WKU moved to 18-11 overall with the loss and is now 3-3 in Conference USA action. Middle Tennessee improved to 20-9 (3-3 C-USA) with the series victory.
For the first time in the series, WKU struck first on the scoreboard as Brittany Vaughn drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third inning and stole second before Jordan Thomas brought her home with a double to the left corner. The two-baser was the team-leading 12th of the season for Thomas.
Kelsey Aikey carried her no-hit bid into the top of the fourth inning before MTSU knocked a solo home run to knot things up at 1-1. With the bases loaded and two outs, Aikey got the final say in a 13-pitch at bat, registering her third strikeout of the game.
WKU struck again in the bottom of the fifth frame to regain its lead. Rebekah Engelhardt led off with a walk before Brittany Vaughn laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her into scoring position. With two away, Paige Carter stepped into the box and sent a single to left field allowing Engelhardt to score for the go-ahead run.
In a two-on no-out jam in the top of the sixth, Shelby Nunn and company worked out of it. The Tops got the first out on the force at third before a fly out to left field and a ground out to third base.
Middle Tennessee managed to tally another run in the top of the seventh to even things up at 2-2. The Blue Raiders held WKU scoreless in the bottom of the seventh before adding three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 5-2 lead.
Maddie Bowlds added the Hilltoppers' fourth hit of the day in the bottom of the eight with a single to left field but the Red and White couldn't get anything else going.
Nunn relieved Aikey in the circle as each WKU hurler tossed 4.0 frames. Aikey allowed one run on one hit with five walks and three strikeouts while Nunn allowed nine hits and four runs with a walk and a punch out.
On defense, the Red and White stranded 11 Blue Raider runners on base while six Hilltopper runners were left on board.
NEXT TIME OUT:
WKU will wrap up its current homestand with a game on Thursday against visiting Jacksonville State. First pitch of the non-conference tilt is slated for 3 p.m. CT and will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
TOPPER NOTES:
- Jordan Thomas' third-inning double was her team-best 12th of the season. The individual single-season record for doubles is 16 while four players are tied for second with 15. WKU is up to 52 doubles collectively and has recorded a two-baser in 25-of-29 games this year.
- Middle Tennessee claimed its first series over WKU since the 2010 campaign. WKU is now 36-27 all-time against the Blue Raiders including a 19-15 mark at the WKU Softball Complex.
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
