Hilltoppers Head to Dallas for Final Road Series of Regular Season

Thursday, May 18

Dallas, TX

6:30 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

#17 Dallas Baptist

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

Hilltoppers Head to Dallas for Final Road Series of Regular Season

5/17/2023 11:02:00 AM | Baseball

Game Notes

DALLAS, Texas – WKU Baseball is set to finish the regular season with a three-game series against No. 17 Dallas Baptist beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 18 at Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Texas.

THE SCHEDULE
• The Hilltoppers will open their series at No. 17 Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 18 at Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Texas.
• WKU will then play the Patriots at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, May 19.
• The Hilltoppers will close out their series against Dallas Baptist on Saturday, May 20 at 2 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
• WKU swept Rice for its fifth consecutive series win and third straight home series sweep.
• In the series opener, WKU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings, capped off by an RBI triple from Aidan Gilroy. Rice rallied to even the game at 4-4 after a three-run fifth and a solo homer in the sixth. An RBI double from Ricardo Leonett in the tenth inning walked it off for the Tops to take the series opening game, 5-4.
• Game two saw the Tops roll over the Owls, winning 10-2 after a seven-run seventh inning to blow the game wide open. AJ Fiechter led the way at the plate in a 2-for-3 outing with four RBI and two runs scored to help WKU claim the series win.
• The series finale was a quiet day for both teams. After Rice took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second, the Hilltoppers answered in the bottom of the frame with two runs of their own with a couple of productive outs in an RBI groundout from Ty Batusich and a sacrifice fly from AJ Fiechter. Lukas Farris hit the only Hilltopper home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 4-1. WKU won the game 5-2 after RHP Cole Heath entered in the eighth inning and earned the save without allowing a run or a hit.

DOUBLE TIME
• Through 52 games the Hilltopper defense is top 50 in the nation and ranks second in the conference in double plays (41) and third in doubles hit (103).
• Two Hilltoppers are among the top 5 C-USA doubles leaders in INFs Tristin Garcia (19) and Drew Reckart (17).

TOP OF THE CHARTS
• 26 C-USA players are hitting .300 or better this season with INF Tristin Garcia (.328), INF Aidan Gilroy (.326), OF Ty Crittenberger (.317), and INF Drew Reckart (.315) all ranking amid the league's best hitters.

MOUND MARVELS
• WKU is tied for the league lead in saves (16) while ranking second in ERA (4.62), hits allowed (439), earned runs allowed (235), walks allowed (193), home runs allowed (47), and opponent batting average (.249).
• Freshman RHP Dawson Hall ranks third in C-USA in ERA (2.79) while LHP Lane Diuguid is fourth (3.39) and LHP Devyn Terbrak comes in at sixth (3.47).

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
• WKU's offense currently leads all of C-USA in sacrifice bunts (55), almost doubling the next best team, UAB (28), while ranking as one of the top two teams in the nation behind Wofford (74).
• Four Hilltoppers are at the top of the list of the C-USA leaders in sacrifice bunts in Aidan Gilroy (10), Kirk Liebert (8), Brett Blomquist (6) and AJ Fiechter (6).

SERIES HISTORY
• WKU and Dallas Baptist have never met in program history.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 30-22 on the season after sweeping Rice at home last weekend.
• Offensively, six Hilltoppers are hitting .300 or better with the top half of the lineup in INF Tristin Garcia (.328), Aidan Gilroy (.326), OF Ty Crittenberger (.317), and INF Drew Reckart (.315) leading the charge.
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 4.62 team ERA while striking out 432 batters in 457.2 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
• No. 17 Dallas Baptist is 40-12 on the year after sweeping UTSA last weekend.
• At the plate, the Patriots are led by Kodie Kolden, who currently owns a .349 batting average.
• The Dallas Baptist pitching staff has produced a 4.42 team ERA while recording 546 strikeouts in 462.1 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.