BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — No. 4-seeded WKU Softball fell into the consolation side of the Conference USA Tournament bracket with a 4-1 loss to top-seeded North Texas on Thursday afternoon.
"We are looking forward to bouncing back tomorrow," shared WKU head coach Amy Tudor. "We need to make a few adjustments heading into tomorrow and attack the opportunity."
WKU Softball moves to 28-13 overall on the season with Thursday's loss while North Texas improves to 38-10.
Redshirt-freshman Katie Gardner made her second relief appearance for the Hilltoppers in as many days. The Bowling Green, Ky., native allowed just three Mean Green hits and struck out four in 5.2 innings of work while allowing two runs.
North Texas struck for two runs in the bottom of the first and a third run in the bottom of the second.
Princess Valencia broke up C-USA Pitcher of the Year Hope Trautwein's no-hit bid in the top of the fifth with a single to centerfield. In the next inning, Paige Carter stepped up to the plate with one out and turned on a 1-2 pitch, connecting for her team-best 12th home run of the season to bring the score to 3-1.
The Mean Green added its final run in the bottom of the sixth after Carter got the Hilltoppers on the board in the top of the frame.
WKU will face [3] Charlotte on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT in a win or go home game. The 49ers suffered a Thursday loss to [2] UAB by a score of 5-2.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
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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