WKU Game Notes (PDF)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Riding a three-game road win streak, WKU Baseball returns to the friendly confines of Nick Denes Field and will host UTSA from March 29-31 for a Thursday-to-Saturday set. First pitches on Thursday and Friday will be at 5 p.m., while the series finale will begin at 11 a.m. All three games will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
Series History
The Hilltoppers and Roadrunners had never met prior to 2015, when WKU joined Conference USA. Those three series have seen each team take 2-of-3 in San Antonio in 2015 (WKU) and 2017 (UTSA), and a Hilltopper sweep in Bowling Green in 2016 for a 6-3 series advantage.
In 2016, Steven Kraft was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week following a WKU sweep of the Roadrunners. Kraft went 8-for-13 with a double and a homerun, slashing .615/.667/.923 in the process. He drove in seven, scored three times, walked twice and did not strike out all weekend.
Returners Tyler Robertson and Colie Currie had success against UTSA pitching in San Antonio last season. Robertson went 4-for-8 with three walks and slashed .500/.636/.500, while Currie slashed .364/.462/.636, going 4-for-11 with a pair of extra-base hits and two walks.
Meanwhile, righty Paul Kirkpatrick pitched a complete game in his first Division I start in the state of Texas, a 4-3 victory by the Hilltoppers on Saturday, April 8. The Austin native retired 15-of-16 Roadrunners to cap the game with five scoreless innings, scattering six hits while striking out three.
Hot Hilltoppers
Two of the aforementioned Hilltoppers with success against UTSA are two of the team's hottest contributors going into the third C-USA weekend of 2018.
Kirkpatrick fired a complete game shutout at Rice in a 4-0 win over the Owls in his most recent start on Sunday, March 25. It was the first complete game shutout on the road by a WKU pitcher since Matt Ridings in a 2-0 win at Middle Tennessee on May 18, 2007.
The senior allowed four singles, three of which were ground ball choppers through the infield, with zero walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches - 66 for strikes - and allowed a Rice baserunner to reach second base only once all game. Of his 27 outs, 14 came via ground ball, and he utilized ground-ball double plays to end the third and fourth innings.
In the box, meanwhile, Kraft is slashing .429/.522/.589 in the month of March. In those 15 games - 13 starts - he has gone 24-for-56 with six doubles, a homerun and 19 RBI. He has drawn eight walks and been hit by pitch four times compared to only four strikeouts. For good measure, Kraft has stolen 4-of-5 bases and produced a perfect fielding percentage at second base in 44 chances.
Series Preview
The Roadrunners enter the series with a 12-10 overall record and a 3-2 mark in C-USA competition. In the opening weekend of league play, UTSA suffered a pair of losses at No. 15 Southern Miss (12-2 and 4-3 in a March 17 doubleheader) before the third game was cancelled due to weather.
But since then, the Roadrunners are on a five-game win streak with midweek wins over Texas State (7-2 on March 20) and Houston Baptist (6-5 on March 27), sandwiching a sweep of Marshall last weekend in San Antonio.
It will be righty Karan Patel, lefty Steven Dressler and righty Chance Kirby on the mound for the Roadrunners. The three have combined for a 2.83 ERA in 86 innings, while allowing 68 hits and walking 29 with 80 strikeouts. Overall, the UTSA pitching staff boasts a 3.54 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .220 batting average.
In the lineup, second baseman Bryan Arias is slashing .303/.386/.494 with nine extra-base hits, while leading the Roadrunners with 19 runs scored and 16 RBI. Left fielder Trent Bowles is the reigning C-USA Hitter of the Week after going 6-for-15 with five extra-base hits and five RBI, leading UTSA to a 4-0 week.
The WKU rotation will be comprised of lefty Ryan Thurston, righty Colby Taylor and Kirkpatrick for the sixth sraight week. Those three Hilltoppers will match up well against the visitors' group, as they have combined for a 3.39 ERA in 101 innings, while allowing 88 hits and walking 39 with 93 strikeouts.
Typically pitching the series' first game on Friday, this is 1-of-2 weeks in the season that "Thursty Thursday" is in full effect for the senior lefty from Madison, Ind.
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