Displaying the power at the plate, Sanders picked up her second home run of the weekend, while Weber saw the back of the left field fence with her first career home run as a Hilltopper in the ballgame.
WKU 6, BALL STATE 4
Ball State saw the board first after back-to-back RBI singles to score three at the top of the second inning.
In the bottom half, Randi Drinnon advanced to third base after hitting a single and moving on back-to-back groundouts to eventually make her way across home plate on a wild pitch to bring a 3-1 game. A Morgan Sharpe single into left field brought in two from the Red and White, tying the game. Sophie Weber and TJ Webster scored for the Hilltoppers after making it on base from a drawn walk and infield single.
Now the bottom of the third inning, Taylor Sanders swung on the 1-1 pitch and sent the ball over the right-center wall for a solo home run, her second home run of the season.
A quiet fourth inning for both teams, Ball State tied up the game at four runs apiece with a solo shot deep into right-center field in the fifth inning.
Sanders broke the tie in the bottom frame though, sending Sharpe across the plate from a double into right-center field and collecting her second RBI of the day.
The go-ahead run for the Tops came from Weber as she picked up her first home run as a Hilltopper with a swing on a 1-1 pitch right on the left field line to finalize the box score, 6-4.
Freshman Maddy Wood got the start in the circle, allowing three runs off of four hits and only earning a strikeout in 2.0 innings before Rylan Smith came in for relief. Smith garnered the win, giving up three hits and retiring four at the plate.
TOP STORYLINES
- From the morning's win, WKU is continually leading Ball State in the all-time series, now 7-3.
- Sophie Weber went a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, picking up a double into center field, while hitting her eighth career home run down the left field line.
- Of the Tops 10 hits on the morning, Taylor Sanders and Morgan Sharpe each picked up three at the plate, followed by Sophie Weber with a duo, and Randi Drinnon and TJ Webster with singles.
- Maddy Wood led the Tops with a 2.61 ERA over the weekend, dealing out six strikeouts and recording her first win of the season.
- Leading the WKU batters, Morgan Sharpe went 10-for-16 through the five games of the tournament in Chattanooga, hitting .625 and totaling three runs and 11 total bases.
- The WKU pitching staff is collectively working with a 3.52 ERA, with Katie Gardner holding a 2.42 ERA in the circle. Rylan Smith is currently holding batters to a .209 average and leading with 21 retired at the plate so far in the season.
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