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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Still looking at the possibility of beginning Conference USA action with its best start to league play in program history, WKU Baseball travels south for a three-game set against its most-played opponent, Middle Tennessee. The Friday-to-Sunday series between the Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders from April 5-7 will have first pitch times of 6 p.m., 4 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Standing at a 7-1-1 mark, WKU is looking for its best start in league play through 12 games since beginning the Sun Belt Conference slate with a 10-2 mark in 1988. The Hilltoppers also began 1980 Ohio Valley Conference play with a 10-2 record in head coach Joel Murrie's first season at the helm. The 1969 WKU club played only 11 OVC contests, but finished with a 10-1 mark to win the league under head coach Jim Pickens.
For the third-straight weekend, righty Eric Crawford and lefty Troy Newell will start for the Hilltoppers on Friday and Saturday, while WKU's Sunday starter remains TBA at this time. Middle Tennessee will go with their typical trio of righty Carson Lester, lefty Peyton Wigginton and righty Zach Keenan. Through seven weeks of the season, those three Blue Raiders have combined for 20 starts.
SERIES HISTORY
- With 233 all-time meetings, Middle Tennessee is the Hilltoppers' most-played opponent. The next-highest is Austin Peay, who WKU has played 159 times.
- The Hilltoppers have also faced Eastern Kentucky 140 times, Louisville 138 times, South Alabama 138 times and Murray State 133 times.
- WKU holds a 126-105-2 advantage in the all-time series, but Middle Tennessee leads 60-50-2 in games played in Murfreesboro.
- After not playing in 2014 due to the teams being in different leagues, the series is tied 6-6 over the past four seasons.
- From 1952-to-present day, the only years the Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders did not meet were 1961, 1981 and 2014.
- In the first-ever meeting, WKU defeated Middle Tennessee by a score of 7-2 in 1911. From 1911-to-1914, the Hilltoppers went 11-2 against the Blue Raiders.
- After an eight-year hiatus from 1915-to-1923, the teams started playing each other again in 1923, and WKU took the next six meetings before Middle Tennessee had its first two-game win streak in the series from 1925-to-1927.
WKU PREVIEW
- WKU past week recaps: FRIDAY DH vs. Charlotte (W, 8-4 & 8-5) | SUNDAY vs. Charlotte (T, 13-13) | TUESDAY at No. 5 Vanderbilt (L, 4-5 [10])
- Right fielder Jake Sanford was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week on Monday for the second straight time, becoming only the third hitter in league history to earn the award in back-to-back weeks. (STORY)
- The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native was also named a Perfect Game First Team All-American, the Hilltoppers' first All-American since third baseman Danny Hudzina was named a Third Team ABCA member at the conclusion of the 2016 season. (STORY)
- On Friday, the Hilltoppers swept a doubleheader against the 49ers to put themselves in first place of C-USA by 0.5 games with a 7-1 record. Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss trailed with a 6-1 mark.
- On Sunday, the Hilltoppers and 49ers played to the 18th tie in WKU history and the first since a 6-6 final at Cumberland (Tenn.) on April 11, 1991, a span of 1,552 games in-between.
- On Tuesday, the Hilltoppers led the No. 5 Commodores 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, but allowed back-to-back solo homeruns to Austin Martin and J.J. Bleday to lead off the frame and eventually fell 5-4 in the 10th. WKU held a Commodore offense that was averaging 8.5 runs per game coming into the contest to five runs.
- WKU is 12-6 this season when holding opponents to six or fewer runs and 14-1-1 when scoring five or more runs.
- The Hilltoppers are a combined 7-5 on Friday and Saturday contests, but a superb 5-1-1 in Sunday games.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE PREVIEW
- Middle Tennessee past week recaps: FRIDAY at Marshall (L, 3-13) | SATURDAY at Marshall (W, 10-5) | SUNDAY at Marshall (L, 0-7) | TUESDAY vs. Murray State (W, 8-5 [13])
- The Blue Raiders enter the series with a 10-18 overall record and a 5-4 mark in C-USA play after dropping 2-of-3 over the weekend to the Thundering Herd. The club began league action by taking 2-of-3 at UTSA, then losing 2-of-3 vs. Louisiana Tech.
- Middle Tennessee won a 13-inning marathon game on Tuesday against the Racers after tying the game with one run in the bottom of the ninth, then getting a three-run, walk-off homerun from designated hitter Peyton Wigginton in the 13th. Wigginton — the team's typical Saturday starting pitcher — appeared in the lineup for the fourth-straight game.
- Despite hitting only 18 homeruns in 28 games overall, the Blue Raiders lead C-USA with 11 dingers in league play. Aaron Antonini and Myles Christian each have three, while Blake Benefield and Darrell Freeman have each smacked two thus far in nine games.
- As for the arms, Middle Tennessee's pitching staff has a 3.70 earned run average overall, but a 6.00 mark in C-USA games. The overall slash line of the Blue Raiders' opponents stands at .276/.340/.377, but has increased to .332/.380/.457 against league opponents.
- The WKU pitching staff has seen a contrasting change, with the team earned run average at 5.49 overall, but stands at 3.81 in C-USA games. Meanwhile, the overall slash line of the Hilltoppers' opponents stands at .285/.395/.411, but has decreased to .271/.367/.409Â against league opponents.
