The Toppers had rallied from a three-run deficit to take a two-run lead in the late innings last night to beat Eastern Kentucky 11-9, but coach Chris Finwood still wasn’t happy.

With runners on first and second in the top of the eighth inning, freshman Jared Andreoli hit a sharp single to Eastern freshman shortstop Richie Rodriguez and was called out at first by first base umpire Bryon Martin.

Finwood ran onto the field screaming at Martin, who threw Finwood out of the game after a few minutes.

The coach hurled his hat on the ground, screamed some more, picked the hat up calmly and stalked off the field.

“I wasn’t happy for most of the game, which is the reason I exited the game,” Finwood said. “Sometimes in baseball, your guys need to see you fighting for them.”

The Toppers (28-10, 14-4 Sun Belt Conference) added the Colonels to the long list of teams they’ve defeated at Denes Field.

Western is 21-1 at home this season, best in program history.

Junior third baseman Wade Gaynor said the team takes a lot of pride from being able to defend its home territory so well.

“It’s our place, and we really do want to win every game we play here,” he said. “We want to win every game period, but being able to do it at home is something that we’re really focused on.”

The Toppers scored three runs in the first two innings, but Eastern used a four-run third inning to take a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth.

Western responded with consecutive three-run innings, however, taking a 9-8 lead on sophomore designated hitter Matt Rice’s two-RBI double in the seventh inning.

“It’s definitely good for the hitters to get a bunch of runs today,” Rice said. “We felt like we were in battle, and we’re starting to stay focused with our at-bats up there.”

The Toppers gained an insurance run in the seventh after Eastern junior catcher Joey Stevens was called for catcher’s interference, which left Rice on second and sent senior shortstop Terrence Dayleg to first base with two outs.

Finwood adjusted the batting order before the game, moving Gaynor and Rice up to second and third instead of fourth and fifth in order to give them some extra at-bats.

“It’s still the same thing,” Gaynor said. “We don’t approach the game any differently. You just try to go up there and have good at-bats.”

Gaynor went 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring five total runs, and stole three bases on the night, while Rice was 2-for-4 with two walks.

Rice, who had his 31-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday at Arkansas State, said he tries to go to the plate with the same mentality, no matter how well he’s batting.

“You’ve got to stay focused the entire year,” he said. “Over the course of the number of at-bats we have in a year, if you can stay focused every at-bat, that’s the key.”

The Toppers continue a five-game home stand with a three-game series against Florida Atlantic, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday.