Hilltopper Offense, Shutdown Defense Lead to 6-5 Win at EKU

Wednesday, March 20

Richmond, Ky.

3 p.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

19-5

Eastern Kentucky

13-10

Western Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky

3/20/2019 7:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

RICHMOND, Ky. – WKU Softball secured its fifth come-from-behind victory of the 2019 season in Wednesday's midweek tilt at Eastern Kentucky as the Hilltoppers rallied for a 6-5 win from Gertrude Hood Field. Recording a hit in all but two innings on the day, WKU saw Jordan Thomas, Paige Carter and Maddie Bowlds each record two-hit games. Kelsey Aikey (4-3) picked up the win in the circle after throwing five innings of two-hit ball in relief.

"Our offense was key today," head coach Amy Tudor opened. "Several players stepped up and produced runs for us. Maddie Bowlds was perfect from the plate while Jordan Thomas provided three RBI and Rebekah Engelhardt's solo shot was clutch. I'm proud of the fight and composure we showed today."

The Hilltoppers improved to 19-5 overall with the victory in Richmond and extended their current win streak to four. Eastern Kentucky moved to 13-10 on the year with the loss. WKU out-hit EKU 8-3 on the day while going its fourth-straight game without an error.

"We also played outstanding defense out there today," Tudor continued. "Jordan Vorbrink's diving catch in left field to end the game was incredible."

WKU struck first to open Wednesday's midweek tilt at Eastern Kentucky with a pair of runs in the opening inning. Shannon Plese was the first Hilltoppers on base after drawing a one-out walk before she advanced to third on a Paige Carter bunt single. From there, Kendall Smith dropped a single into left field to plate Plese and move Carter to second. After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Kennedy Sullivan sent her fifth sacrifice fly of the season to deep center field to bring Carter home for the 2-0 lead.

EKU responded with a leadoff home run in their first trip to the plate to cut the Hilltoppers' lead in half. In their next trip to the plate, the Hilltoppers got the run back after Maddie Bowlds sent a leadoff double to the left-center gap and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Davis. A Jordan Thomas hit through the left side brought Bowlds in for the 3-1 WKU lead.

In the bottom of the third, Eastern Kentucky took advantage of four-straight walks and a bases-clearing double to score four runs in the frame and take a 5-3 lead. Before the inning was over, WKU went to the bullpen as Kelsey Aikey checked in for her eighth relief appearance of the season.

Bowlds connected with her second hit of the day to open the Hilltoppers' fourth-inning offense. She advanced to second on a fielder's choice that saw Jordan Vorbrink get on board safely before both runners moved into scoring position on a groundout by Aikey. On the next pitch, Thomas sent a bases-clearing triple to centerfield to tie the ballgame at 5-5.

After a strikeout by Aikey and a grounder in the bottom of the fourth, EKU finally saw a runner reach base again after the Hilltoppers had sat down eight-consecutive batters. The Colonels runner would ultimately become one of three stranded on the day.

Three pitches into the top of the sixth inning, Rebekah Engelhardt got every bit of a 1-1 pitch, sending her fifth home run of the season off the roof of the hitting facility past left-center field. The longball tied her for the team-best mark and would ultimately become the game-winning hit, giving WKU a 6-5 lead.

Returning to the dirt, Aikey continued to carve up the Colonel batters as she struck out two more EKU hitters. Between the punchouts, Aikey allowed her lone walk. She added her eighth strikeout for the first out in the bottom of the seventh before a flyout to right field and a full-extension diving grab by Vorbrink in left field for the final two outs.

The junior improved to 4-3 in the circle on the season with the 5.0-inning outing. She allowed just two hits across her 73 pitches while striking out eight.

"After Kelsey Aikey faced her first batter in relief she was huge for us in the circle," added Tudor. "She attacked the zone and was focused. She did an excellent job for us today; I was proud of her performance."

Sullivan drew the start in the circle and worked 2.0+ frames of one-hit ball before exiting with four walks and two strikeouts.

Thomas (7 multi-hit games this season), Carter (3) and Bowlds (2) each recorded multi-hit days for the Hilltoppers. With 3 RBI, Thomas added her second multi-RBI outing of the season as well.

Plese's walk in her first plate appearance of the game gave the redshirt-senior a team-best 17-game reached base streak.

NEXT GAME: With its 12-game road stretch in the books, WKU Softball's next contest will take place on The Hill this weekend as Charlotte comes to town for a three-game series. Action will open at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday with a doubleheader before Sunday's finale.

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