BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University baseball team looks to continue its five-game winning streak Tuesday against Austin Peay at Nick Denes Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game moved from Wednesday due to the threat of inclement weather.
The Hilltoppers (13-6) are coming off a three-game sweep of Middle Tennessee and are 8-1 at home this season. WKU finished the weekend as the only Sun Belt Conference team to go undefeated. In the series, the Hilltoppers hit .313 as a team with 31 hits, 11 doubles and three home runs while the pitching staff posted a 2.67 ERA with 23 strikeouts and only four walks.
WKU shortstop Logan Robbins was recognized as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after he paced the Hilltoppers to a 4-0 week with a .563 average with a team-high nine hits and five RBIs along with three doubles. Against MTSU, he went 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles. In three of the first four games of the week, Robbins tallied three hits and now has five three-hit games this season.
Following Tuesday's matchup, WKU will take a break from action Wednesday before traveling to Miami, Fla., on Thursday for a weekend series against FIU.
Complete game notes are available in .pdf form at the link at the bottom of the page.
Game 20:
Tuesday, March 22 // 6 P.M. CT
WKU (13-6) vs. Austin Peay (9-9)
Bowling Green, Ky. // Nick Denes Field (1,500)
Pitching Probables:
WKU: Taylor Haydel (Sophomore RHP; 1-1, 7.48 ERA)
Austin Peay: Alex Belew (RFreshman LHP; 1-2, 5.74 ERA)
LEADING OFF: Coming its first 4-0 week of the season, WKU looks to continue its five-game winning streak Tuesday night at 6 p.m. vs. Austin Peay at Nick Denes Field.
LOOKING BACK: The Hilltoppers opened Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game sweep of Middle Tennessee. WKU picked up wins of 5-2, 10-4 and 5-4 to finish the weekend as the only undefeated team in the league.
SCOUTING THE GOVERNORS: Austin Peay is still seeking to end a recent slide that has covered the last eight games and seen them post a 2-6 record in that span. Austin Peay's offense has been a particular concern, posting a .213 batting average and scoring just 3.0 runs per game in that span. Austin Peay will open OVC play this weekend against Murray State.
THE SERIES: WKU leads the all-time series between the two teams 90-54-1 and has won three in a row. The Hilltoppers hold a 47-22-1 advantage in Bowling Green.
WKU-AUSTIN PEAY REWIND: The Hilltoppers swept the season series against Austin Peay in 2010. In the first meeting in Bowling Green, WKU erased a early 7-2 deficit and scored 12 unanswered runs to win 14-7. The Hilltoppers exploded for 14 runs in the first five innings on its way to another 14-7 victory when the two teams met in Clarksville. Matt Rice and Casey Dykes tallied home runs in that game.
ROBBINS EARNS SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS: WKU shortstop Logan Robbins was named SBC Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Robbins paced WKU to a 4-0 week with a .563 average with a team-high nine hits and five RBIs along with three doubles. In the three-game sweep of MTSU, Robbins went 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles.
HISTORICAL SWEEP: WKU's sweep of a three-game series against the Blue Raiders was the first under Finwood and the first in recorded program history. The last time the Hilltoppers won three games in a season against MTSU was 1986 but each game was played on a separate occasion.
STRONG PITCHING: In the sweep of MTSU, the WKU pitching staff posted a 2.67 ERA with 23 strikeouts and only four walks. WKU has won 20 straight games in which it holds its opponent to 5 or less hits.
QUALITY STARTS: All three WKU starting pitchers against MTSU turned in quality starts as each went at least six innings and gave up no more than four runs. Redshirt senior Brian Edelen matched a career-high with six innings of work on Sunday.
OUT-HIT IN A WIN: Sunday's 5-4 win over MTSU broke a streak of eight straight losses for WKU when they were out hit by their opponent. The Blue Raiders out hit the Hilltoppers by the count of 11-8.
REVOLVING LINEUP.: WKU coach Chris Finwood has used 15 different lineups through 19 games this season.
CLUTCH WITH TWO OUTS: Over the weekend, WKU raised its batting average with two-outs from .271 to .302. The Hilltoppers recorded 13 two-out RBIs against MTSU. Left fielder Jared Andreoli leads the team with a .400 (10-for-25) average with two outs.
PERKINS OUTDOES HIMSELF: After striking out six in a complete game against Illinois last weekend, WKU sophomore Tanner Perkins set a new career high with 10 strikeouts on Friday against MTSU. Perkins allowed single runs in the second and third innings before retiring the next 15 straight batters, eight via the strikeout.
CAREER DAY FOR ANDREOLI: In Saturday's 10-4 win over MTSU, WKU left fielder Jared Andreoli went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two home runs. The two homer game was the first of his career.
IN RELIEF: When WKU turns to its bullpen this season so far the result has been positive. Hilltopper relievers have a 3.70 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 22 walks in 75.1 innings pitched. Seven different relievers have ERAs under 3.
STRONG SBC STARTS: In 2010, the Hilltoppers started conference play 7-0. Already this season, WKU has opened league play 3-0.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: After the first weekend of conference play, WKU leads the league in five offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage and hits. The Hilltoppers rank among the top three in runs, RBIs and stolen bases.
HITTING ON ALL CYCLINDERS: Eight different WKU starters have batting averages over .300 with left field Jared Andreoli above the .400 mark. As a team, WKU has a .334 average and the next closest SBC team is FAU with an average of .297.
HIT PARADE: In 14 of the first 19 games of the season, WKU tallied double-figure hits and currently posts a .334 team average with 225 hits. 20 hits on the road against Belmont is the most in a game this season.
HOME SWEET HOME: WKU is 8-1 at Nick Denes Field this season and has won 20 of its last 21 home series dating back to 2008.
LET'S GO STREAKING: Outfielder Jared Andreoli enters this week with a team-high 13-game hitting streak. During the streak, he is 26-for-57 (.456) with a double, two home runs and 17 RBIs.
NEXT UP: The Hilltopppers will play their next four games on the road beginning with a three-game weekend series against FIU in Miami, Fla. WKU then returns to the state of Kentucky and travels to Louisville on March 29.
