Hilltoppers Ready for Road Test at Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball heads to Lexington, Ky. for a midweek contest with in-state, SEC foe Kentucky on Tuesday, February 27 at 3 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
• WKU hosted a four-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend.
• The Hilltoppers dropped the first game of the series 13-14, but bounced back by winning the next three 10-1, 9-5, and 5-0 to claim the series victory.
• After conceding 21 hits and 14 runs on Friday, WKU allowed just six runs in the final three games of the series. Saturday saw Jacob Bimbi record nine strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work on his way to his second winning decision in as many starts.
• In the second game of the doubleheader, a grand slam by Joey Baran broke the tie in the sixth inning and Drew Whalen was strong through 4.2 innings of relief work to earn his first win of his collegiate career and take the series lead.
• Sunday was dominated by the pitching of Dawson Hall. The sophomore was untouchable in 7.0 innings, only allowing three hits and zero runs with no walks in a shutout victory to win the series.

CUSA HITTER OF THE WEEK
• Cavill hit .668 (11-for-16) for the week with a grand slam, two-run home run, four doubles and 11 RBI on his way to earning Conference USA Hitter of the Week. The Hilltopper infielder led WKU in 10 offensive categories including batting average (.688), hits (11), home runs (2), doubles (4), RBI (11), runs (10), total bases (21), walks (8), slugging percentage (.647), and on-base percentage (.792).
• Cavill's offensive performance lifted the Hilltoppers to a 4-1 record last week that included an 8-5 win over Lipscomb on Tuesday and a series win (3-1) over Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend. In five games, Cavill recorded multi-hit performances in four contests including three-hit efforts on Tuesday and Friday and a couple of two-hit outings on Saturday and Sunday.
• In a 13-14 loss to the Mastodons on Friday, the first baseman accounted for nearly half of the offense for WKU with three hits, including a grand slam to tie the game in the sixth and a two RBI double to tie the game in the seventh, giving him a season high, six RBI on the day in just two at-bats. He also homered in his first at-bat on Saturday. A two-run shot to left field that gave the Tops the lead in the first inning.
• Through eight games, Cavill leads CUSA in batting average (.560), OPS (1.726), doubles (6) and walks (9).

SERIES HISTORY
• WKU and Kentucky have met 69 times in program history with the Wildcats owning a 40-29 all-time series edge.
• Kentucky took the win in Bowling Green last season in comeback fashion, scoring 10 runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings to seal the 10-8 victory.
• The Wildcats have won nine of the last 10 meetings, with WKU's lone win coming in 2022 in Lexington, 7-5.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 6-2 after a series win over Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend.
• The Hilltoppers have five players hitting over .300 and one hitting over .500, led by junior Blake Cavill (.560) with sophomore Dylan O'Connell (.375) and junior Joey Baran (.360) not far behind.
• On the mound, WKU holds a 3.97 team ERA with 76 strikeouts in 68.0 innings.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Kentucky is 6-1 after winning two of three at the Karbach Round Rock Classic last weekend.
• The Wildcats have three players hitting over .300, with Mitchell Daly (.375) leading the way.
• The Kentucky pitching staff has produced a 3.86 team ERA and has recorded 54 strikeouts in 63.0 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.

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Players Mentioned

Joey Baran

Jacob Bimbi

Blake Cavill

Dawson Hall

Dylan O'Connell

Drew Whalen