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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — In WKU Baseball's final series before the 2019 Conference USA Tournament, the club faces one of the hottest teams in the league in Old Dominion. The Hilltoppers and Monarchs will play a Thursday-to-Saturday, three-game set from May 16-18, with first pitch times of 5 p.m., 5 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Thursday's opening contest will feature righty Reece Calvert of WKU against lefty Tommy Gertner of Old Dominion.
It will be a busy weekend at Nick Denes Field, with the Hilltoppers' Senior Night celebration on Friday, when the team and fans will celebrate five WKU elders (Calvert, Nick Brunson, Joe Filosa, Jacob Green and Troy Newell). Also on Friday night, it will be Hill's Pet Nutrition Bark in the Park on Friday night, with each canine receiving a free WKU red dog bandana. Finally, the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation will host its Appreciation Night, with free admission, food and drinks for all members who RSVP to haf@wku.edu or call 270-745-5321.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free 100th Season red t-shirt. Members of the 2009 NCAA Regional team will also be in town for an unofficial reunion celebration; those in attendance will be recognized on the field prior to first pitch.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Old Dominion will meet for the 12th, 13th and 14th times on the diamond, with the Monarchs holding a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series over the Hilltoppers. The clubs have not faced off over the past two seasons due to C-USA scheduling guidelines.
- WKU took 2-of-3 from Old Dominion in Bowling Green 2015, then the Monarchs came back the following season and swept the Hilltoppers at the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex in Norfolk, Va.
- WKU and Old Dominion overlapped in the Sun Belt Conference from 1982-to-1991, but never faced off in a series. The teams met seven times in in the league tournament, with the Monarchs taking 3-of-5 from the Hilltoppers in those games.
WKU PREVIEW
- WKU past week recaps: FRIDAY at Louisiana Tech (W, 5-4) | SUNDAY DH at Louisiana Tech (L 1-6 [7] & L, 3-8 [7]) | TUESDAY at Austin Peay (L, 12-20)
- After defeating the Bulldogs in the opening game on May 10, the Hilltoppers were 24-22-1 overall and riding a five-game Conference USA win streak with a 15-9-1 record in league play. But after Saturday's game was postponed, WKU was swept in a doubleheader on May 12 in a pair of seven-inning contests at Ruston High School and fell in Clarksville, Tenn., to the Governors to drop to 15-11-1 in league play and 24-25-1 overall.
- Even though the Hilltoppers did not play on Saturday, they officially clinched a berth in the 2019 C-USA Tournament for the first time since joining the league prior to the 2015 season. When Middle Tennessee lost to FIU by a score of 7-3, WKU was mathematically guaranteed to finish above the bottom four teams in the league. (RELEASE)
- Junior Richard Constantine made his return to the Hilltopper lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous 14 games with an injury. The Huntsville, Ala., native picked up right where he left off, going 2-for-4 with his sixth homerun of the season, a double, two runs batted in and three scored. Since earning a permanent spot in the WKU lineup in early April, he is slashing .410/.455/.949 with six homeruns, three doubles, 18 runs batted in and 11 scored in his past nine games.
- On Tuesday, first baseman Matt Phipps and freshman center fielder Jackson Swiney each hit a pair of homeruns at Raymond C. Hand Park. The duo combined to go 6-for-9 with nine runs batted in and seven scored, with each WKU hitter adding a double as well. Constantine and Swiney hit back-to-back dingers to beging the fourth inning, marking the first such occurrence since Kevin Lambert and Wyatt Featherston on the same field on April 25, 2017, in the infamous 22-17 victory over Austin Peay. WKU totaled five homeruns as a team for the first time since March 6, 2017, at Belmont.
- On Friday, the Hilltoppers trailed 3-1 after three innings and recorded their 12th come-from-behind win of the season, including the sixth in C-USA play. In all 12 comeback wins, WKU has trailed by at least two runs at the height of the deficit.
- In Game 1 on Sunday, Sanford cracked his 21st dinger of the season, moving into a four-way tie with Mike Williams (1981), Mike Roy (1985) and Chad Cregar (2008) for fifth on WKU's all-time single-season charts. In addition, with 64 runs batted in for the year, the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native moved into 10th on the single-season program ranks. He trails Matt Rice for ninth place, as the catcher had 65 in 2010.
- In Game 2 on Sunday, left fielder Aidan Elias skied a 3-1 offering from Bulldog lefty Logan Bailey deep over the left-field fence for a solo homerun, the first of his collegiate career. The long ball continues the incredible comeback story of the Lexington native, who has recovered from shattering both of his kneecaps in October of 2017 to become a utility outfielder for the Hilltoppers this season.
OLD DOMINIONÂ PREVIEW
- Old Dominion past week recaps: FRIDAY vs. Marshall (W, 6-5 [10]) | SATURDAY vs. Marshall (W, 6-3) | SUNDAY vs. Marshall (W, 9-8) | TUESDAY at VMI (W, 17-8)
- The Monarchs enter the weekend with a 33-18 overall record and are 14-13 in C-USA play after sweeping the Thundering Herd over the weekend and going to Lexington, Va, in midweek to defeat the Keydets. Since beginning league action with a 1-8 record, Old Dominion has gone 13-5 and won six consecutive series.
- The Monarchs are led by head coach Chris Finwood, who was at WKU for six seasons from 2006-to-2011, compiling a 190-154 record. Old Dominion assistant coach Logan Robbins was a player on those teams, lettering for the Hilltoppers from 2009-11.
- For more information on the Monarchs, visit their team's series PREVIEW on www.ODUSports.com.
