Hilltoppers to Host Austin Peay for Midweek Contest

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball is set to host its third consecutive midweek contest against Austin Peay beginning at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 14, at Nick Denes Field.

THE SCHEDULE
• The Hilltoppers will host Austin Peay at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 14 at Nick Denes Field.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Hilltoppers swept South Dakota State to improve to 13-4 on the year in their final non-conference series of the season.
• The Tops offense was prolific through the first two games combining for 21 runs and 31 hits, while the pitching staff was strong with both starting pitchers going at least five innings and each picking up wins. WKU was able to clinch the series after an 11-6 win on Friday and a 10-3 victory on Saturday.
• Sunday saw starting pitcher Devyn Terbrak throw the program's first no-hitter since 2009 in a complete-game shutout that saw the Hilltoppers pick up the 3-0 win to sweep the Jackrabbits.

TERBRAK'S NO-NO
• LHP Devyn Terbrak earned the Hilltoppers' first no-hitter in over 14 years in a complete-game shutout against South Dakota State to complete the series sweep.
• The senior claimed, a career-high, 14 strikeouts in nine innings, while allowing just two batters on base due to a walk and a hit batter.
• Along with his C-USA Pitcher of the Week honor, the Perryville, Missouri native was recognized by multiple other national media outlets for his impressive outing. Terbrak was named Pitcher of Week by the NCAA and D1Baseball, while Collegiate Baseball Newspaper named him one of its National Players of the Week and Baseball America tabbed him as one of its Week Four Standouts.
• For the season, Terbrak owns a 2-1 record and a 2.35 ERA while amassing 29 strikeouts and just four walks in 23 innings of action. Only two pitchers in C-USA have compiled a complete-game shutout in 2023 with Terbrak owning the only no-hitter. He currently ranks in C-USA's top 10 in ERA (2.35), wins (2), complete games (1), innings pitched (23.0), hits allowed (16), runs allowed (8), earned runs allowed (6), walks allowed (4), strikeouts (29), strikeouts looking (8), doubles allowed (3), home runs allowed (0), and opponent batting average (.190).

DOUBLE TIME
• Through 17 games the Hilltopper offense leads all of C-USA and is ranked as one of the top teams in the nation for doubles (47), while leading the league in doubles per game (2.8).
• OF Ty Crittenberger and INF Drew Reckart are tied for 1st overall in doubles in C-USA with eight a piece following this weekend.

TOP OF THE CHARTS
• Only seven C-USA players are hitting .400 or better through the first three weeks of the season, with two of them being Hilltoppers. INFs Drew Reckart (.436) and Ty Crittenberger (.412) rank 3rd and 6th in the entire league.
• WKU carries four of the top 12 C-USA batting average leaders in INFs Drew Reckart (.436), Ty Crittenberger (.412), Aidan Gilroy (.380), and Tristin Garcia (.377) ranking 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 12th in the conference.
• As a team, the Hilltoppers rank 2nd C-USA in batting average (.332), while ranking top 20 in the nation.

MOUND MARVELS
• WKU leads the league in saves (7) while ranking 2nd in the conference in opponent batting average (.237) and the staff has only surrendered 12 home runs through 17 games, ranking 3rd in C-USA.
• LHP Devyn Terbrak is tied for the 3rd-most strikeouts in C-USA with 29, while RHP Mason Burns is tied for the 11th-most with 22.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
• WKU's offense currently leads all of Conference USA in sacrifice bunts (19), more than doubling the next best team, UAB, who has eight, while being one of the top five team's in the nation in sacrifice bunts.

SERIES HISTORY
• WKU and Austin Peay have met 162 times in program history, with the Hilltoppers owning a 99-62-1 all-time series edge.
• The teams met once last season in Clarksville, Tenn. when the Hilltoppers came away with the 11-6 victory.
• Prior to this season, the teams last met in the 2020 season, with WKU winning the contest, 10-5, in Bowling Green.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 13-4 on the season following its series sweep over South Dakota State, tying its best start to a season since 2010.
• The Hilltoppers started the season winning its first seven games, good for the longest winning streak since 2011 and best start to a season since 1985.
• Offensively, two Hilltoppers are hitting .400 or better on the season in Drew Reckart (.436) and Ty Crittenberger (.412), while two are just below .400 in Aidan Gilroy (.380) and Tristin Garcia (.377).
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 4.62 team ERA while striking out 161 batters in 148.0 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE GOVERNORS
• Austin Peay is 6-10 on the year after claiming the series against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
• At the plate, the Governors have three players hitting above .300, led by Lyle Miller-Green who currently owns a .373 batting average.
• The Austin Peay pitching staff has produced a 7.34 team ERA while recording 157 strikeouts in 130.0 frames.

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Players Mentioned

Mason Burns

Ty Crittenberger

Tristin Garcia

Aidan Gilroy

Drew Reckart

Devyn Terbrak