Hilltopper Bats & Tough Pitching Clinch Series Win

Saturday, March 7

Bowling Green, Ky.

2 p.m. CT

Western Kentucky University

19-4, 2-0

Middle Tennessee

13-12, 0-2

Middle Tennessee

WKU

Kelsey Aikey Taylor Davis Taylor Sanders Macy Murphy dugout celebration

3/7/2020 6:46:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Game 23

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Softball clinched its Conference USA opening series over Middle Tennessee with Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Blue Raiders. Kelsey Aikey earned her second win in the circle in as many days while Brylee Hage delivered the first three-hit game of her career.

"I was very happy with our mentality today," head coach Amy Tudor shared. "We know that every game is important and I felt the team was dialed in and ready for day two. We'll look to bring the same approach in tomorrow's finale. Additionally, thank you to all the fans who came out for today's game."

With the game two victory over MTSU, the Hilltoppers are now 19-4 on the season and own a nine-game win streak entering Sunday's finale. The Tops improved to 2-0 in league play while Middle Tennessee dropped to 13-12 overall and 0-2 in C-USA.

WKU loaded the bases in its first trip to the plate of the day thanks to walks from Jordan Thomas and Kendall Smith while Kennedy Sullivan added a base hit but all three would end up stranded.

Both sides were kept off the scoreboard until the fourth frame. After Aikey struck out the MTSU side to open the frame, the Hilltoppers gave her a lead to work with in the bottom of the inning.

Hage delivered the first of her three hits in the bottom of the second before ending up stranded. Two innings later, the freshman would follow Paige Carter's lead off single with another knock to put two Hilltoppers in scoring position with no outs. Stepping into the box, Taylor Sanders reached on an RBI fielder's choice that resulted in everyone advancing safely for a 1-0 WKU lead. During Princess Valencia's pinch-hit at bat, Sanders would swipe second while inducing a throw down that allowed Hage to score to push the Tops' lead to 2-0.

Carter drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth before Hage connected for her third hit of the day – a triple – to push WKU's advantage to 3-0.

In the top of the sixth, the Blue Raiders would notch their only two-hit inning of the series. With the top of the order due up, Middle Tennessee struck for a leadoff single before connecting for a two-run homerun to pull within 3-2.

Heading back to the plate for the bottom of the sixth, WKU would get those runs back and more. Morgan McElroy led the frame off with a single through the left side before TJ Webster beat out a bunt single. Flipping over to the top of the order, Thomas sent a single back up the middle to plate McElroy for a 4-2 WKU lead. Thomas would go on to steal second before Sullivan laid down a sacrifice bunt that brought Webster home. Kendall Smith would follow to reach via error that allowed Thomas to score for the final 6-2 margin.

In need of three outs, Sullivan would take over for Aikey in the circle. After a leadoff double by Middle Tennessee, Sullivan would get the next batter swinging before inducing a groundout and flyout to secure the victory.

Aikey finished with seven more strikeouts to bring her season total to 114 while improving to 10-2 in the circle this season. Across her 13.0 innings of work against the Blue Raiders, Aikey's allowed just seven hits and two earned runs.

In the win, WKU would lead off five of the six innings with a runner reaching base. Thomas would draw walks in both of her leadoff chances, bringing her reached base streak to 19-consecutive games.

In addition to her 3-for-3 day at the plate, Hage stole two bases as well.

NEXT GAME:
The series finale of the three-day series against Middle Tennessee is slated for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday from the WKU Softball Complex. The Hilltoppers will look to sweep the regular-season series for the second-straight year.

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