Farris Homers as Hilltoppers Even Series with Panthers

Saturday, May 6

Miami, FL

4:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

FIU

5/6/2023 7:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MIAMI, Fla. – WKU Baseball defeated FIU, 7-2, to even the series on Saturday evening at the FIU Baseball Stadium.

With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 26-21 (11-12 in C-USA) while the Panthers drop to 18-28 (5-18 in C-USA).

"The number one thing is that you do not want to get swept, but you want to be in position to win the series," said head coach Marc Rardin. "It is just living in this moment, living in this day, and just taking care of it. It was such a team effort today. Whether it was [Devyn] Terbrak, [Lukas] Farris, or [Ricardo] Leonett behind the plate. [Tristin] Garcia made a ton of plays at second base all day long. Of course [Mason] Burns comes in and goes three up, three down for three innings. He faced nine and got them all and that has made us tough. I like where we are sitting for tomorrow."

On the mound, LHP Devyn Terbrak got the starting nod for game two. The senior left-hander tossed 6.0 innings of work with two strikeouts while only giving up two runs (one earned) on 10 hits and a walk. RHP Mason Burns relieved Terbrak at the start of the seventh and was perfect in the final 3.0 frames. The junior fanned three batters without allowing a hit or a walk, earning his third save of the season.

The Hilltopper offense bounced back tremendously in game two, notching 13 hits on the day. Three Hilltoppers had multi-hit performances with Lukas Farris leading the way. The freshman was 3-for-4 with a two-run long ball, three RBI, two runs, and a walk while Tristin Garcia went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Junior third baseman Aidan Gilroy had a 2-for-4 outing with an RBI, two runs, and a walk in contribution to the game two victory.

SCORING SUMMARY

An RBI double from Tristin Garcia and an RBI single from Lukas Farris gave the Tops a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Panthers got on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI single.

A two-run home run from Lukas Farris extended the Hilltopper lead to 4-1 in the top of the third.

Another RBI single from FIU cut the WKU lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

A fielding error from the Panthers allowed another run to cross for the Tops to make the score 5-2 in the top of the fifth.

Two more scratched for the Hilltoppers in the top of the eighth by way of two RBI singles from Aidan Gilroy and Tristin Garcia to make the final score 7-2.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will conclude their series with FIU beginning at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday, May 7 at the FIU Baseball Stadium in Miami, Fla.

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.