THE SCHEDULE
- The Hilltoppers will open their series on Friday, March 19 with a 5 p.m. CT matchup against Valparaiso.
- WKU will play game two against Valpo at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 20.
- The Hilltoppers will close out their series with Valparaiso on Sunday, March 21 at 1 p.m.
ZUBERER NAMED C-USA HITTER OF THE WEEK
- Ray Zuberer III was named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week, as announced by league officials on Monday, March 15.
- The recognition marks the first time a Hilltopper has been tabbed C-USA Hitter of the Week since April 1, 2019, when Jake Sanford received the honor.
- For the week, Zuberer slashed .474/.565/.895 while producing nine hits, seven RBI, four runs, three doubles, three stolen bases, three walks, one triple and one home run. He also posted three multi-hit efforts in the Hilltoppers' five games on the week.
LAST TIME OUT
- WKU Baseball's four-game win streak came to an end following a 7-3 loss to Bellarmine on Tuesday night at Nick Denes Field.
- Devyn Terbrak earned the starting nod in his third appearance of the season, tossing 5.2 frames while only allowing two earned runs and striking out a season-high seven batters.
- Ryan O'Connell, Wil Moritz, Aaron Shiflet and Collin Lollar all made relief appearances in the game, with the quartet surrendering four earned runs while recording five strikeouts in 3.1 innings of action.
- Offensively, the Hilltoppers tallied nine hits on the day, with three players producing multi-hit efforts.
- Jackson Gray led the way with a 3-for-4 performance, while Jack Wilson and Ray Zuberer III both added two hits apiece, with Zuberer recording his team-leading third home run of the season in the contest.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Valparaiso have met just nine times in program history, with the Hilltoppers currently owning a 6-3 all-time edge.
- The teams last met during a three-game series in 2020, with the Hilltoppers earning the series victory, two games to one.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU is 8-8 on the season following its midweek matchup against Bellarmine on Tuesday.
- Offensively, there are currently three Hilltoppers batting over .300 on the season in Matthew Meyer (.429), Jackson Gray (.340) and Ray Zuberer III (.339).
- The Hilltoppers have racked up 37 doubles so far this year, which ranks ninth in the nation and second in Conference USA.
- On the mound, WKU pitchers have struck out 144 batters through 140.0 innings of action.
- Sean Bergeron currently ranks 19th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 11.0. He has walked just two batters through 24.0 innings so far this season.
SCOUTING VALPARAISO
- Valpo is 3-7 on the year after splitting a recent four-game series against Middle Tennessee.
- Valparaiso is led at the plate by Steven Fitzsimmons, who boasts a team-high .306 batting average.
- Valparaiso's pitching staff currently owns a 4.91 ERA while recording 90 strikeouts in 80.2 innings of work.
