THE SCHEDULE
- The Hilltoppers will open their series on Thursday, April 14 with a 5:30 p.m. CT matchup against Florida Atlantic.
- WKU will then play the Owls at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, April 15.
- The Hilltoppers will close out their series against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, April 16 at 11 a.m. CT.
LAST TIME OUT
- WKU Baseball fell in a hard-fought contest to No. 11 Vanderbilt, 7-4, on Tuesday night at Hawkins Field.
- After the Commodores jumped out to an early 4-0 lead through two innings of action, the Hilltoppers battled back to bring the score within 6-4 in the top of the seventh but were ultimately unable to complete the comeback.
- Luke Stofel earned the starting nod on the mound for WKU, surrendering three hits and four runs in 2.0 innings of work. The Hilltoppers then utilized Lane Diuguid, Cole Heath and Aaron Shiflet in relief, with the trio combining to allow just six hits and three runs while striking out five in 6.0 frames.
- At the plate, WKU tallied eight hits and two walks. Justin Carlin led the way, going 2-for-4 with two runs, while Jackson Gray collected his fourth home run of the season in the contest.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
- True freshman Ty Batusich leads the team in on-base percentage (.426), slugging percentage (.613), home runs (eight), runs (24), RBI (28) and total bases (68) while ranking second in batting average (.333) and walks (11).
- Batusich currently ranks 12th in Conference USA in home runs, 14th in slugging percentage and 18th in total bases.
- 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.
FIRST AIN'T FREE
- The Hilltopper pitching staff currently ranks third in Conference USA and 35th in the nation with just 3.47 walks allowed per nine innings.
- WKU also ranks fourth in C-USA with a 2.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- Individually, Devyn Terbrak currently ranks seventh in C-USA in both walks allowed per nine innings (1.53) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.00).
SERIES HISTORY
- WKU and Florida Atlantic have met 47 times in program history, with the Owls owning a 33-14 all-time series edge.
- The teams last met on May 8, 2021, with Florida Atlantic earning a 6-1 road win.
- The Hilltoppers' last victory against the Owls came on May 7, 2021, with WKU recording a 6-5 home win.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU is 13-19 (4-8 C-USA) on the season following its loss to No. 11 Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
- Offensively, two Hilltoppers are hitting over .300 in Tristin Garcia (.341) and Ty Batusich (.333).
- On the mound, WKU has struck out 263 batters in 275.0 innings of action.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
- Florida Atlantic is 21-13 (7-5 C-USA) on the year following its loss to No. 2 Miami on Tuesday.
- At the plate, the Owls have four players hitting above .300, led by Nolan Schanuel who owns a .406 batting average.
- On the mound, Florida Atlantic has struck out 289 batters in 301.1 innings of work.
