From the circle, three pitchers combined for six strikeouts and eight earned runs. Maddy Wood pitched the last 1.2 innings and earned her second win of the season from the afternoon.
WKU 11, FIU 10
The Panthers got an early start on the board, picking up their first lead of the ballgame with a sacrifice-fly into right field in the opening frame.
In the bottom half, the Tops fought back to tie the game off of an FIU throwing error, advancing TJ Webster across the plate.
Morgan Sharpe collected her first RBI of the contest from a single into right field in the third inning. Then off the 1-0 pitch, Cheyanne Sales went yard down the middle into center field for her second home run of the season to bring a 4-1 ballgame at the Complex.
FIU cut down the margin and tied the game, 4-4, with a pair of RBI doubles in the next frame. The Tops regained the lead with Annie White crossing home plate off of a wild pitch in the bottom half of the fourth.
The visitors tied the game for the second time with a solo home run past the right-center field fence in the top of five.
In the bottom, Taylor Sanders and Sales bounced back for two more Hilltopper runs off of an RBI double and single into the outfield for a 7-5 lead.
FIU jumped on a big sixth inning, they plated five and got a three-run lead to the home team.
With the Tops at the plate, the Red and White loaded the bases from a Sophie Weber double, hit by pitch on Brylee Hage, and single from Webster. FIU then chose to intentionally walk slugger Taylor Sanders, plating a run. Next at-bat, Sharpe singled through the right side, followed up by a sacrifice-fly from Sales to tie the contest at 10 runs apiece.
With Maddy Wood in the circle, she retired three straight batters in the top of the seventh to avoid any damage and bring the Tops ready to bat.
Two outs in the bottom frame, Annie White drilled the 1-0 pitch straight back over the left field wall towards the parking structure for the walk-off run and solidifying the Tops' third straight win.
Fifth-year Katie Gardner picked up the start and pitched through 3.2 innings, giving up four runs off of six hits, while producing two strikeouts before freshman Rylan Smith came in for relief. Smith pitched the middle section of the game, working through 1.2 innings. Maddy Wood closed the ballgame and earned the win, as she gave up one run off of one hit and retired two at the plate.
TOP STORYLINES
- WKU leads the all-time series, 42-36, against FIU.
- Cheyanne Sales and Annie White hit a pair of home runs during the ballgame. Sales picked up her second of the season, while White's walk-off shot to left field was her first collegiate home run.
- Sales picked up four RBIs during the afternoon for a new career high.
- TJ Webster was 3-for-3 at the plate, while Sales, White, Morgan Sharpe, and Sophie Weber all had multi-hit days in the batter's box.
- The Tops picked up their first CUSA series sweep of the season, all in walk-off fashion for the first time in program history. WKU now has five walk-off victories of the season.
- As a whole, WKU is leading Conference USA with a .328 batting average.
- Morgan Sharpe continues to lead the Tops with a .466 batting average and 41 hits.
- Katie Gardner is operating with a 1.67 ERA to lead the WKU pitching staff, producing 58 strikeouts at the plate. Rylan Smith is next in line with a 2.46 ERA and 60 strikeouts.
- WKU is back in Bowling Green to host Morehead State on Wednesday, March 20 at 5:30 p.m.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on X at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball, and Facebook/WKUSoftball.
