WKU Baseball Set to Host Four-Game Series Against Ohio

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball looks to continue its early success in its four-game series against the Ohio Bobcats, beginning at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, February 24, at Nick Denes Field.

THE SCHEDULE
• The Hilltoppers will open the four-game series against against Ohio at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24.
• WKU will then play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. CT against the Bobcats on Saturday, Feb. 25 with the second game beginning at approximately 4 p.m. CT.
• The Hilltoppers will close out its series against Ohio on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Hilltoppers faced Belmont in its first midweek game of the season, beating the Bruins 9-7 at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville, Tenn.
• WKU scored nine runs on 11 hits while surrendering seven runs on 10 hits to Belmont.
• Offensively, four Hilltoppers recorded multi-hit performances in Reckart, Crittenberger, Ross, and Gilroy. Reckart and Crittenberger each had three hits of their own with Reckart hitting the first homer of the season with a three-run blast in the second inning to give the Hilltoppers the early edge.
• The Tops were able to overcome four errors and 13 strikeouts to pull out the 9-7 win.

MOUND MARVELS
• The Hilltopper pitching staff has been lights out in all four games recording 41 strikeouts with 14 walks thus far.
• After the first week of play, WKU is third in the conference in ERA (2.50), earned runs (10), and second in opponent batting average (.197).
• LHP Lane Diuguid is the only pitcher in Conference USA to not allow a hit with at least five innings of work.
• RHP Mason Burns and LHP Lane Diuguid are tied for fourth in total strikeouts in Conference USA with seven a piece.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
• WKU's offense currently leads all of Conference USA in sacrifice flies (4) and sacrifice bunts (8) with two Hilltoppers accounting for half of them in Brayden Johnson (2) and Brett Blomquist (2).
• The Hilltoppers are currently tied for 14th in the nation for sacrifice flies and lead the nation for sacrifice bunts.

SERIES HISTORY
• WKU and Ohio have met 12 times in program history, with the Hilltoppers owning an 8-4 all-time series edge.
• The teams last met for a three-game series beginning on March 3, 2017, with the Bobcats winning two of three games (4-5, 3-0, and 3-0) in Bowling Green.
• Prior to 2017, the Hilltoppers had won seven of nine games against Ohio dating back to the first time they played in 1978.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 4-0 on the season following its opening three-game series sweep against Dayton and win against Belmont in Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday night.
• Offensively, six Hilltoppers are hitting .300 or better on the season in Drew Reckart (.750), Ty Batusich (.333), Lukas Farris (.333), Aidan Gilroy (.333), and Matthew Meyer (.300).
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 2.50 team ERA while striking out 41 batters in 36.0 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
• Ohio is 1-2 on the year after winning its first game of the season against Navy 27-9, last Sunday.
• At the plate, Ohio has three players hitting above .400, led by Alec Patino who currently owns a .538 batting average.
• The Bobcats' pitching staff has produced a 10.04 team ERA while recording 17 strikeouts in 26.0 frames.

How to Follow Hilltopper Baseball: For complete information on WKU Baseball, follow the program via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ty Batusich

Brett Blomquist

Mason Burns

Lane Diuguid

Lukas Farris

Aidan Gilroy

Brayden Johnson

Matthew Meyer

Drew Reckart