Game 51 Info: Video | Audio | Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Baseball begins the final week of the 2018 regular season with a Tuesday trip to No. 20 Tennessee Tech on May 15, with first pitch from Bush Stadium in Cookeville at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the OVC Digital Network.
Opponent Overview
The Golden Eagles boast the best record in Division I baseball at 44-6, including a 25-2 mark in Ohio Valley Conference action. Tennessee Tech had its 28-game win streak snapped with a 10-6 loss vs. SEMO on April 29, but since have won seven straight to begin the month of May.
Tennessee Tech leads the country in numerous offensive categories, including scoring (10.7 runs per game), homeruns (113) and winning percentage (.880). Collectively, the Golden Eagles are slashing .350/.442/.615, with all three marks leading the nation.
Designated hitter Kevin Strohschein is second in the country with 88 hits and tops the charts with 153 total bases. Center fielder and leadoff hitter Alex Junior ranks second in the nation with 71 runs scored and first baseman Chase Chambers ranks third with 68 RBI.
Strohschein leads the team with 15 homeruns, while two others have 14 and two more have 13. In total, the Golden Eagles lead the country with 15 different players who have slugged a long ball.
Of the nine players who have started at least 36 games for Tennessee Tech, each one is hitting at least .310 and has six homeruns. Seven have scored 55 runs, seven have at least 40 RBI and all nine have at least 20 extra-base hits.
Projected starters for both teams remain TBA at this time.
April 17 Recap - Tennessee Tech 10, WKU 1
Jacob Rhinesmith hit and homerun and stole a base for WKU Baseball, but the Hilltoppers dropped a 10-1 decision to the visiting Golden Eagles, who extended the longest win streak in the nation to 21 straight.
Four of the first five Tennessee Tech hitters to reach base in the top of the fourth, as the visitors took an early 3-0 lead. But WKU starter Troy Newell settled in, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters to cap his outing with three scoreless innings.
The Golden Eagles scratched across two more in the fifth and one in the following frame before Rhinesmith struck in the bottom of the sixth. On a 3-1 pitch from Tennessee Tech starter Nic Dye, the center fielder hit the top of the Nick Denes Field scoreboard with a swing to cut the Hilltopper deficit to 7-1.
Shortstop David Garza went 3-for-5 for the Golden Eagles with two homeruns and a double. The senior hit a three-run homerun in the top of the ninth to round out the scoring in the 10-1 final.
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