Tops and Owls Clash in Opening Round of C-USA Championship

Wednesday, May 24

Houston, Texas

7:30 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

5/23/2023 3:37:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Watch Listen

HOUSTON, Texas – No. 4 WKU Baseball and No. 5 Florida Atlantic will close the opening day of the Conference USA Championship beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT on May 24, 2023, at Reckling Park.

LAST TIME OUT
• WKU dropped two of three to #17 Dallas Baptist last weekend at Horner Ballpark in Dallas, Texas.
• The Hilltoppers upset the #17 Patriots, 11-7, in game one of the series.
• The Tops utilized four home runs en route to the series opening win with two coming off the bat of Lukas Farris. The freshman finished the day 2-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI while Kirk Liebert and Ty Batusich added a big fly a piece. LHP Lane Diuguid earned his second winning decision of the season while RHP Mason Burns earned his fourth save in 3.2 innings of perfect baseball.
• Game two was suspended in the top of the sixth inning with Dallas Baptist holding a 7-5 lead. The game was resumed the following day, ultimately resulting in a win for the Patriots, tying the series.
• The regular season finale, rubber match followed the completion of game two, ending in a 7-1 loss for WKU. The Hilltoppers had already clinched the #4 seed in the C-USA Championships regardless of the outcome of game three.

DOUBLE TIME
• Through the regular season the Hilltopper defense is top 40 in the nation and leads the conference in double plays (44) and ranks fourth in doubles hit (107).
• Two Hilltoppers are among the top 5 C-USA doubles leaders in INFs Tristin Garcia (20) and Drew Reckart (17).

TOP OF THE CHARTS
• 29 C-USA players are hitting .300 or better this season with INF Aidan Gilroy (.335) INF Tristin Garcia (.319), INF Drew Reckart (.314) and OF Ty Crittenberger (.313) all ranking amid the league's best hitters.

MOUND MARVELS
• WKU is tied for the league lead in saves (17) while ranking second in ERA (4.81), hits allowed (468), walks allowed (205), home runs allowed (51), and opponent batting average (.251).
• Freshman RHP Dawson Hall ranks third in C-USA in ERA (3.08) while LHP Devyn Terbrak is ninth (4.03) and LHP Lane Diuguid comes in at tenth (4.10).

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
• WKU's offense currently leads all of C-USA in sacrifice bunts (56), doubling the next best team, UAB (28), while ranking as one of the top two teams in the nation behind Wofford (79).
• 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 Florida Atlantic have met 53 times in program history, with the Owls owning a 36-17 all-time series edge.
• The teams met for a three-game series in Bowling Green earlier season with the Hilltoppers sweeping the Owls.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 31-24 on the season after its final regular season series at #17 Dallas Baptist.
• Offensively, six Hilltoppers are hitting .300 or better with the top half of the lineup in INF Aidan Gilroy (.335), INF Tristin Garcia (.319), INF Drew Reckart (.314) and OF Ty Crittenberger (.313) leading the charge.
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 4.81 team ERA while striking out 447 batters in 482.2 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
• Florida Atlantic is 33-23 on the year after taking two of three against UAB last weekend.
• At the plate, the Owls have three players hitting .300 or better, led by Conference USA Player of the Year, Nolan Schanuel, who currently owns a, C-USA leading, .460 batting average.
• The Florida Atlantic pitching staff has produced a 5.27 team ERA while recording 466 strikeouts in 497.1 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.