss while Snyder had three RBI and Evan Burton scored three times. 

As has become the trademark of the nation's fourth best fielding team, WKU's defense was sterling on the night, turning two double players and making a number of impressive plays.  In two full games, the Hilltoppers have not committed an error in the NCAA Tournament. 

Louisville 3, Middle Tennessee 2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Middle Tennessee lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Louisville Saturday night falling into the loser’s bracket of the Louisville Regional.

The Blue Raiders (44-17) led throughout the game but Louisville (46-15) scored two key runs, one in the eighth to tie and then the eventual winning run in the ninth. In the ninth, with one out and a runner at third junior Drew Robertson had a throwing error trying to pick off the runner in which he scored and gave Louisville the winning run.

“It got down to something big was going to happen. Bryce threw really well and their guys matched him up. Their relief guy came in and we just could not pick-up his change-up. Its unfortunate that Drew threw the ball away there but he thought he had an out,” head coach Steve Peterson said. “It was a heck of a ball game and I have to take my hat off to Louisville they have a very good ball team.”

Sophomore Bryce Brentz received the start on the mound allowing two runs on six hits in 7.2 innings of work striking out six batters.

Junior Coty Woods (4-3) took the loss after allowing one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning of work. Sophomore Nick Montgomery entered the game with one out in the ninth to finish things out and allowed no runs or hits.

Junior Ben Darlington and sophomore Tyler Burnett each had two hits on the day to guide the Blue Raiders at the plate.

Middle Tennessee had seven hits on the night none of which were for extra bases.

Louisville had eight hits on the night and was led at the plate by Josh Richmond who went 3 for 4 with a double, home run and scored two runs.

Derek Self (7-0) picked up the win on the mound for the Cardinals allowing no runs or hits in three innings of work.

Middle Tennessee put the first run on the board as a deep fly ball to right centerfield by Brentz scored Hines from third making it 1-0 in the top of the first.

In the fourth inning, the Blue Raiders added another run after a single to right field by Meinhart brought in Bishop from second extending the lead to two.

Louisville put its first run on the board in the sixth after a double by Clark scored Richmond from third closing the gap to one, 2-1.

The Cardinals knotted the score at 2 on a leadoff home run by Richmond in the eighth.

Middle Tennessee will play Vanderbilt in an elimination game at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 31. With a win, the Blue Raiders will play again Sunday night at 6 p.m. against Louisville in the championship game of the Regional.

May 29, 2009

Middle Tennessee 5, Vanderbilt 4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Middle Tennessee won its first game in the NCAA Louisville Regional in dramatic fashion defeating in-state rival Vanderbilt 5-4 on Friday afternoon.

The Blue Raiders (44-16) led throughout the game but the Commodores (34-26) closed the gap to one in the eighth inning and held on for the win.

"It is a great win. All of the wins are great from here on out because we are trying to win this tournament and the next to get to Omaha. I am very proud of this team but to compete like they have the last month it doesn’t surprise me. I have said all week the last column on the scoreboard would be the most important because I didn’t anticipate Kenny striking out a lot of batters,” Peterson said.

Junior Coty Woods entered the game in the eighth with a runner on base and picked up his 15^th save of the season after allowing one run on two hits in two innings of work.

Junior Kenneth Roberts earned the win, improving to 11-1, working seven innings allowing three runs on six hits.

“Kenny had one inning where he lost command and there were pitches Kenny and his catcher thought were strikes and the man making the decision didn’t. He does walk people but he walked more than normal today,” head coach Steve Peterson said. “Coty was not sharp at all but when someone has 14 saves you will bet the house that they will come back with pitches and that is what he did.”

Junior Stuart Meinhart had one of two big hits for the Blue Raiders as he hit the second grand slam of his career to put them up 4-0 in the first inning. Meinhart ended the game 1 for 3 with four RBI and scored a run.

Senior Taylor Dennis had the other big hit for the team as he hit a solo shot down the left field line to give the Blue Raiders the extra run they needed.

Junior Blake McDade had a big day at the plate as he was one of two players to have multiple hits in the game. McDade went 3 for 4 with a double and scored a run.

As a team, Middle Tennessee posted 10 hits with four of those being for extra bases.

