BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Powerful hitting was again the theme on Saturday as WKU (24-26, 10-16 C-USA) saw Marshall (29-17, 18-8 C-USA) continue its strong offensive play in a 14-1 defeat to the Thundering Herd in Game 2 of the series at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers will host Senior Day on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, sending off the five WKU seniors in Josh Bartley, Ty Downing, John Harman, Danny Hudzina and Austin King in their final home game. The series finale will be streamed live on WKUSports.tv, while fans can also listen to the game locally in Bowling Green on 102.7 FM and 1450 AM or online at WKUSports.tv. Bartley will be on the bump for the Tops.
Home runs were again the downfall for WKU as Marshall used three homers in the first two innings to score its opening six runs of the game before adding a fourth later in the contest. The Thundering Herd, who entered the weekend ranked second in C-USA in home runs and slugging percentage in league action, finished with nine extra-base hits and 15 total, while the Hilltoppers tallied eight hits.
The duo of Kaleb Duckworth and Danny Hudzina continued to produce at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the order for the Tops, combining for five hits on Saturday. Duckworth went 3-for-4 with a double and WKU's run, while Hudzina reached base three times on a pair of hits and a hit by pitch. On the weekend, the two have combined to go 9-for-14 with three walks.
Duckworth's run on the day would come in the bottom of the fourth as the Hilltoppers took advantage of a Marshall error in the inning. After Duckworth reached base on a miscue and Hudzina singled, Steven Kraft was able to bring home Duckworth on a groundout. The score followed a three-run at-bat by the Herd before Marshall would tack on a run in the fifth and seventh innings and three in the ninth.
WKU used five total pitchers on the day, with Kevin Elder, Evan Acosta, Cameron Shryock and Micah Kaczor relieving starter Austin King. The freshman Acosta chewed up the most innings of any Hilltopper hurler in the game, giving up just one earned run and striking out two in 3.2 innings of work. Kaczor closed out the ninth without allowing a run.
With the loss, the Tops dropped into a tie for ninth in the conference standings as FIU claimed a win over UAB to secure sole possession of seventh. Charlotte, who entered the game tied with WKU, will play UTSA in the second game of that series later today. The Blazers and Panthers will meet on Sunday to wrap up that series in Birmingham, Alabama.
