"She [Katie Gardner] had great command of all her pitches today. Being able to throw off-speed was key for her," said head coach Amy Tudor. "We'll watch the rest of these games, figure out who we are going to play tomorrow, do our scout, and come out ready to play."
WKU played the long ball as Sophie Weber went yard for her third home run in the tournament and Taylor Sanders picked up a three-run home run in the first inning that broke her previously set single-season RBI record.
WKU 7, NM STATE 2
WKU got a head start against the host with a three-run home run off the bat of Taylor Sanders in the first inning. From the 1-1 pitch, she sent TJ Webster who singled, and Cheyanne Sales who drew a walk, across the plate for three RBIs and a new single-season 56 RBI record.
Later in the frame, Sophie Weber cleared the bases from a double against the right-center field wall and dialed up a 6-0 ballgame after one inning.
Weber hit her third home run of the tournament with a solo shot into left field for extra insurance in the bottom of the fifth to cap off runs for WKU.
The Aggies' pair of runs were scored from RBI groundouts in the fourth and seventh innings as starter Katie Gardner limited NM State to only five hits.
Gardner picked up her 16th win on the afternoon, a season-high for the fifth-year senior from Bowling Green. She struck out five at the plate and allowed no walks in her 14th complete game of the season.
TOP STORYLINES
- The Hilltoppers continue to lead the all-time series against NM State, 18-9.
- The Tops are now 16-9 in CUSA Tournament games, now heading back to their third title game in four years.
- Taylor Sanders and Sophie Weber picked up the Tops' 39th and 40th home runs of the season.
- Sanders' three-run home run broke her previously set single-season RBI record with 56 RBIs this year.
- TJ Webster and Weber combined for multi-hit outings at the plate, hitting five of Tops' 10 hits on the board.
- Webster continues to lead Conference USA with a .416 batting average and second with 64 hits.
- The Red and White is tied with NM State leading Conference USA in batting average (.302), while they lead the league in fielding percentage (.971) on the season.
- Katie Gardner is operating with a 2.64 ERA to lead the WKU pitching staff, producing 132 strikeouts at the plate. Rylan Smith is next in line with a 3.67 ERA with 105 strikeouts.
- WKU is set for the CUSA Tournament Championship game tomorrow in Las Cruces. The game is available on CBS Sports Network.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on X at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball, and Facebook/WKUSoftball.
