As the No. 5 seed in the tournament, a win on Wednesday will put the Tops into double-elimination and set for No. 4 FAU at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Another win will take them to the match up with No. 1 Charlotte on Thursday, while a loss will place the Tops in the 5 p.m. games in the consolation bracket.
Charlotte earned the top seed in the eight-team postseason event after winning the league's regular season title. UAB is the No. 2 seed, North Texas placed third, while Florida Atlantic rounded out the top four seeds. Middle Tennessee, host Louisiana Tech, and FIU also made the field.
The Hilltoppers enter the weekend with an overall record of 29-22, which included a 12-8 mark in C-USA action. During the regular season, the Tops did not cross paths with UAB. WKU claimed series wins over UTEP (2-1), Florida Atlantic (2-1), Louisiana Tech (2-1), and a sweep over preseason favorite North Texas (3-0), while falling to Charlotte, 1-2, and split with UTSA (1-1) in a two-game series.
In the six Conference USA Tournaments that WKU Softball has competed in, the Hilltoppers have won two – 2021's event and the program's first event during the 2015 campaign. Overall, the Red and White own a 13-7 record in C-USA Tournament games. They competed in the 2022 Championship game with host North Texas, eventually falling 9-0.
In 2021, WKU became the first C-USA Tournament host to make the event field since Florida Atlantic in 2014. WKU became the first host to win the tournament since East Carolina in 2011.
In WKU's 15-7 non-conference win over Miami (OH) back in March, Faith Hegh broke the single-game program record with drawing in for seven RBIs across the plate. Also back in the series finale against FIU down in Miami, the fifth-year senior hit her last double -- now tied with the single-season record of 19 doubles and leads the NCAA.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 10 - Noon Game 1: (6) MTSU vs. (7) LA Tech (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 10 - 2:30 pm Game 2: (5) WKU vs. (8) FIU (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 10 - 5 pm Game 3: (3) North Texas vs. Game 1 Winner (ESPN+)
Wednesday, May 10 - 7:30 pm Game 4: (4) Florida Atlantic vs. Game 2 Winner (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 11 – Noon Game 5: (2) UAB vs. Winner Game 3 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 11 – 2:30 pm Game 6: (1) Charlotte vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 11 – 5 pm Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (ESPN+)
Thursday, May 11 – 7:30 pm Game 8: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – Noon Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – 2:30 pm Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN+)
Friday, May 12 – 5 pm Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 13 – Noon Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 (CBS Sports Network)
TOP STORYLINES
- The 2023 Conference USA Tournament marks the seventh league postseason event WKU has qualified for since joining C-USA prior to the 2014-15 season. WKU is 13-7 in previous C-USA Tournaments.
- Coach Tudor is now 518-399-2 in her career. Since coming to the Hill ahead of the 2014 campaign, Tudor boasts an overall record of 301-193-1.
- WKU has never played a game down in Ruston, the last three-game series set at LA Tech back in 2019, the Lady Techsters field was destroyed by a tornado and the contests were played at Louisiana-Monroe.
- After taking the series to end April, FIU and WKU are 38-36 all-time in the Tops favor. WKU has won the last eight of 10 meetings.
- On the stat sheet, Faith Hegh is leading the Tops with a .384 batting average, while also owning 61 hits. Taylor Sanders leads with 39 RBIs and nine home runs and while Taylor Davis has 60 hits and stolen 19 bases. Katie Gardner hails the WKU bullpen with a 3.88 ERA.
- The Hilltoppers collectively hold 386 hits, 210 RBIs, a .286 batting average with 23 home runs.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
