As the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Hilltoppers receive a first round bye. A win on Wednesday will put the Tops into the noon CT game on Thursday, while a loss will send the to the 5 p.m. game in the consolation bracket.
Louisiana Tech earned the top seed in the eight-team postseason event after winning the league's regular season title. Tournament host North Texas is the No. 2 seed while Marshall rounded out the top four seeds. Florida Atlantic, UAB, Charlotte and UTSA also made the field.
The Hilltoppers enter the weekend with an overall record of 35-11, which included a 17-7 mark in C-USA action. During the regular season, the Tops did not cross paths with North Texas, Louisiana Tech or UTSA. WKU claimed series wins over Marshall (2-1), UAB (2-1) and Charlotte (2-1) while falling to Florida Atlantic, 1-2, in Boca Raton.
In the five Conference USA Tournaments that WKU Softball has competed in, the Hilltoppers have won two – last season's event and the program's first event during the 2015 campaign. Overall, the Red and White own a 10-5 record in C-USA Tournament games.
In 2021, WKU became the first C-USA Tournament host to make the event field since Florida Atlantic in 2014. WKU became the first host to win the tournament since East Carolina in 2011.
Over WKU's regular-season finale sweep of Middle Tennessee, Bailey Curry set the Hilltoppers' single-season program record with 16 multi-RBI games – surpassing the previous record set in 2003. Additionally, Shelby Nunn's start in the Tops' home finale marked the 145th pitching appearance of her career, tying her for the most in program history. With her next appearance, Nunn will have appeared in the circle more than any other pitcher in program history.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 11 - Noon Game 1: (6) UAB vs. (7) Charlotte (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 11 - 2:30 pm Game 2: (5) Florida Atlantic vs. (8) UTSA (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 11 - 5 pm Game 3: (3) WKU vs. Game 1 Winner (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 11 - 7:30 pm Game 4: (4) Marshall vs. Game 2 Winner (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 12 – Noon Game 5: (2) North Texas vs. Winner Game 3 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 12 – 2:30 pm Game 6: (1) LA Tech vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 12 – 5 pm Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 12 – 7:30 pm Game 8: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – Noon Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – 2:30 pm Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – 5 pm Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 13 – Noon Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 (CBS Sports Network)
TOP STORYLINES
- The 2022 Conference USA Tournament marks the sixth league postseason event WKU has qualified for since joining C-USA prior to the 2014-15 season. WKU is 10-5 in previous C-USA Tournaments and is the reigning champion after winning the 2021 event on its home field.
- Coach Tudor is now 486-374-2 in her career. Since coming to the Hill ahead of the 2014 campaign, Tudor boasts an overall record of 269-169-1.
- The last time WKU was set to play in Denton, Texas was March 2020 as the Hilltoppers were in town to play at North Texas when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 campaign.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
