Hilltopper senior throws two-hit complete game

Saturday, June 05, 2004

OXFORD, Miss. Western Kentucky pitcher Grady Hinchman didnt need to be perfect in giving the Hilltoppers their first NCAA Regional victory in 24 years. But he was darn close. The senior hurler threw hitless baseball into the sixth inning, gave up only two hits and made WKUs one lone run enough for a 1-0 victory over regional host and No. 1 seed Ole Miss on Friday at Swayze Field. You keep your focus in games like this, Hinchman said. You know one pitch could be the difference and when theres no room for error, you make every pitch count. By defeating Ole Miss, the No. 4 seed Hilltoppers will face No. 3 Tulane, a 3-2 winner over Washington, at 3 p.m. today. The winner of this afternoons game will move on to Sundays final. If Western falls to Tulane, it must then play, at 7 p.m., the winner of this mornings Ole Miss-Washington game.(The key is) not feeling like youre an underdog, WKU coach Joel Murrie said. You cant be happy with your success and you play every game to win. Hinchman, who was the Sun Belt Conference Tournaments Most Outstanding Player, threw his first complete game of his WKU career on Friday against the Rebels. He finished the night by giving up only two hits and allowing four baserunners two of whom reached scoring position. One of those runners who landed in scoring position came in the bottom of the ninth. Cooper Osteen smacked a one-out single and advanced to second with two outs when Stephen Head was hit by a pitch. Then Hinchman sent the crowd of 5,038 home when Brian Pettway grounded into a fielders choice. This was his game, Murrie said. He just threw outstanding and this was just an outstanding college baseball game to be a part of. Making Hinchman especially effective was his command of the strike zone. Earlier this season against New Mexico State, Hinchman had a one-hitter and still walked 12 batters. He walked only two Rebels and retired 17 of 18 before Osteens single in the ninth throwing only 103 pitches. He was just too tough for us tonight, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. I dont want to say uncharacteristic of him. But he threw a complete game and walked two and came in averaging 6.5 walks a game. Hinchman did have a couple of close moments. The Rebels first hit was a blooping single to left by Matt Tolbert to lead off the bottom of the sixth with WKU holding its 1-0 lead. Tolbert eventually advanced to third with two outs, then was stranded because of WKU right fielder Antone Towns. The Rebels Chris Coghlan sent a blooper to right that forced Towns to make a diving catch in order to preserve Westerns lead. I had my fingers crossed, Hinchman said. But I knew Antone would get there. He got a great jump on the ball. The Rebels also had a pair of back-to-back warning-track fly outs in the seventh that were kept in play by a ballpark that doesnt give up cheap home runs. I didnt really know if it was gone, said the Rebels Stephen Head, who had the first warning-track out. This is a pitchers park and thats why pitchers win here. Westerns lone run came in the top of the second as the result of an unorthodox double play. With Matt Johnston on third and Antone Towns on first and one out, Jordan Newton was robbed of an extra-base hit when Ole Miss center fielder Alex Presley made a sliding catch in the left-center gap. Towns was already around second when Presley made the catch and was doubled-up to end the inning. Johnston crossed home before Towns was ruled out at first, a run that proved to be the difference. We got this far and nobody is going to Cadillac it to home plate, Murrie said. It was an aggressive mistake that I can live with. The big thing is we got the run. Ole Miss elected not to use ace pitcher Mark Holliman and instead called in Stephen Head. Although the Hilltoppers were an annoying headache to Head early, they failed to take advantage of early opportunities. Matt Ransdell led off with a single and Tim Grogran flew out to the center field warning track. Cary Page picked up a two-out walk but Dominic Rio grounded out to end the inning. With two outs in the fifth and runners on first and second, Gunnings check-swing hit hugged the first-base line in fair territory midway between home and first. Gunning was safe at first, but Ransdell was caught in a rundown after he rounded third on the hit. Still, Hinchman made sure any missed opportunities didnt doom the Hilltoppers. I dont know what happened (tonight), Head said. He threw basically all fastballs and he wasnt scared by any means. Western Kentucky 010 000 000 1 6 0Ole Miss 000 000 000 0 2 1WP: Hinchman LP: Head  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700