General

No. 6 Western Kentucky upsets No. 2 Florida International in eight

Las Cruces, N.M. - The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (23-36) eliminated No. 2 seed Florida International, 5-3 in eight innings at the 2001 Sun Belt Conference Softball Tournament on Saturday night.

WKU centerfielder Jessie Richardson hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to give the Hilltoppers the win. Earlier in the game, Richardson hit an RBI single to give WKU a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, FIU scored two runs on an error and a stolen base by Jennifer Owens to tie the game at two. The Golden Panthers took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth when outfielder Lesley Gillen scored on a wild pitch by WKU reliever Veronica Giddens.

WKU tied the game up at three in the top of the seventh when Angela Dunhour scored on an RBI single by second baseman Sara Alanis. In the bottom of the seventh Giddens pitched her way out of a bases-loaded jam to send the game into extra innings. Giddens was able to shut down the Golden Panthers in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the win.

"I am very proud of the way we came back, once they tied it and then went ahead," said Hilltopper head coach Leslie Phelan. "We took a lesson that we learned from UL Lafayette about the way they handle these situations and realized that we still had opportunities. We made some key plays, laid down bunts, had solid base running, and then Jessie (Richardson) came up with the big hit. Veronica (Giddens) did a great job to get out of the bases loaded jam in the seventh."

Western Kentucky will face the loser of the Louisiana-Lafayette-Middle Tennessee game at 1 p.m. (MT) on Sunday for the chance to advance to the championship game at 3 p.m. (MT).

Western Kentucky 5, Fla. International 3 (May 12, 2001 at LAS CRUCES, NM) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Kentucky.... 010 100 12 -  5  9  3      (23-36) Fla. International.. 000 210 00 -  3  7  1      (44-22) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Western Kentucky - Silver,A; Giddens,V(5). Fla. International - Barnes; Preston(4). Win-Giddens,V(12-14)  Loss-Preston(11-9)  T-2:30  A-0 HR WKU - Richardson,J (6).

Game notes: Sun Belt Conference Softball Tournament game 7