Hilltoppers Look to Avoid Elimination Against No. 5 Florida Atlantic in C-USA Championship

HOUSTON, Texas – No. 4 WKU Baseball's season is on the line as they prepare to take on No. 5 Florida Atlantic in an elimination game in the Conference USA Championship beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday night at Reckling Park.

LAST TIME OUT
• WKU fell to top seeded Dallas Baptist, 10-2, in the second round of the Conference USA Championship.
• The Tops will now face #5 Florida Atlantic in an elimination game to decide who goes to the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship and face No. 1 Dallas Baptist.

DOUBLE TIME
• The Hilltopper defense is top 40 in the nation and ranks second in the conference in double plays (46) and ranks fourth in doubles hit (113).
• Three Hilltoppers are among the top 10 C-USA doubles leaders in INF Tristin Garcia (21), INF Drew Reckart (17), and OF Ty Crittenberger (16).

TOP OF THE CHARTS
• 27 C-USA players are hitting .300 or better this season with INF Aidan Gilroy (.327), OF Ty Crittenberger (.324), INF Tristin Garcia (.321), and INF Drew Reckart (.315) all ranking amid the league's best hitters.

MOUND MARVELS
• WKU is tied for the league lead in saves (17) while ranking third in ERA (4.97) and home runs allowed (56).
• The Hilltoppers rank third in hits allowed (495), earned runs allowed (276), walks allowed (217), triples allowed (7), and opponent batting average (.255).
• Freshman RHP Dawson Hall ranks fifth in C-USA in ERA (3.58) while LHP Devyn Terbrak ranks eighth (4.03).

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 54 times in program history, with the Owls owning a 36-18 all-time series edge.
• The teams met on Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA Championship with the Hilltoppers earning the walk-off win, 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth.
• WKU has won the last four meetings with Florida Atlantic.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 32-25 on the season after falling to top seed Dallas Baptist on Thursday night in the second round of the Conference USA Championship.
• Offensively, six Hilltoppers are hitting .300 or better with the top half of the lineup in INF Aidan Gilroy (.327), OF Ty Crittenberger (.324), INF Tristin Garcia (.321), and INF Drew Reckart (.315) leading the charge.
• On the mound, WKU has compiled a 4.97 team ERA while striking out 459 batters in 499.2 innings of action.

SCOUTING THE OWLS
• Florida Atlantic is 34-24 on the year after beating Rice in an elimination game on Thursday afternoon at the C-USA Championship.
• At the plate, the Owls have two players hitting .300 or better, led by Conference USA Player of the Year, Nolan Schanuel, who currently owns a league leading, .456 batting average.
• The Florida Atlantic pitching staff has produced a 5.23 team ERA while recording 488 strikeouts in 515.0 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.

Hilltoppers Look to Avoid Elimination Against No. 5 Florida Atlantic in C-USA Championship

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Players Mentioned

Brett Blomquist

Ty Crittenberger

AJ Fiechter

Tristin Garcia

Aidan Gilroy

Dawson Hall

Kirk Liebert

Drew Reckart

Devyn Terbrak