Hall Dominates as Tops Blank Mastodons 5-0

Sunday, February 25

Bowling Green, Ky.

1:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

6-2

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-6

Purdue Fort Wayne

WKU

Photo by: Savannah Philpot/WKU Athletics

2/25/2024 4:44:00 PM | Baseball

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball (6-2) defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (1-6) 5-0 to clinch the series win (3-1) on Sunday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.

After five and a half innings of scoreless baseball, the Tops offense broke through after a pinch-hit RBI single from Cristian Garcia. That forced the Mastodons to turn to the bullpen, jump-starting the WKU bats. The very next inning, the Hilltoppers loaded the bases with three straight hits and no outs. Joey Baran used a sacrifice fly to score Brady Browning from third and advance the other runners into scoring position. Once again, Blake Cavill delivered, knocking a two RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 4-0. A hit-by-pitch on junior Caleb Marmo tacked on another run bringing the total to 5-0.

"Tough day to be an offensive player," said head coach Marc Rardin. "The wind was blowing in and there were no fly balls going anywhere. Other than that, it had to be line drives. Obviously, it came down to the mound for us. Dawson Hall goes seven innings with 78 pitches and no walks. I think he only gave up three hits. He just forced them to swing. We just played defense and gave ourselves a chance. Your patient in a game and you get that. We got into their bullpen, finally, in the seventh inning. We scored the crooked number on them. We did a fake bunt slash, they were walking some guys, and we got a couple hits. It opened up from there and we had Jack Bennett to bring in."

Sophomore Dawson Hall was dominant on the mound, earning his first winning decision of the season in his second consecutive Sunday start. The Bowling Green native fanned six Mastodons in 7.0 innings of work while only allowing three hits without a walk. In two starts, Hall has surrendered just six hits and one walk without letting a run score in 12.0 frames.

"He's been efficient," continued Rardin. "It's early. We're talking health, handling success, staying within himself, and continuing to limit those big misses outside the zone. His ball just moves so much. Whether it's the two-seam, change-up, or slider. On any given day, he has two of them, if not three. Today, he really had three pitches. Obviously, they've proven they're a pretty offensive group. At least in the first three games. To limit them in this fourth game, it was something to say."

Sophomore Jack Bennett entered after seven innings and picked up where Hall left off. The Paducah, Ky. native conceded just one hit in 2.0 innings with one strikeout, finishing off the shutout for WKU.

Offensively, three Hilltoppers had multi-hit performances, led by Cavill. The Australia native reached base four times in a 2-for-2 outing with two walks and two RBI. Sophomore Camden Ross and junior Zayd Brannigan tallied the only extra base hits, both roping doubles to the left side of the outfield.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers will hit the road for a midweek contest with in-state foe Kentucky on Tuesday, Feb. 27 in Lexington, Ky. beginning at 3 p.m. CT.

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.