WKU Hosts Jax State For Rematch in CUSA Tournament

BOWLING GREEN Ky. -- After securing the second seed in the Conference USA tournament, the Hilltoppers will take on Jax State for the third time this week.

GAME INFO
Thursday, May 8

vs. Jax State (10 a.m. CT) Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

SERIES INFO

Jax State
- WKU tied the all-time series, 5-5, against the Gamecocks after winning the two games played earlier this week.
- Game Three against Jax State was cancelled due to rain.
- Only three-hundredths of a point separated the two teams' winning percentages. WKU was awarded the #2 seed with a .580 winning percentage to Jax State's .577.

ABOUT THE TOPS

The Hilltoppers had two players named to CUSA All-Conference teams on Tuesday. Maci Masters earned All-CUSA Second Team while Erica Houge was named to the All-Freshman squad.
Masters is second on the team in hits with 46 but leads in slugging percentage (.674) and is the only Hilltopper with an OPS over 1.000 (1.109). Her slugging and OPS are both ranked seventh in the conference while her RBI total is tied for fifth.
Two other Hilltoppers are hitting over .300 with Annie White posting a .375 and Kendle White hitting .348. Sharpe is currently on a nine-game hitting streak while White is at three games. Sharpe also leads the Hilltoppers in multi-hit games with 13.
Houge leads the bullpen with a 3.10 ERA and finished the regular season with a 10-9 record across 36 appearances and 14 total starts. Her season was highlighted by a two-hit shutout against Louisville on April 22. In that game, Houge only needed 79 pitches, the second-fewest needed in a game this season.
The most impressive performance for the Tops, however, has been the total team performance since April 17.
As a team, WKU is hitting .271 with Morgan Sharpe leading the way with a .517 batting average, accumulating 15 hits in 29 at-bats and three RBI.
While WKU's offense has scored a total of 42 runs, where the squad has really shined is in the circle. As a pitching staff, WKU has a 1.44 ERA with only 16 runs scored in the nine-game span.
Erica Houge has been the best for WKU, with a measly 1.05 ERA. She's recorded five wins in eight appearances, giving up only 18 hits in 33.1 innings of work.
Offensively, WKU is sitting seventh in the conference in batting average (.269) and is third in ERA (3.18).
With the second seed in the CUSA tournament, the Tops get an extra day off, not playing until 12 p.m. CT on Thursday.

ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS

In the 0-2 series loss against the Hilltoppers, Jax State hit a total of four home runs for four runs.
Jax State hit .167 on the weekend and only scored a total of five runs across both games.
Emma Elrod leads the Gamecocks in batting average with a .389. Against WKU, she hit .333, going 2-for-6 at the plate with a leadoff home run and double in Game One.
On the season, Elrod has posted a .711 slugging percentage, a .442 on-base percentage, and a team-leading 14 home runs.
Jax State's most notable win was a 3-0 shutout of then-No.17 Mississippi State on Feb. 23.
Offensively, the Gamecocks are hitting .310 on the season while their pitching staff is limiting opponents to a .294 opposing batting average.
Leading said pitching staff is Kat Carter who is ranked fifth in ERA in the conference with a 2.56 ERA. Against WKU, she registered a 3.82 ERA.

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Players Mentioned

Erica Houge

Maci Masters

Morgan Sharpe

Annie White

Kendle White