Hilltoppers, Hot Rods announce exhibition baseball game

The Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Tampa Bay Rays single-A affiliate, and the WKU baseball team announced today that the two teams will be playing an exhibition game against one another at Bowling Green Ballpark on April 7th. Tickets are already available through the BGBP ticket office, and are eight dollars for the public and five dollars for WKU students.

During the press conference, both WKU head coach Matt Myers, and Hot Rods GM Adam Nuse said the timing couldn’t have been better – the Hot Rods will be just about to begin their season (April 9th on the road), and the Hilltoppers will be just a week away from playing UK in Lexington.

Todd Stewart kept referring to the game as “unique,” and it certainly is to the Bowling Green area, while Nuse and Myers both also have experience in similar contests – when Nuse was with the Corpus Christi Hooks they had a game, as well as when Myers was with UNC-Ashville, they matched-up against the Ashville Tourists.

Myers also said they’ll be using wooden bats, but it wont be too difficult to make the transition, as they’ve been taking BP this fall with them (plus, virtually all collegiate summer leagues – where several Tops played over the summer – are using them as well).

The most interesting thing of the day was said when Myers brought up that there’s a good chance the Hot Rods will consist of several guys who the Hilltoppers tried to recruit to come play on the Hill. Not only that, but two former-Tops have recently played in Bowling Green in Kes Carter and Matt Rice.

I agree with how perfect the timing is – the Tops will be hitting their midseason stride while the Hot Rods will have yet to play an actual game as a team, and it’ll be a great tradition for years to come. Is it April yet?