WKU Game Notes (PDF)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With only three weeks to go and one win separating 4th-through-8th place in the Conference USA standings, WKU Baseball travels to Charlotte for a pivotal three-game series. The Hilltoppers and 49ers will face off from Friday-to-Sunday at Hayes Stadium, with all three contests to be streamed on CUSA.tv.
The group of UTSA, Charlotte, UAB, FIU and WKU represents the five clubs bunched up in the league standings. The top three programs sit three games above the pack and the bottom four teams are three games under the grouping in the middle. See the full Conference USA standings HERE.
Series History
Last season's three-game set at Nick Denes Field was the first time the Hilltoppers and 49ers had squared off since the 1980's. WKU defeated Charlotte (9-4) right before the 1987 Sun Belt Tournament, then beat the 49ers (10-2) in the opening game of the 1988 Sun Belt Tournament.
But two decades later, Charlotte came to Bowling Green and swept the Hilltoppers from April 13-15. The middle game of the series was a 16-5 49er win, but the bookends were both extra-inning contests that WKU were one swing away from winning.
On Friday night, Hunter Wood tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out triple that scored Colie Currie. Innings later, in the bottom of the 11th, Paul Murray appeared to have won the game on a two-out, bases-loaded infield single, but baserunner Grayson Ivey was inexplicably called out at second base on a force play attempt. In the next half-inning, Charlotte scored a pair of runs for the 6-4, 12-inning win.
On Sunday afternoon, lefty starter Evan Acosta limited the 49ers to one run in seven innings with a career-high five strikeouts, and the game went into extra innings tied 1-1. In the bottom of the 10th, the Hilltoppers had runners on first and third with only one out, but Thomas Peter grounded into an inning-ending double play. Just like Friday night, Charlotte scored two runs in the next frame for the victory, this time at 3-1 in 11 frames.
Series Preview
After starting out the C-USA slate 5-7, Charlotte has won 2-of-3 in three consecutive series to move to 11-10 in league play. Overall, the 49ers are 25-19 and boast wins over Wake Forest (13-1) and No. 4 Arkansas (6-3) at home.
Following an 18-2 victory over Winthrop on Wednesday afternoon, Charlotte moved up slightly to No. 93 in the RPI ratings, while WKU fell two spots to No. 180 after a 6-0 loss at Austin Peay on Tuesday night.
The top four hitters for the 49ers typically bat in the top four spots of the lineup; center fielder Reece Hampton, third baseman Jackson Mims, catcher/designated hitter Harris Yett and left fielder Drew Ober. All four are hitting over .297 with at least 32 runs scored, 32 RBI and 14 extra-base hits.
As a team, Charlotte ranks second in C-USA with a .292 batting average and leads the league with only 242 strikeouts with the bats.
The 49ers are likely to keep the starting rotation of lefty Josh Maciejewski, righty Matt Brooks and lefty Joey Cooner, who have combined to start 20-of-21 C-USA games for the club. Maciejewski is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA in seven league starts, striking out 46 in 48.1 innings with only 11 walks.
Brooks and Cooner have 6.90 and 5.40 ERA's, respectively, but will not hurt themselves on the mound. Between them, the pair has combined for only 25 walks in 70 innings, but on the flip side have only struck out 44 with 28 extra-base hits allowed.
The Hilltoppers have yet to set their starting pitchers, but have gone with lefty Ryan Thurston and Paul Kirkpatrick 11 times apiece this year, including all seven C-USA weekends. Thurston has gone five-plus innings in 10-of-11 starts this season, while Kirkpatrick was sharp in two innings at Austin Peay on Tuesday following a short outing last weekend vs. Louisiana Tech.
Lefty Evan Acosta has started two straight Sunday's for WKU and has proven to be one of the most improved pitchers on the staff. Compared to 2017, the junior from Batavia, Ill., has dropped his ERA from 7.02 to 4.04 and batting average against from .364 to .254. He has allowed only two homeruns in 35.2 innings in 2018 compared to 10 in 50 frames last year.
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