WKU Game Notes
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After being predicted to finish seventh in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll, WKU Softball (37-12) will open play in the 2019 C-USA Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Hilltoppers earned a first round bye and will face the winner of No. 6 Middle Tennessee and No. 7 UTEP in a single-elimination game on Wednesday slated for 7:30 p.m. CT from Mary Bowers Field on the campus of UAB. All games until the championship contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ while the title game will air live on CBS Sports Network.
FOLLOWING INFORMATION
Wednesday, May 7 – WKU vs. Middle Tennessee/UTEP – Stats | Stream
OUTPERFORMING EXPECTATIONS
For the second time in the last three seasons, head coach Amy Tudor will lead a squad into the C-USA Tournament with a better seed than was predicted for the team in the Preseason Coaches Poll. This year, the Hilltoppers enter the postseason four spots higher than their predicted seventh spot. Two years ago, WKU claimed the eighth seed in the tournament after being slotted 10th in the preseason poll. The Hilltoppers would go on to become the first No. 8 seed to ever advance to the C-USA Tournament's final four teams standing after a pair of extra-inning, upset wins during the 2017 postseason.
As the No. 8 seed in last season's C-USA Tournament, WKU Softball earned an upset win over fifth-seeded Marshall to eliminate the Thundering Herd from the tournament. The victory marked the squad's third upset win in the postseason in two tournament trips.
THE FIELD
North Texas and Louisiana Tech tied for the C-USA regular season title with 19-5 records in league play but the Mean Green drew the top seed after claiming the series 2-1 in Ruston. WKU earned the No. 3 seed with an 18-6 record in C-USA action while claiming the East Division title ahead of Marshall (17-7), who grabbed the final first-round bye with the fourth seed. Southern Miss (13-11), Middle Tennessee (11-13), UTEP (10-14) and UTSA (8-16) finished as the fifth through eighth seeds. WKU faced five of the seven squads to make the postseason tournament during the regular season, going 9-6 in those outings.
For the fifth-straight year of the league's postseason event, the team hosting the tournament has not made the eight-team field.
WKU IN THE C-USA TOURNAMENT
In the Hilltoppers five seasons as Conference USA members, the team has made four appearances in the C-USA Tournament including this year's trip to UAB. WKU earned the No. 1 seed during the 2015 campaign when the Red and White went on to win the whole thing. In both 2017 and 2018, head coach Amy Tudor's unit was the last squad in as the No. 8 seed. In 2019, WKU enters as the third seed. In all three prior outings, the Hilltoppers have won at least one game at the C-USA Tournament.
WEDNESDAY OPPONENT
WKU will face the winner of No. 6 seed Middle Tennessee and No. 7 UTEP. The Blue Raiders and Miners meet at 2:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday before the Hilltoppers face the winner later that night at 7:30 p.m.
WKU and Middle Tennessee faced off on Monday and Tuesday, April 22-23 in Murfreesboro. The Hilltoppers swept the series after a 6-4, 11-inning win in the series finale. MTSU finished third in the East Division standings and went 27-26 overall. The Blue Raiders are 2-8 in their last 10 games and finished the regular season 11-9 when in neutral-site outings. WKU is 2-2 in neutral-site meetings all-time against Middle Tennesse and owns the same record against the Blue Raiders in postseason meetings.
After meeting during both the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, WKU and UTEP did not cross paths during the 2019 regular season. The Miners notched a 17-32 overall reading on the season while finishing fourth in the West Division standings. All common opponents between WKU and UTEP this season were Conference USA foes. The Miners went a combined 8-10 in matchups with Charlotte, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic, UTSA and FIU while the Hilltoppers sported a 14-4 mark against the same field. WKU is 4-2 all-time against UTEP while the sides have never met at a neutral site.
WHAT NEXT
With a victory in Wednesday's single-elimination game, the Red and White would advance into the double-elimination portion of the bracket and be 1-of-4 teams still standing. Awaiting the winner of WKU's game is No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech. That game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. CT first pitch on Thursday.
HOW THE TOURNAMENT BRACKET WORKS
The top two seeds earn double byes into Thursday's double-elimination action. Seeds three and four earn a single bye into the second round of the tournament but must still win a single-elimination game on Wednesday to advance. Teams playing on Thursday enter double-elimination territory until just two teams remain standing – at that point a winner-takes-all contest is played.
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
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