Matching a Western Kentucky baseball feat that had not happened in 14 years, right fielder Jake Sanford hit a home run for the fourth game in a row Friday in a 12-4 loss to Memphis at Nick Denes Field.

Sanford’s two-run homer Thursday made him the seventh WKU player with a home run in three straight games, and marked the 12th occurrence since 2005. On Friday, the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native launched the first pitch from Tiger lefty Hunter Smith over the speed pitch structure in right field with two outs in the bottom of the first. The solo shot tied the game at 1.

But Memphis added one more in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-1 lead halfway through the contest before designated hitter Dillon Nelson – coming off a 3-for-4 performance at the plate the day before – knocked in two WKU runs on a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth to bring the hosts to within 4-3.

That’s the closest the Hilltoppers got, and the Tigers then scored five in the eighth and three more in the ninth to push their run total to 12.

Nelson added a solo home run in the eighth.

WKU and Memphis will conclude their series Sunday at 1 p.m.