HUNTSVILLE, Texas – WKU Baseball defeated Sam Houston 7-5 in the series opener on Friday night at Don Sanders Stadium. The Hilltoppers improve to 24-11 (7-3 CUSA) while the Bearkats drop to 20-14 (3-7 CUSA).
"This feels good, but unfortunately, we kind of feel lucky," said head coach Marc Rardin. "It was just a game of momentum. The first four innings were ours, the fifth inning was nobody's, and they had the sixth through the eighth inning. That's really how it happened. It shows you how good Jack Bennett was in those first four or five innings … We just got lucky at the end. Lizama made a great play in right field."
Sophomore Jack Bennett earned the win on the mound with his second consecutive quality start. The right-hander struck out six batters in 6.0 innings of work while allowing one run on five hits and two walks.
Not a single Hilltopper recorded a multi-hit outing in the win with seven hitters tallying one hit a piece. Junior Joey Baran had three RBI with a home run and one run scored while senior Jaylin Rae and juniors Cristian Garcia, Blake Cavill, and Austin Haller all had an RBI each.
Four runs got the Tops going in the second inning that started with a sacrifice fly from Haller that was followed by a three-run home run from Baran.
WKU added to their lead in the third with a two-out RBI double from Cavill to make the score 5-0.
The Tops continued to rally with two outs in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Garcia and an RBI double from Rae to tack on two more and put the score at 7-0.
Sam Houston finally got to Bennett in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI groundout.
The Bearkats added on four in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run shot, an RBI single, and an RBI double.
Senior Mason Burns claimed his ninth save of the season, registering the final four outs of the contest to seal the 7-5 win.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers and Bearkats will continue their series tomorrow afternoon at Don Sanders Field. First pitch is set for 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 on Instagram.
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