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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Baseball will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday night, as the Hilltoppers take on Belmont with first pitch at Nick Denes Field at 5 p.m. The contest will be streamed on WKUSports.tv and broadcasted on the Hilltopper-IMG Sports Radio Network.
For the midweek game, fans can enjoy special pricing on traditional ballpark fare. Game tickets, popcorn and hot dogs will each be $2, and a large soft drink with a souvenir cup will be $5.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Belmont will meet for the 49th time on the diamond, with the all-time series knotted at 24-24.
- The Hilltoppers have a 13-10 advantage in Bowling Green, while the Bruins hold a 14-11 mark in Nashville.
- WKU has won seven of the past nine games against Belmont dating back to 2014.
- The clubs have faced each other twice in every season since 2008, and at least once in every season since 2003.
- The Hilltoppers and Bruins first played in 1954 and faced off 18 times from then until 1970, but then did not play again until 1999.
- WKU swept Belmont in a home-and-home in 2018. The Hilltoppers defeated the Bruins by a score of 4-1 on Feb. 20 at Nick Denes Field in the team's home opener (RECAP), then won by a score of 15-7 on March 6 at E.S. Rose Park (RECAP).
WKU PREVIEW
- WKU past week recaps: TUESDAY at No. 5 Vanderbilt (L, 4-5 [10]) | FRIDAY at Middle Tennessee (L, 4-13) | SATURDAY at Middle Tennessee (L, 10-13) | SUNDAY at Middle Tennessee (L, 4-11)
- Right fielder Jake Sanford earned Perfect Game First Team Midseason All-American honors on April 3. He became the first Hilltopper All-American since 2016, when third baseman Danny Hudzina was named a Third Team ABCA member at the conclusion of the season. The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native is the first Canadian Perfect Game Midseason All-American since Pittsburgh shortstop Charles Leblanc (Laval, Quebec) was a Second-Teamer in 2016.
- The Hilltoppers are 11-5-1 at home, 4-6 in night games (starting at 5 p.m. or later), 6-3 in one-run games, 5-0 when their starting pitcher goes five-plus innings, 9-2-1 when the opponent's starter goes fewer than five innings, 5-0 when only WKU scores in the first inning and 7-4 when holding the opponent to zero homeruns.
BELMONT PREVIEW
- Belmont past week recaps: TUESDAY at Tennessee (L, 2-6) | FRIDAY vs. Eastern Illinois (L, 6-9) | SATURDAY DH vs. Eastern Illinois (W, 9-7 & 5-1)
- The Bruins enter the week with a 15-16Â overall record. Belmont was on a four-game losing skid before sweeping a doubleheader against the Panthers on Saturday to improve to 10-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play and top the standings in the league.
- Second baseman and leadoff hitter Zach Ehrhart leads the Bruins with a .306 batting average while scoring 18 runs. Right fielder Devon Gardner leads the team with 21 runs batted in, a .475 slugging percentage and 11 extra-base hits; he hit his first three homeruns of the season in Sunday's 5-1 victory against Eastern Illinois.
- Belmont allowed 51 runs in the team's season-opening series and was swept by Illinois State in the process. Since then, the Bruins have allowed a much more respectable 5.5 runs per game over the past 28 contests.
- Belmont has hit 14 homeruns while allowing 14 homeruns to its opponents. For comparison, Sanford has hit 15 dingers by himself to rank third among Division I hitters.
Flexible season ticket packages are now available for purchase, including 30 tickets for $50 that can be used at any of the 29 home games throughout the 2019 campaign. Fans can purchase tickets HERE, by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED or in person at the WKU Ticket Office during business hours.
