WKU Splits Frigid Saturday Doubleheader Against UTEP

Saturday, April 7

Bowling Green, Ky.

2 p.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

22-13, 6-4

UTEP

13-25, 3-10

UTEP

WKU

4/7/2018 8:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 35 Box Score Game 36 Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Softball secured its sixth come-from-behind win of the season taking down UTEP 10-8 before dropped the second half of Saturday's doubleheader 6-4 from The Hill. The Hilltoppers (22-14; 6-5 C-USA) will look to secure their third series victory in Sunday's finale against the Miners (14-25; 4-10 C-USA). First pitch of game three from the WKU Softball Complex is slated for noon CT.

GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, April 7 –vs. UTEP | W, 10-8
Saturday, April 7 –vs. UTEP | L, 6-4
Sunday, April 8 – Noon CT – vs UTEP | Livestats

GAME 35: WKU 10, UTEP 8

After two combined runs through the first three innings of the day's first tilt, both sides' bats got hot in what turned into a high-scoring affair. UTEP claimed a slim 2-1 lead after its trip to the plate in the fourth inning but WKU responded with a six-run bottom half of the frame as all nine batters made a plate appearance. Jordan Thomas drew a bases-loaded walk to knot the game at 2-2 before Maddie Bowlds followed with an RBI walk of her own. Jordan Vorbrink and Paige Carter both added RBI knocks for the Hilltopper squad as well.

WKU added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth after UTEP plated four of their own in the top of the frame. Thomas picked up her third and fourth RBI of the contest with her third home run of the season to give the Hilltoppers a 10-6 advantage.

UTEP went on to plate a pair in the top of the sixth but was unable to close the gap as Shelby Nunn worked the game's final 2.2 innings to secure her third save of the season. Kelsey Aikey picked up the victory after tossing the opening 4.1 frames, moving to 8-4 on the year.

GAME 36: UTEP 6, WKU4

Game two of the day saw WKU strike first with a big four-run fifth inning. Ten Hilltoppers made plate appearances in the frame as Rebekah Engelhardt opened and closed the inning for the Red and White. Engelhardt got things going with a leadoff walk and scored the game's first run as Kendall Smith reached on an error. Maddie Bowlds and Jordan Vorbrink notched back-to-back doubles before Paige Carter brought in WKU's fourth run of the inning.

Getting her second start of the day, Aikey tossed 6.0 innings of one-hit shutout ball before UTEP struck for three runs on her watch their final trip to the plate. The Miners added three more runs after Nunn took over in the circle. Nunn took the game-two loss to move to 13-9 on the year.

TOPPER NOTES:

Jordan Thomas launched her third home run of the season in the form of a two-run shot in the fifth inning of game one. The dinger was her first with anyone on base and ultimately was the decider in the game. Thomas finished with a career-high four RBI while going 2-for-3 at the dish in addition to an RBI walk.
WKU now has 27 combined homers on the year after Jordan Thomas' longball.
All 10 of WKU's runs in game one and 3-of-4 in game two came with two outs.
Kelsey Aikey got the nod to start both games on the day, winning the first contest before not factoring into the second game's decision. In total, the sophomore righty struck out nine while allowing six walks on the day. She threw 208 pitches – 123 for strikes – across 10.1 innings of work.
Shelby Nunn finished with a save and a loss on the day in 3.2 innings of work. The freshman's third save of the campaign moved her into a tie for second on WKU's single season saves list. She's the first to register at least three saves in a season since the 2008 campaign and fifth Hilltopper to achieve the feat overall.
Trailing 2-1 after the top of the fourth in game one, WKU pieced together its sixth come-from-behind win of the season and third in C-USA action.
In the first series between UTEP and WKU to take place on The Hill, WKU now sits at 3-2 all-time against the Miners.

How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.