BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball defeated Liberty 6-4 in the series opener on Friday night at Nick Denes Field. The Hilltoppers improve to 27-12 (9-4 CUSA) while the Flames drop to 17-20 (9-4 CUSA).
With the victory, WKU matches Liberty for the best record in CUSA at 9-4 and take the front spot in the league standings.
"[Jack] Bennett stepped up and he did a tremendous job," said head coach Marc Rardin. "In the first inning he hits a guy and then ends up giving up a two-run home run, which isn't ideal. He gave up a solo later on and that was not as big of a deal. None of that is ever ideal, but walking or hitting someone and then giving up the home run is what will catch up to you. He's just been experience, even as a sophomore. Getting the amount of innings he got last year and what he's doing right now. The confidence, the ability to adjust, the ability to use his defense and force them to put the ball in play. There were a lot of fly balls and pop-ups, so it was great to get those seven innings out of him."
On the mound, sophomore Jack Bennett earned his third consecutive Friday night win as he struck out six batters in 7.0 innings while allowing four runs on five hits and no walks.
Five of the Hilltoppers six runs came from home runs off the bats of sophomore Camden Ross and junior Zayd Brannigan. Ross finished the night 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Brannigan was 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. In his first game back from injury in almost three weeks, sophomore Dylan O'Connell had the only multi-hit outing in a 2-for-4 night with a double and a run scored. Junior Ethan Lizama had the only other RBI, going 1-for-4.
The Flames got on the board with a two-out, two-run home run in the first before Ross answered the call with a two-run shot of his own to tie the game at 2-2.
Three innings later, Brannigan launched a ball 408 feet to left field with two runners on base to give the Tops their first lead in the bottom of the fourth, 5-2.
After five straight scoreless frames, the Liberty offense finally got to Bennett with a solo shot and a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one.
With two outs in the seventh, O'Connell singled and stole second before Lizama singled through the right side, scoring him and give the Tops an insurance run.
Sophomore Lucas Litteral entered to start the eighth and continued where he left off on Tuesday. The southpaw earned his second consecutive save and sat down all six batters he faced in 2.0 frames while striking out two in the process.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers and Flames will continue their series tomorrow afternoon at Nick Denes Field. First pitch is set for 4 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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