Hilltoppers Set to Host Florida Atlantic

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball is set to host Florida Atlantic for a three-game series beginning at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, April 21 at Nick Denes Field.

THE SCHEDULE
• The Hilltoppers will open their series against Florida Atlantic at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, April 21 at Nick Denes Field.
• WKU will then play the Owls at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 22.
• The Hilltoppers will close out their series against Florida Atlantic on Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Hilltoppers utilized 10 pitchers in their 10-8 loss at Evansville last Tuesday night. After six innings, the Tops found themselves in a 10-2 hole, but six runs over the next two innings cut it to two. The Hilltopper offense could not rally in the ninth resulting in the losing decision.

TG'S TAKEOVER
• INF Tristin Garcia has been named the Conference USA Hitter of the Week for his performance this past week.
• Garcia led WKU at the plate during its midweek win against Evansville and series win at UAB over the weekend, where he posted a .556 batting average and 1.301 OPS in four games, racking up 10 hits in 18 at-bats – including three doubles – to go along with three runs and four RBI. The senior notched three straight multi-hit performances against the Blazers, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs in Friday's win, 2-for-5 with two RBI in Saturday's win, and 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's extra-inning loss.
• For the season, Garcia is currently leading the team in batting average (.360) and hits (50) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.437), doubles (13) and third in RBI (23).

RECKART ON THE RISE
• INF Drew Reckart has been named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List as one of the top 101 shortstops at the DI baseball level.
• The award recognizes the nation's top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year.
• Reckart leads Conference USA in doubles (14) while leading the Hilltoppers in RBI (26), slugging percentage (.519), on-base percentage (.449).

DOUBLE TIME
• Through 38 games the Hilltopper offense is top 40 in the nation and leads all of C-USA in doubles (79), while also being at the top of the league in doubles per game (2.1).
• The top three spots of the C-USA doubles leaders belong to Hilltoppers in INF Drew Reckart (14), INF Tristin Garcia (13) and OF Ty Crittenberger (12).

TOP OF THE CHARTS
• Only five C-USA players are hitting .360 or better through the first nine weeks of the season with INF Tristin Garcia ranking 5th (.360).
• The Hilltoppers rank 3rd in C-USA in batting average (.293) overall.

MOUND MARVELS
• WKU ranks 3rd in the league in saves (10), opponent batting average (.246) and 2nd in home runs allowed (30).
• LHP Devyn Terbrak ranks 6th in C-USA with a 3.22 ERA while owning the 12th-most strikeouts (45) in the league thus far.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
• WKU's offense currently leads all of C-USA in sacrifice bunts (39), almost doubling the next best team, UAB (22), while ranking as one of the top three teams in the nation in the category.
• Three Hilltoppers are among the top five C-USA leaders in sacrifice bunts in Kirk Liebert (7), AJ Fiechter (6), and Aidan Gilroy (4).

SERIES HISTORY
• WKU and Florida Atlantic have met 50 times in program history, with the Owls owning a 36-14 all-time series edge.
• The teams met for a three-game series in Boca Raton, Fla. last season with the Owls taking all three games against the Hilltoppers.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 19-19 on the season after dropping its midweek against Evansville last Tuesday, 10-8.
• Offensively, six Hilltoppers are hitting .300 or better with INFs Tristin Garcia (.360) Drew Reckart (.331), and Aidan Gilroy (.323) leading the charge.
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 4.68 team ERA while striking out 311 batters in 329.0 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
• Florida Atlantic is 23-15 on the year after upsetting No. 17 Miami 7-6 in extra innings on Wednesday night. Prior to Wednesday, the Owls were swept by new C-USA opponent, Dallas Baptist in a three-game series last weekend.
• At the plate, the Owls have three players hitting .300 or better, led by Nolan Schanuel who currently owns a C-USA leading, .452 batting average.
• The Florida Atlantic pitching staff has produced a 5.15 team ERA while recording 305 strikeouts in 330.1 frames.

How to follow WKU Baseball: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Baseball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKU_Baseball on Twitter and @WKUBaseball Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Ty Crittenberger

AJ Fiechter

Tristin Garcia

Aidan Gilroy

Kirk Liebert

Drew Reckart

Devyn Terbrak