BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball earned a series split against Middle Tennessee following a 3-1 victory in its finale on Sunday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.
After dropping the first two games of the weekend, the Hilltoppers bounced back and took the final two games of the series to record a split against the Blue Raiders.
In the finale, both teams were in a stalemate through three innings of action before Jackson Gray ripped a solo shot over the left field wall to give WKU the lead and jumpstart an eventual 3-1 victory.
"He's a special player," said assistant coach Ben Wolgamot of Gray. "We were struggling to get out of the gate again today and he got a pitch out over the plate. We talked about it pregame – his development and his growth and what he has become. I haven't seen him hit a ball like that, and he continues to get better and better. For him to hit an oppo home run to get us off the mat a little bit and get some spark in the dugout on the offensive side – I think that was so vital to us."
Luke Stofel earned his third start of the season in the matchup, picking up his second straight win after tossing 6.0 frames of scoreless ball while surrendering just four hits and one walk and striking out four batters.
Ryan O'Connell entered in the seventh to relieve Stofel, allowing just three hits and one run while recording a strikeout in 2.0 innings. Bailey Sutton then entered in the ninth to close things out, picking up his third save of the season after not allowing a hit and striking out one in the final frame.
At the plate, the Hilltoppers racked up seven hits and three walks, with two players producing multi-hit efforts. Gray led the way with a 2-for-3 outing, while Davis Sims went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
SCORING SUMMARY
WKU opened the scoring in the fourth frame via Gray's solo shot and an RBI-single by Sims.
The Hilltoppers extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth, as an RBI-double to left center by Justin Carlin made it 3-0.
Middle Tennessee scored its first and only run of the game in the seventh via an RBI-double, but were shut out from there, leading to the 3-1 victory for the Hilltoppers.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will hit the road for a four-game series against Southern Miss beginning at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 23.
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