Hilltoppers Host UT Martin for Final Nonconference Series

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball will play its final nonconference series of the season as UT Martin comes to The Hill for a three-game series. First pitch of the doubleheader on Friday, March 14 is set for 2 p.m. CT.

SERIES INFO
• UT Martin (6-9) at WKU (16-1)
• Nick Denes Field | Bowling Green, Ky.
• Friday, March 14 | 2 p.m. CT (DH)
• Sunday, March 16 | 1 p.m. CT
• Listen: The Varsity Network (PxP: Randy Lee (Friday), Jeff Younglove (Sunday) | Analyst: CJ Lawrence (Friday), Richard Miller (Sunday)
• Social: @WKU_Baseball | @WKUSports
• Live Stats: Sidearm | StatBroadcast
• Game Notes: WKU | CUSA

AT THE GAME
• Click HERE to purchase tickets.
• Click HERE for the full WKU Baseball Digital Guide.
• Friday is Bingo and Beer Friday. Come and play baseball bingo for the chance to win a prize from Alumni Hall and enjoy select beer for only $3.
• Friday is also our St. Patrick's celebration and Pi Day. Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day at The Nick with $3.14 tickets – online only.
• Sunday is Kids Day Sunday. Kids can enjoy postgame base running and autographs with the team. Kids can also enjoy the $5 Kids Meal Deal which includes a hot dog, popcorn and a drink.
• Click HERE to access the full 2025 WKU Baseball promotional schedule.

ABOUT THE TOPS
• The Hilltoppers enter the series with a 16-1 record after a 21-2 midweek win over Southern Illinois. The 2025 Hilltoppers own the best start in program history winning 16 of their first 17 games.
• 15 of WKU's 16 wins have come at Nick Denes Field. This is the first time the Hilltoppers have started 15-0 at home in program history.
• The Hilltoppers are currently on an 11-game winning streak. That ties the 2001 Hilltoppers for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history.
• WKU's pitching staff has been dominant thus far as their 2.24 ERA is the third-best in the nation only trailing Tennessee and Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are one of nine teams in the nation with a sub-3.00 ERA.
• Weekend rotation pitcher, Jack Bennett, has been special for WKU through three starts. He's recorded 16 strikeouts in 18.0 innings and has not allowed an earned run to score.
• On the offensive end, the Tops' .327 batting average and 42 doubles are good for the best in CUSA while the squad's 20 home runs rank fourth among league teams.
• Hilltopper outfielder Ryan Wideman's .457 batting average, 32 hits, 24 RBI and 12 stolen bases lead CUSA. The Marietta, Ga. native is top five in CUSA in batting average (.457), slugging percentage (.800), OPS (1.306), runs scored (21), hits (32), RBI (24), triples (3) and stolen bases (12). The junior recorded the first cycle in program history last Tuesday against SIU in a 4-for-6 outing with nine RBI, a grand slam, a triple, a double, two runs scored and one stolen base.
• Three Hilltoppers are currently hitting over .400 in Wideman (.457), Camden Ross (.405) and Carlos Vasquez (.403). Vasquez leads CUSA in doubles with eight while his 27 hits rank second in the league behind Wideman.

QUOTABLE
• "We're playing good baseball. We got a good group of guys together. Some pitching. Some hitting. Some defense. We have some depth in our lineup. We have some depth on the mound. We're still getting some guys healthy. We played a really good Southern Illinois team, and they come in here 11-3 and they are a good team. It was a Tuesday night, so not everybody is throwing necessarily what probably would be their best pitching, maybe. It was still the best lineups, and we did what we did, and we took care of business." – WKU Baseball Head Coach Marc Rardin, on achieving the best start in program history.

SERIES INFORMATION
• This weekend will be the seventh, eighth and ninth meetings between WKU and UT Martin.
• The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series 6-0 dating back to the first meeting in 1993.
• This weekend's matchup marks the first time the teams will face off since the 2004 season.

SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
• UT Martin fell to Auburn in a midweek matchup last Tuesday.
• As a team, the Skyhawks own a .269 batting average while scoring 6.7 runs per game.
• On the mound, UT Martin has a 7.41 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 122.2 innings.

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 X and @WKUBaseball on Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Jack Bennett

Camden Ross

Carlos Vasquez

Ryan Wideman