THE SCHEDULE
- The Hilltoppers will open their series on Friday, April 30 with a 2 p.m. CT matchup against Marshall.
- WKU will then play a seven-inning doubleheader against the Thundering Herd beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 1.
- The Hilltoppers will close out their series with Marshall on Sunday, May 2 at 12 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
- WKU dropped its four-game road series at (RV) Southern Miss, three games to one.
- The Hilltoppers fell in the opener, 6-5, after their comeback attempt from a 4-1 deficit in the seventh came up short.
- WKU then dropped its doubleheader against the Golden Eagles, again falling 6-5 in game one before dropping a 3-0 contest in the backend of the doubleheader.
- The Hilltoppers closed out the series with a 9-4 win on Sunday.
FIRST AIN'T FREE
- The Hilltoppers currently rank eighth in the nation and third in Conference USA with just 2.75 walks allowed per nine innings.
- WKU also ranks 23rd in the country and third in the conference with a 3.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- Individually, Sean Bergeron currently ranks 10th in the nation with 0.92 walks allowed per nine innings and 16th with an 8.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while ranking first and second in the league in those categories.
NO DOUBLE TROUBLE
- WKU currently ranks 17th in the nation and third in Conference USA with 79 doubles on the season, with the squad averaging 1.98 doubles per game.
- Matthew Meyer leads the team with 12 doubles on the year, which ranks sixth in the conference.
- In the shortened 2020 season, the Hilltoppers closed out their campaign ranked 10th in the nation and first in C-USA with 41 doubles in just 16 games.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Marshall have met 31 times in program history, with the Hilltoppers owning a slight 16-15 all-time edge.
- The teams have already faced each other in a four-game series this season, with WKU sweeping The Herd at home earlier this month.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU is 19-21 (9-11 C-USA) on the season following its series against (RV) Southern Miss.
- Offensively, there are two Hilltopper regulars batting over .300 on the year in Jackson Gray (.371) and Matthew Meyer (.310).
- Gray currently ranks second in Conference USA in batting average while ranking third in the league with a .479 on-base percentage.
- On the mound, WKU pitchers have struck out 309 batters while allowing just 101 walks through 331.0 innings of action.
- Jake Kates currently leads the team with 70 strikeouts on the season, which ranks 46th in the country and fourth in the conference.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERING HERD
- Marshall is 8-24 (4-16 C-USA) on the year after splitting its road series at No. 14 Louisiana Tech.
- At the plate, the Thundering Herd have two starters hitting .300 or better on the season, with Luke Edwards leading the way at .327.
- Marshall's pitching staff currently owns a 6.97 ERA while recording 244 strikeouts in 250.1 innings of work.
