Blue Raiders drop season finale to Western Kentucky

The game marks the last of the season for the 2011 edition of Blue Raider baseball.

After being recognized in a ceremony prior to the game, seniors Will Skinner and Davis Pearce each ended the day 2-for-4 at the plate. Skinner had a pair of runs scored, and Pearce chipped in a solo home run, the second of his career, in the fifth.

Justin Guidry also had a day to remember offensively, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in.

On the mound, Eric Gilley pitched four innings, allowing three runs (one unearned) on nine hits and striking out three.

Matt Drake and Hunter Dawson each gave up a run, and Judd Stoltz held WKU hitless over 1.1 innings.

Paul Mittura picked up the loss, allowing three runs on two hits over the final four outs.

After Western Kentucky (32-22, 17-13) opened up the scoring in the first, the Blue Raiders manufactured a run in the bottom of the frame. Johnny Thomas led off with a single down the left field line, and he advanced to second on a Tyler Acker sacrifice bunt. Hank LaRue singled up the middle to bring home the run.

Thomas ended the day 3-for-5 with a run scored and LaRue was 2-for-4 with a run batted in.

After a scoreless second inning, the ensuing three happened in similar fashion to the first, with the Hilltoppers scoring a single run, and the Blue Raiders tying it up in the bottom half.

A Ryan Stephens home run evened it up for MT in the third, Skinner and Guidry combined with a double and a single, respectively, in the fourth, and Pearce homered to right in the fifth.

Stephens finished his first season with Middle Tennessee by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs batted in.

After another Western Kentucky score in the sixth, MIddle took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth. Skinner led off with a single and Guidry reached on a walk. Back-to-back groundouts by Ryan Ford and Stephens brought home the runs to give the Blue Raiders a slim 6-5 advantage entering the ninth.

However, after two runners reached earlier in the inning, Robbins knocked a two-out three-run home run to seal the victory for WKU.

Middle Tennessee finished the 2011 season with a 18-37 record and a 9-21 mark in Sun Belt play.

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