Whalen Fans 10 as WKU Claims Series Win Over Sam Houston with Second Consecutive Shutout

Saturday, March 29

Bowling Green, Ky.

1:00 PM CT

Western Kentucky University

24-3, 3-2

Sam Houston

7-20, 1-4

Sam Houston

WKU

Photo by: Savannah Philpot/WKU Athletics

Whalen Fans 10 as WKU Claims Series Win Over Sam Houston with Second Consecutive Shutout

3/29/2025 5:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball shut out Sam Houston 9-0 for the second consecutive game to claim the series win in game two of the series on Saturday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers (24-3, 3-2 CUSA) move to 4-1 all-time against the Bearkats (7-19, 1-3 CUSA) and 20-0 at home in the 2025 season.

This marks the first time the Hilltoppers have tossed consecutive shutouts since 1999 when WKU defeated New Orleans 5-0 on April 10th and 6-0 on April 11th in Bowling Green.

Drew Whalen had a career day on the bump as fanned 10 Bearkats in 6.2 innings of scoreless baseball while Reid Howard mashed his fifth home run of the year over the left field wall to lead the Tops to the 9-0, series-clinching win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Carlos Vasquez scored on a failed pickoff attempt to first base to put WKU on the board in the first.
• The Hilltoppers cashed in twice in the bottom of the sixth as Kyle Hayes hit an RBI double before Howard singled through the left side to tack on another and make the score 3-0.
• WKU blew the game open in the seventh, scoring six runs in the inning. Ryan Wideman and Ethan Lizama got things started with back-to-back RBI singles. Lizama later scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. Following that, Howard launched a three-run shot down the left field line to extend the advantage to 9-0.

NOTABLES
• WKU moves to 24-3 (3-2 CUSA) on the season.
• 20 of the Tops' 24 wins have come at Nick Denes Field. This is the first time WKU has started 20-0 at home in program history.
• WKU moves to 4-1 all-time against Sam Houston with the win and have now won both series they have played against the Bearkats.
• The 9-0 win marks the second consecutive shutout For the Tops as WKU defeated Sam Houston 6-0 in Friday's series opener. The Hilltoppers had not had back-to-back shutouts since the 1999 season when they beat New Orleans 5-0 and 6-0 in consecutive days.
• Whalen, Zach Lyles and Patrick Morris combined for the shutout win, marking the fifth shutout of the season for the Hilltoppers.
• Whalen tossed a career-high 6.2 innings and collected a career-high 10 strikeouts. He allowed just three hits and four walks without surrendering a run. He improves to a Conference USA-best 6-0 and his ERA drops to 1.93.
• Lyles and Morris made appearances out of the bullpen for WKU. Lyles tallied two strikeouts in 1.1 innings and conceded one hit and one walk while Morris earned a punchout in 1.0 frame in the ninth.
• The WKU offense scored nine runs on 11 hits and three walks with seven RBI.
• Hayes had the only three-hit day in a 3-for-4 effort with two doubles, an RBI and two runs.
• Howard recorded his second four-RBI game of the season in a 2-for-4 performance with a three-run homer, a run scored and a stolen base.
• Wideman was 2-for-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and three stolen bases.
• Lizama went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

QUOTABLE
• "We've been good. I don't like that we get the bases loaded. It was really impressive there with [Drew] Whalen today with him and [Zach] Lyles. Obviously, that was huge in the beginning of this game. [Jack] Bennett had it yesterday in that game and the momentum kind of busts their bubble in that game where they could've got an early start. We got some momentum early and didn't allow that to happen. I thought that was huge for momentum." – Head Coach Marc Rardin on the series win and Hilltopper pitching with the bases loaded.

UP NEXT
• WKU and Sam Houston will conclude 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.