“We had never faced Minor but I have seen him pitch since he was in high school. The first two or three innings he was not very good and had the ball up. We knew he was going to throw strikes so we anticipated that if he wasn’t right we were going to have to get on him quick,” Peterson said. “Stuart got a fastball up and the wind was blowing out. Stuart has hit balls out to right field and is a good fastball hitter and then we could have easily picked up a couple more runs had we executed better on the bases.”

Vanderbilt’s Mike Minor took the loss on the mound as he worked a complete game allowing five runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts.

At the plate, Aaron Westlake went 3 for 4 with a double and scored two runs. The Commodores had eight hits on the day with three extra base hits.

It is the fifth straight win for the Blue Raiders and their first in an NCAA Regional appearance since 2000 when they defeated Illinois 4-3 in the Clemson Regional.

The Blue Raiders broke the game open early thanks to a grand slam to right field by Meinhart. Vanderbilt loaded the bases after Bishop received a four pitch walk with runners at first and second. Middle Tennessee ended the bottom of the first scoring four runs with four hits in the inning to take a 4-0 lead.

Vanderbilt scored its first run in the fourth after a runner from third scored on a groundball to second base. The Commodores added another run on a single down the left field line bringing in a runner from third. VU ended the inning scoring two runs on two hits to cut the Blue Raider lead to two, 4-2.

Dennis hit a solo shot down the left field line in the seventh to add another run to score and put the Blue Raiders up by three.

Vanderbilt added a run of its own in the eighth on a groundball to the shortstop bringing in a runner from third. Then a groundball to second brought in another Commodore run cutting the Blue Raider lead to one, 5-4.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. when it faces the winner of one seed Louisville and four seed Indiana.

WKU 11, Missouri 5

OXFORD, Miss. — Third-seeded Western Kentucky University (40-18) turned in a six-run first and left no doubt in rolling past second-seeded Missouri (34-26) 11-5 in the opening game of the 2009 NCAA Oxford Regional at Oxford-University Field on the campus of Ole Miss.  In reaching the 40-win plateau for the first time in 21 years, the Hilltoppers advance in the winners bracket to face either #8 Mississippi or Monmonth on Saturday evening at 5:00 PM CT. 

Missouri, with a 16-11 record in the Big 12 this season, opted to hold back staff ace Kyle Gibson and trotted out Nick Tepesch to face the best-hitting team in the field.  Gibson was 10-3 in the regular season with a 3.47 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 98.2 innings.  The Toppers, however, knocked Tepesch (6-5) out after just 1.0 inning of work as the sophomore righthander surrendered six runs, five earned, on three hits and three walks. 

Wade Gaynor delivered the big blow of the inning with a three-run homer just inside the fair poll in left field.  It was the 23rd of the season for the junior third baseman.  After a Chad Cregar walk, Matt Rice singled through the right side, setting up Terrence Dayleg's double that sliced toward the right field line, past a diving Ryan Lollis, scoring Cregar to make it 4-0.  Dayleg tied a career-high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored. 

Jared Andreoli's RBI groundout to second base plated Rice as WKU led 5- 0 before the Tigers recorded their first out of the game.  Dayleg would come home on a Tepesch wild pitch to complete the six-run inning. 

Seven differenct Toppers had base hits while six drove in at least one run.  The top three in the WKU line-up combined for seven RBI as Matt Payton and Matt Hightower each had two RBI.  Rice finished 3-for-5 to hit safely in an impressive 53 of 57 games played this season. 

Payton increased the margin to 8-0 in the top of the third with a two- out, two RBI single through the right side of the infield. 

Junior righthander Matt Ridings (8-2) was dominant through three complete innings, striking out six of the 10 Missouri hitters he faced, not allowing a hit and walking just one.  Lollis led off the fourth with a double to finally tally the Tigers first hit.  Ridings went 6.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and four walks, fanning eight in notching his 25th career victory, now second all-time in WKU history. 

Evan Teague tossed 2.2 innings of hitless relief, walking two and striking out three while allowing one run. 

The Tigers got on the board in the fourth on a three-run home run by Aaron Senne to cut the deficit to 8-3, but Ridings quickly retired the next three batters he faced to end the frame. 

WKU countered with another two-out, two RBI hit, this time from Hightower in the top of the fifth, to make it 10-3.  Rice added a solo shot in the eighth as the Hilltoppers won in convincing fashion 11-5. 

No Missouri batter had more than one hit on the day as the top five in the line-up accounted for four of the team's five hits.