Tops Blank Sam Houston in Series Opener

Friday, March 28

Bowling Green, Ky.

4:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

23-3, 2-2

Sam Houston

7-19, 1-3

Sam Houston

WKU

Photo by: Savannah Philpot/WKU Athletics

3/28/2025 7:49:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball shut out Sam Houston 6-0 in game one of the series on Friday evening at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers (23-3, 2-2 CUSA) move to 3-1 all-time against the Bearkats (7-19, 1-3 CUSA) and 19-0 at home in the 2025 season.

Thomas Marsala launched a towering, two-run homer over the right field wall that measured 428 feet and 114 miles per hour off the bat to break the game open in the sixth and Jack Bennett and Lucas Hartman collected 13 strikeouts to help guide WKU to the shutout win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• WKU was the first to score with an RBI groundout from Marsala in the fourth. Ryan Wideman stole second and third to put himself in scoring position to give the Tops a 1-0 lead.
• An RBI triple from Joe Siervo tacked on another for the Hilltoppers in the fifth inning.
• Four runs scored for the Tops in the sixth. Wideman's CUSA-leading fifth triple of the season drove in one before Marsala followed that up with a two-run big fly. Austin Haller brought in the sixth run of the game with an RBI groundout.

NOTABLES
• WKU moves to 23-3 (2-2 CUSA) on the season.
• 19 of the Tops' 23 wins have come at Nick Denes Field. This is the first time WKU has started 19-0 at home in program history.
• WKU moves to 3-1 all-time against Sam Houston with the win.
• Bennett and Hartman combined for the shutout win, marking the fourth shutout of the season for the Hilltoppers.
• Bennett was special in 5.2 frames as he struck out six while allowing just three hits and three walks. He improves to 5-0 on the year in six starts.
• Hartman had a career outing out of the bullpen as he tallied a career-high seven strikeouts. The right-hander surrendered just one hit and no walks in 3.1 innings of work on his way to his first save of the season.
• The WKU offense scored six runs on seven hits and two walks with six RBI.
• Siervo had the only multi-hit performance in a 2-for-3 day with a triple, an RBI and a stolen base.
• Marsala led the team with three RBI in a 1-for-3 outing with a home run and a run scored.
• Wideman scored twice with a triple, an RBI and two stolen bases while Haller had an RBI, a run scored, a walk and a stolen base.

QUOTABLE
• "I thought it was good. Jack [Bennett] probably wouldn't necessarily agree now and then with the walks, especially the two-out walks. We kept getting out of it, which is awesome. It was a tough day to hit. Lucas [Hartman] comes in and we were expecting him to finish the sixth and then get him through the seventh, but as we had the big inning in the sixth that started to change everything. That's what me and Nap do. Then we start discussing and strategizing. What are we going to do win this game and then how is that going to help us to help us win another game and win the series." – Head Coach Marc Rardin on the series opener win.

UP NEXT
• WKU and Sam Houston will continue the series tomorrow afternoon at Nick Denes Field. First pitch is set for 1 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 X and @WKUBaseball on Instagram.