Hilltoppers Continue CUSA Play with Road Trip to Sam Houston

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – WKU Baseball will hit the road to play new Conference USA foe Sam Houston for a three-game series in Huntsville, Texas.

SCHEDULE
• Friday's series opener will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT, game two on Saturday will start at 3 p.m. CT, and Sunday's series finale will have a first pitch of 1 p.m. CT.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Tops secured its second midweek win of the week with a walk-off sacrifice bunt to beat Bellarmine, 9-8.
• Sophomore Camden Ross entered a pinch-hitter with two runners on base and laid down a bunt to advance them into scoring position.
• An errant throw by the Knights defense allowed both runners to round the bases and score to win the game.

WALK-OFF WINNERS
• Two walk-off wins headlined this week for WKU as they beat Louisville 3-2 on Tuesday and beat Bellarmine 9-8 on Wednesday.
• With two outs and a runner on second base, junior Eli Burwash dribbled a ball up the middle for a single to score junior Blake Cavill in the bottom of the 10th against the Cardinals. The walk-off secured the Hilltoppers' first win over Louisville since 2015.
• Against Bellarmine, sophomore Camden Ross entered as a pinch-hitter down 8-7 with two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the ninth. Ross laid down a sacrifice bunt causing an errant throw which scored both runners to win the game.

BENNETT TABBED CUSA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore Jack Bennett was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Week, as announced by league officials Monday afternoon.
• Bennett, a native of Paducah, Ky., was one out short of a complete-game on Friday night in a 4-1 win over the No. 8 ranked Dallas Baptist Patriots in the series opener.
• The right-hander registered, a career-high, 11 strikeouts in the longest outing of his collegiate career while only conceding one run on four hits and three walks.
• Bennett notched the first double-digit strikeout performance since the last time a WKU pitcher won CUSA Pitcher of the Week.
• Left-hander Devyn Terbrak received this honor after he threw a complete-game, no-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the 2023 season.
• So far in 2024, Bennett is among the best in CUSA, ranking in the top 10 in ERA (3.98), opposing batting average (.222), innings pitched (40.2), strikeouts (43), strikeouts looking (14), wins (4), hits allowed (34), runs allowed (19), and earned runs allowed (18).
• So far in 2024, Bennett is among the best in CUSA, ranking in the top 10 in ERA (3.98), opposing batting average (.222), innings pitched (40.2), strikeouts (43), strikeouts looking (14), wins (4), hits allowed (34), runs allowed (19), and earned runs allowed (18).

RARDIN IN CUSA PLAY
• After a 2-10 start to league play in 2023, head coach Marc Rardin and the Tops rattled off five consecutive CUSA series wins, including series sweeps over Florida Atlantic, 2023 CUSA Tournament Champion, Charlotte, and Rice.
• WKU earned fourth place after the conclusion of the regular season, tied for its highest rank heading into the CUSA Tournament.
• Rardin led the Tops to 18 total CUSA wins, including two victories in the CUSA Tournament, the most WKU has had since joining the conference in 2015.
• So far in 2024, the Hilltoppers own a 6-3 mark in league play after a series win over No. 8 Dallas Baptist last weekend, the program's first series win over top 10 ranked opponent since at least 2005.

THE SACRIFICE PLAY
• WKU leads the nation in sacrifice bunts with 50 on the season thus far.
• In two years with Marc Rardin at the helm, WKU ranks second in the country with 106 sacrifice bunts, only trailing Wofford that has tallied 117 since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• Junior Zayd Brannigan sits at second with 10 while senior Jaylin Rae and junior Joy Baran are tied for 14th with seven a piece.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
• WKU is 23-11 (6-3 CUSA) after back-to-back walk-off wins over Louisville and Bellarmine this week.
• The Hilltoppers have three players hitting over .300, led by juniors Blake Cavill (.331) and Ethan Lizama (.328) with junior Brady Browning (.302) not far behind.
• On the mound, WKU holds a 4.26 team ERA with 303 strikeouts in 296.0 innings.

SCOUTING THE BEARKATS
• Sam Houston is 20-13 (3-6 CUSA) after an 8-5 midweek win over Houston on Tuesday.
• The Bearkats are led by Walker Janek at the plate, hitting .402.
• The Sam Houston pitching staff has produced a 4.95 team ERA and has recorded 274 strikeouts in 289.1 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 on Instagram.

Hilltoppers Continue CUSA Play with Road Trip to Sam Houston

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Bennett

Zayd Brannigan

Brady Browning

Eli Burwash

Blake Cavill

Ethan Lizama

Jaylin Rae

Camden Ross

Devyn Terbrak