"What a day we had offensively," head coach Amy Tudor opened. "We set the tone early and continued to hit from top to bottom of our lineup all day. We stayed mentally focused and didn't let rain or field conditions bother us and delivered great results. I'm proud of how we fought today and I'll take that from our players any day."
On the weekend, the Hilltoppers racked up a team batting average of .352 with 57 hits – 22 for extra bases – while swiping 15-of-16 bases successfully. From the circle, Shelby Nunn and Kelsey Aikey both finished 2-1 across the six weekend decisions.
After spending the first two weekends on the road, the Hilltopper squad will play its next 11 games from the WKU Softball Complex. Coming up next, the Red and White will welcome Green Bay, Toledo and Indiana State to town for the Hilltopper Classic.
GAME 9: WKU 16, TENNESSEE STATE 4 (5)
WKU Softball used another big offensive showing to claim its fourth run-rule victory of the season. The Hilltoppers scored in all but one of the five frames of action including a big seven-run fourth inning.
After a Kendall Smith sacrifice fly to score Jordan Thomas for the first run of the game. Brittany Vaughn followed with her third home run of the weekend to build WKU a 4-0 lead. Tennessee State went on to knot the game at four with two runs in the bottom of both the first and second innings.
In the top of the third, Rebekah Engelhardt stepped into the box with two away and Brittany Vaughn at third and proceeded to send the first pitch she saw over the center field wall for her second home run of the season and the go-ahead hit. An inning later, the Hilltoppers sent 11 batters to the plate, registering eight hits and seven runs. Paige Carter recorded her first long ball of the year in the form of a three-run blast to left-center field for a trio of the Hilltopper runs in the inning. The Hilltoppers rounded out their scoring efforts with three more runs in the top of the fifth inning thanks to a combination of wild pitches, base hits and a sac fly.
Three Hilltoppers registered three-hit efforts in the contest (Thomas, Kelsey McGuffin and Engelhardt), as WKU saw six players finish with multi-hit games.
Aikey pitched the game's final 4.0 innings, facing 14 batters while only allowing one hit against three punch outs and a walk. Aikey is now 2-1 on the season with all three decisions coming on the weekend.
GAME 10: WKU 7, CHATTANOOGA 2 (6.1 INNINGS)
In a rain-shortened Chattanooga Challenge finale, WKU Softball put together its first come-from-behind win of the 2018 campaign. After falling behind 2-0 after three innings, the Hilltoppers responded to 15-minute game delay in the top of the fourth with a two-run single off the bat of Morgan McElroy to knot the game with Chattanooga. On the next play, Engelhardt delivered the go-ahead hit for the second-straight game with a single to score Tommi Stowers.
"When the call didn't go our way in the top of the fourth, I was proud of our positive response," Tudor continued. "McElroy had a 3-2 count and came up with a huge hit to score two runners. We did a great job of using that opportunity to continue to put pressure on the opponent."
Thomas opened the fifth inning with a walk before McGuffin reached on a fielder's choice with Carter following with a single to move McGuffin into scoring position. In the next at bat, Smith launched a home run to right-center field to give WKU a 6-3 advantage and put the game out of reach. The Hilltoppers put the final touches on the score in the top of the sixth inning as Engelhardt scored on a RBI single from Thomas.
Shelby Nunn went the distance in the circle for the Red and White, improving her record in the circle to 5-2 on her debut campaign. Nunn registered three strikeouts against one walk and five hits.
TOPPER NOTES:
- WKU's 16 runs over Tennessee State marked the fourth double-digit scoring effort of the season by the Hilltoppers. The Red and White's 16 hits are their most in a game this season.
- Three Hilltoppers saw home runs leave Frost Stadium in game one, including Paige Carter, Brittany Vaughn and Rebekah Engelhardt. WKU's three-home run game was its first of the 2018 season. Brittany Vaughn finished with three of WKU's seven home runs on the weekend.
- Rebekah Engelhardt came up just a single shy of the cycle in the day's opening game. After a ground-out to the pitcher in the bottom of the first, Engelhardt took care of the homer in her next at bat in the third. Her double came in the fourth inning and she followed with the triple in the fifth inning. Engelhardt finished with a career-high four RBI in the game.
- Paige Carter finished the day with two-multi hit games and now has four on the season. Against Tennessee State, the sophomore went 2-for-2 with a walk and HBP in addition to three RBI before turning in a 3-for-4 showing against Chattanooga.
- Kelsey Aikey finished with a collective 1.66 ERA on the weekend across 12.2 innings pitched. The sophomore allowed just five hits all tournament while striking out 11 and holding opposing batters to a .119 average. Aikey made four appearances (two starts) including her extra-inning no-hitter on Thursday.
