"Today was our first extra-inning game and a good battle test for us," said head coach Amy Tudor. "Our team made the necessary plays for us to grab the win. I was proud of our composure and for our ability to get two wins today."
After two days of play from the WKU Softball Complex, the Tops are 4-0 when playing on The Hill and 7-1 on the season. With Saturday's wins, WKU improves to 7-2 all-time against SEMO and 2-0 in the brief program history against Bellarmine.
TJ Webster and Bailey Curry both delivered four-hit days at the plate while Kennedy Foote and Brylee Hage connected for three hits on the day.
All four Hilltopper pitchers worked at least three innings on the day with Shelby Nunn (4-1) and Savannah Fierke (2-0) each earning a win.
GAME 7: WKU 4, SEMO 3 – 8 INNINGS
Katie Gardner drew the start to open the day for the Red and White and worked 3.1 innings before being relieved by Shelby Nunn, who worked the final 4.2 frames.
The Hilltoppers struck first in the bottom of the second when Jordan Ridge connected for a solo home run. SEMO retaliated in its next trip to the plate with a homer to knot things at 1-1. WKU regained the lead in the bottom of the third when Curry sent a two-run single through the left side for a 3-1 lead.
SEMO responded back again in the top of the fourth with a solo home run before an RBI double from the Redhawks tied it back up at 3-3. Things stayed even into extra innings and SEMO went down in order in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the frame, Randi Drinnon drew a leadoff walk before Foote took a hit by pitch. Webster would reach on a fielder's choice before a Taylor Davis base hit loaded the bases. From there, Taylor Sanders sent the second pitch she saw to left center field to plate Drinnon for the walk-off win.
Curry and Hage each finished with two hits.
Nunn earned the pitching win after 4.2 innings in relief. She allowed four hits, no runs, no walks and five strikeouts. Gardner added a pair of strikeouts and zero walks as well.
GAME 8: WKU 8, BELLARMINE 2
WKU struck first in game two as well. Davis got things going with a base hit before Ridge drew a hit by pitch. From there, Curry connected for an RBI double. The Hilltoppers struck again in the bottom of the second as Foote sent a double down the leftfield line to bring up the top of the order. A single from Webster plated Foote to double the Tops' lead.
Bellarmine responded in the top of the third with a two-RBI double to even the score at 2-2.
Savannah Fierke relieved Kelsie Houchens in the circle after 3.0 innings of work. Houchens finished with two runs allowed, one walk and three strikeouts in her first collegiate start. Fierke shut things down, working 4.0 three-up, three-down innings while striking out five Bellarmine batters.
WKU broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth when the Hilltoppers sent 12 batters to the plate. Drinnon opened the six-run burst with a solo home run. Sanders would notch a sacrifice fly, followed by an RBI single from Ridge and a two-run double off the bat of Curry. WKU would own a 8-2 lead after the inning that saw the Red and White tally seven hits.
Webster finished 3-for-5 at the plate, Curry added a 2-for-3 performance and Foote added the Tops' third multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 showing.
All five weekend games for WKU Softball will feature a live stream on Facebook Live. Friday and Sunday's action can be caught on WKU's primary stream while Saturday's action will be on the secondary stream due to an overlap with home basketball.
COMPLETE WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday
10 a.m. – SEMO def. Central Michigan, 6-0
12:30 p.m. – Bellarmine def. SEMO, 4-3
3 p.m. – WKU def. Central Michigan, 10-2 [6]
5:30 p.m. – WKU def. Bellarmine, 11-1 [5]
Saturday
10 a.m. - Central Michigan def. Bellarmine, 10-1
12:30 p.m. – WKU def. SEMO, 4-3 – [8]
3 p.m. – WKU (1) def. Bellarmine (4), 8-2
5:30 p.m. – SEMO (2) def. Central Michigan (3), 12-4 [5]
Sunday
11 a.m. – Bellarmine (A) vs. Central Michigan (H)
1:30 p.m. – WKU (H) vs. SEMO (A)
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU Softball has now faced off against SEMO nine times in program history. The Tops lead the all-time series 7-2, posting a 5-1 record at home. This weekend marks the first meetings since Feb. 28th, 2016, which SEMO won 8-3.
- This weekend also marks the first time that the Hilltoppers have gone head-to-head against Bellarmine and Central Michigan with the Tops now owning a 2-0 lead against Bellarmine and 1-0 advantage against CMU.
- WKU now has two walk-off wins on the season as Taylor Sanders' base hit gave the Tops the day's first win.
- The Hilltoppers went to extra innings for the first time this season on Saturday and won the 4-3, eight inning decision.
- Hilltopper fans will be able to watch all 21 remaining home games this season for free on Facebook Live. New this year, Hilltopper Sports Properties (HSP) has added the ability for a secondary stream called "Behind The Mic", allowing for simultaneous softball games to be streamed. The full slate of home games available to stream on Facebook Watch can be found HERE.
- WKU Softball won three-consecutive run-rule victories with Friday's wins for the first time since 2020 and just the fourth time in program history. In both 2013 and 2000, WKU strung together four-straight run-rule wins, marking the longest streak of such in program history.
- Head Coach Amy Tudor is now 7-2 in home openers since taking over the helm in 2013. Coach Tudor enters her 18th season as a head coach – ninth on The Hill – and owns a 458-365-2 career coaching record.
- WKU has now hit seven combined home runs this season, coming off the bats of five different players. Jordan Ridge and Randi Drinnon have each connected for two.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
