THE SCHEDULE
- The Hilltoppers will open their series on Friday, March 25 with a 5 p.m. CT matchup against Southern Miss.
- WKU will then play the Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 26.
- The Hilltoppers will close out their series against Southern Miss on Sunday, March 27 at 1 p.m. CT.
LAST TIME OUT
- WKU dropped its midweek matchup with Evansville, 9-8, on Tuesday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.
- The Hilltoppers held the lead for a majority of the game until a late rally by the Aces – which included five runs in the top of the ninth – led to the Evansville victory.
- Tristin Garcia and Matthew Meyer each collected two hits apiece in the contest, while Andrew Delaney recorded his first career grand slam in the game.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
- True freshman Ty Batusich leads the team in batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.803), home runs (seven), RBI (22) and total bases (53) while ranking second in walks (nine) and runs (18).
- Batusich currently ranks second in Conference USA in slugging percentage, third in home runs, fifth in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in total bases and 10th in RBI.
- Batusich was named the C-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.
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Southern Miss have met 17 times in program history, with the Golden Eagles owning a 14-3 all-time series edge.
- The teams last met on May 27, 2021, in the Conference USA Tournament, where Southern Miss earned an 11-1 victory over WKU.
- The Hilltoppers' last win against the Golden Eagles came on April 25, 2021, with WKU recording a 9-4 road win against Southern Miss.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU is 9-11 (1-2 C-USA) on the season following its loss to Evansville on Tuesday.
- Offensively, four Hilltoppers are hitting over .300 in Ty Batusich (.394), Aidan Gilroy (.367), Tristin Garcia (.325) and Matthew Meyer (.306).
- On the mound, WKU has compiled a 5.02 team ERA while striking out 164 batters in 172.0 innings of action.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
- Southern Miss is 14-7 (2-1 C-USA) on the year following its win over New Orleans on Wednesday.
- The Golden Eagles are currently receiving votes in the NCBWA and USA Today polls.
- At the plate, Southern Miss has two players hitting above .300, with Dustin Dickerson and Slade Wilks both boasting a .329 average.
- On the mound, the Golden Eagles' pitching staff owns a 3.19 ERA to go along with 224 strikeouts in 189.0 innings of work.
