THE SCHEDULE
- The Hilltoppers will open their series on Friday, March 11 with a 1 p.m. matchup against Illinois.
- WKU will then close out its series against the Illini with a doubleheader starting at noon on Sunday, March 13.
- Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled for seven innings, while the finale is set for nine.
LAST TIME OUT
- WKU fell to Eastern Kentucky, 6-4, on Tuesday afternoon at Earle Combs Stadium.
- Bill Duby earned the starting nod on the mound for WKU, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out three in 2.2 innings. The Hilltoppers utilized five relief pitchers from there, with the group combining to allow six hits and three runs while recording six strikeouts in 5.1 frames.
- Offensively, WKU tallied eight hits and six walks, with two players producing multi-hit performances. Andrew Delaney led the way with a 3-for-4 outing, while Matthew Meyer went 2-for-5 to go along with two RBI.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
- True freshman Ty Batusich was named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week on Monday, March 7 after slashing .471/.500/.706 in four starts while racking up eight hits – including a double and home run – to go along with two runs and 10 RBI against (RV) Kentucky and Hartford.
- Batusich currently leads the team in home runs (five), RBI (19), total bases (34), on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.810) while ranking second in batting average (.381) and runs (10).
- Nationally, Batusich currently ranks 22nd in the country in RBI, 24th in home runs and 38th in slugging percentage.
CAREER DAY ON THE DIAMOND
- In game two of the Hilltoppers' series against Hartford on Saturday, March 5, Sean Bergeron struck out a career-high 16 batters while surrendering just three hits and not allowing a walk in a complete-game shutout performance.
- Bergeron's outing marked the first nine-inning complete game shutout by a WKU pitcher since March 25, 2018, when Paul Kirkpatrick accomplished the same feat in a 4-0 win against Rice.
- The senior's 16 strikeouts were also the most by a Hilltopper since at least 2005 – as far back as WKU game records go – topping the previous mark of 14 by Ryan Thurston.
- Following his career day, Bergeron was recognized by various national outlets, earning Pitcher of the Day and Player of the Week honors by D1Baseball while being named the National Co-Pitcher of the Week by NCBWA, a Performance of the Week finalist by Golden Spikes and a National Players of the Week honoree by Collegiate Baseball.
CLOSING TIME
- Relief pitcher Mason Vinyard has been a dominant presence on the mound in the early part of the season.
- In five appearances, Vinyard has compiled a 2-0 record with two saves and a 1.04 ERA while allowing just seven hits and one run to go along with 16 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of action.
- Dating back to the end of the 2021 season, Vinyard has struck out 36 batters in his last 20.0 innings of work.
FIRST AIN'T FREE
- The Hilltopper pitching staff currently ranks 12th in the nation with just 2.71 walks allowed per nine innings.
- WKU also ranks 19th in the country with a 3.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio, compiling 116 strikeouts compared to just 31 walks.
- Individually, Sean Bergeron ranks 13th in the nation with a ridiculous 24.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 16th with 0.47 walks allowed per nine innings.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Illinois have met just 14 times in program history, with the Illini owning a slight 8-6 all-time series edge.
- The teams last met on March 9, 2014, with the Hilltoppers earning a tightly contested 1-0 home victory over Illinois.
- WKU has won its past four matchups against the Illini.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU is 7-5 on the season following its loss to Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday.
- Offensively, four Hilltoppers are hitting over .300 in Tristin Garcia (.386), Ty Batusich (.381), Aidan Gilroy (.373) and Andrew Delaney (.370).
- On the mound, WKU has compiled a 3.84 team ERA – good for third in C-USA – while striking out 116 batters in 103.0 innings of action.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
- Illinois is 3-7 on the season following its loss to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.
- At the plate, the Illini are led by Cam McDonald, who owns a team-high .306 batting average.
- On the mound, Illinois' pitching staff owns a 5.69 ERA while striking out 78 batters in 87.0 innings of work.
