Western Kentucky left plenty of opportunities on the field against Lipscomb. The Hilltoppers had a chance to set the tone for an early lead and missed out. Then they could’ve made the game interesting with a rally, but fell just short.

Coach John Pawlowski is staying patient early in the season, but lack of consistency so far has been frustrating. The latest in that episode came with the Hilltoppers dropping a 10-4 decision to Lipscomb on Tuesday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.

WKU (3-5) left the bases loaded twice and 11 runners on the whole game, which ties a season-high.

The Bison (6-2) got an early lead in the first inning, scored five runs in the fifth and sixth, then poured on three more in the final inning.

And while WKU recorded nine hits and walked a season-high seven batters, it only brought in four runs to show for it.

“It’s been frustrating,” Pawlowski said. “Our team has continued to work hard and it certainly hasn’t come easy, but at some point we’ve got to continue to work and turn the table a little bit. Our team, those guys have a good mindset and the right mentality, just haven’t been able to put it together yet.”

Redshirt freshman Caleb Bruner, a Logan County HS graduate, earned the starting nod for his 2017 debut after missing the last 11 months with an injury.

His first career start was a little shaky. The Russellville native gave up a leadoff walk and a base hit, then a sacrifice fly to move runners to second and third with one out. Lipscomb’s Cade Sorrells singled to score Michael Gigliotti and Lee Solomon scored on an error to go up 2-0.

WKU had a chance to respond in the bottom of the first, but left the bases loaded when Kevin Lambert flied out to center field.

Bruner lasted three innings, facing the minimum in his last two, and gave up two earned runs on four hits.

“It was rocky at first,” Bruner said. “Then as I got through the first inning it got easier, for sure. My arm feels great, so I’m just glad to be back and contributing to the team.”

WKU has now lost five of its last six games since starting the year 2-0 against Valparaiso. Pitchers have given up double-digit hits in six of the last seven games. All-around consistency is what the second-year coach is looking for eight games into the year.

“That’s the biggest thing that you look for and we’re by no means consistent,” Pawlowski said. “We’ve shown flashes of some really good stuff whether it’s the pitchers, our defense or hitters or whatever, but then we revert back. I’m excited about it but the consistency certainly is not there yet.”

The Hilltoppers hope the find it in Lexington on Wednesday afternoon when they play Kentucky (2-5) at Cliff Hagan Stadium at 3 p.m. WKU has won four of the last five against the Wildcats and is 21-11 in the last 32 matchups.

Junior first baseman Nathan Methvin hopes his individual performance can carry over and be contagious for the lineup’s consistency. He led WKU with three hits against Lipscomb and an RBI in the ninth inning. His first hit was a soaring double off the right-field wall that helped set up WKU’s two-run fourth inning to tie the game.

Kevin Lambert grounded out to short to put the Toppers on the board with a Thomas Peter run, then Steven DiPuglia brought in Methvin for the tying run.

Lipscomb pulled away for good by loading the bases in the fifth with two outs before driving in three runs, then two more in the sixth to go up 7-2.

WKU missed another opportunity to cut the deficit by leaving the bases loaded again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Methvin earned his second hit with a single to right field, Lambert walked and Colie Currie pushed one into left field to load them up.

Pinch hitter Paul Murray was caught looking on a 2-2 count to leave all three runners stranded.

“Those are opportunities that win and lose ball games,” Methvin said. “You have to have a little ice in your veins. You have to take those chances and take advantage of it. Somebody is going to step up eventually and you know they will, it’s just a matter of who it’s going to be and plugging them into the right situation.”

WKU pushed one run across in each of the last two innings.

In the eighth, Currie hooked a shot to left field just in front of a diving left fielder. The ball rolled all the way to the wall to allow Peter his second run.

The Bison piled on three more runs with two outs in the ninth. Bailey Sutton had worked over three innings into the ninth – he pitched a hitless seventh and eighth inning – but came one out from cleaning up the final frame. Jeff Ciocco entered with the bases loaded and walked a runner in before allowing a two-run hit to Martinez, his second RBI of the day.

“We haven’t played our best baseball yet, unlike last year when maybe we peaked right there at the beginning of the season and got things going,” Pawlowski said. “We’re a little different team. We’ve got a lot of work left to do with this group.”{&end}