BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball earned a 7-4 win in its series opener against FIU on Friday night at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers used strong pitching - including a career-high 11 strikeouts from Devyn Terbrak – and timely hitting to collect their second consecutive win and third in the past four outings.
"Devyn [Terbrak] did a great job today," said head coach John Pawlowski. "We scored two runs in the first inning, got a little help there, and we took advantage of it. He just went out there and filled the strike zone up – 11 strikeouts and no walks. We talked about how important it was to win the free-base war today, and I thought he was outstanding. Hunter [Crosby] and Logan [Bowen] both did a great job too, getting three quality innings out of the bullpen was great to see."
Terbrak earned the starting nod for WKU, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned) while racking up 11 strikeouts and not allowing a walk in 6.0 innings to pick up his team-high fifth win of the season. Hunter Crosby entered in the seventh, recording a strikeout while not allowing a hit in 1.0 frames. Logan Bowen closed out the final 2.0 innings, earning his first save of the season after surrendering just one hit and striking out three.
Offensively, the Hilltoppers tallied seven hits and two walks. Tristin Garcia led the way, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, while Ty Crittenberger and Brian McAuliffe each recorded home runs in the contest.
SCORING SUMMARY
WKU opened the scoring in the first frame, with Garcia scoring on a wild pitch and Ty Batusich scoring off an FIU error to make it 2-0 early on.
The Panthers then took the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs to jump ahead 3-2.
The Hilltoppers answered back in the bottom of the frame, with Garcia using a two-RBI double to put the squad back ahead, 4-3.
WKU extended its lead in the sixth, with a solo shot by McAuliffe and two-run homer by Crittenberger making it 7-3.
FIU added one more run in the seventh, but was shut down from there, leading to the eventual 7-4 final.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will continue their series against FIU at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 9 at Nick Denes Field.
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