"We fought from behind the entire game," opened head coach Amy Tudor. "I am so proud of how hard we played. We pieced together a lot of little things to get the big win at the end. Savannah Fierke had not thrown a lot of innings this year and pitched spectacularly today and then Maddie Bowlds ended the game with a big game winner. This was a great team win and we're so thankful for our fans who were awesome."
WKU regained a share of the lead in Conference USA's East Division with the win and now sits at 12-5 in league play, tied with Marshall. The Hilltoppers sits at 29-9 on the season while the Herd is 30-12 overall.
WKU is now 18-2 when playing at the WKU Softball Complex during the 2022 campaign and has secured seven walk-off wins across the season.
The Hilltoppers trailed by as much as 8-3 in the game and would never lead until the final pitch of the contest. The victory marked the Red and White's 10th come-from-behind win of the season.
Marshall connected for three home runs in the game – coming in the first, second and third frames. With two outs in the top of the third, Savannah Fierke would take over in the circle following Katie Gardner (starter) and Kelsie Houchens (relief). The appearance was just her second-ever in Conference USA play but the freshman delivered 4.0+ innings of solid relief work – allowing just three hits and an unearned run in the no-decision.
Shelby Nunn worked the final out of the top of the seventh to get the Hilltoppers to the plate trailing 9-7. She would ultimately earn the win and improve to 16-6 on the season with the relief appearance.
In the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Davis sent the second pitch she saw back at the pitcher for a single. On the next pitch, Taylor Sanders sent a double to the left field corner that brought Davis around to score for the 9-8 margin. Next up, Ridge dropped a sacrifice bunt on the first pitch she saw to move Sanders to third base. From there, Bowlds stepped into the box and sent a 1-1 count pitch out of the park for her third home run of the season to secure the 10-9 win.
Davis and Curry would finish with multi-hit performances in the win while Bowlds, Curry and TJ Webster each added a multi-RBI outing.
Randi Drinnon reached base in all three of her plate appearances with two walks and a double on the day.
Bowlds game-ending knock was the Hilltoppers' third walk-off home run of the season with Ridge and Sanders also owning one apiece.
TOP STORYLINES
- With Saturday's win, WKU now trails 10-12 in the all-time series against Marshall. The Tops are now 5-5 when facing the Thundering Herd in Bowling Green.
- Coach Tudor is in her 18th season as a head coach – ninth on The Hill – and owns a 480-372-2 career coaching record.
- WKU is now 18-2 when playing at home this season.
- The victory marked the Red and White's 10th come-from-behind win of the season.
- WKU has secured seven walk-off wins across the season – three coming off home runs.
- The Hilltoppers used all four pitchers on the staff in the win.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
