The Hilltopper offense managed 14 hits on Saturday and were led by Lane Arroyos and Parker Coley who each tabbed three. Three Hilltoppers in Camden Ross, Coley, and Cael Frost recorded multi- RBI games. On the mound, Gavin Perry tossed 6.0 innings, striking out six, and allowed four runs (two earned) en route to his fifth win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two, three, and four spots in the lineup in Hayden Robbins, Lane Arroyos, and Camden Ross all recorded singles to center field to start the offense for WKU on Saturday.
- Robbins scored on the base hit from Ross to give the Hilltoppers the early 1-0 advantage.
- With one out in the second Daniel Stewart and Dalton Fiveash each notched a single.
- Then on a full count, Austin Haller recorded the sixth WKU hit of the day to score Stewart and give WKU a two-run lead.
- The Owls plated a run in the second to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
- Arroyos led off the third with his 20th double as a Hilltopper. Ross followed and singled through the right side to score Arroyos for the second RBI of the game for the catcher and a 3-1 WKU lead.
- Kyle Hayes followed with a walk and Parker Coley singled through the Kennesaw State defense to plate Ross and extend the lead to three runs.
- A two run Kennesaw State fourth followed by a one run fifth evened the score at 4-4 halfway through the game.
- In the sixth, the Hilltoppers loaded the bases for the third time in the game and with one out a sacrifice fly off the bat of Coley gave WKU a 5-4 lead.
- The Hilltoppers tacked on another run as Cael Frost knocked a pinch hit base hit into center field to plate Arroyos.
- WKU added a run in the seventh on a passed ball to make it a 7-4 game.
- A solo home run for the Owls in the eighth made it 7-5.
- Coley logged his third hit of the game and Frost followed with his second to plate Coley and extend the lead back out to three.
- The Owls made it a two-run game with two out in the ninth.
NOTABLES
- With the win, WKU improves to 23-20 on the year and 8-11 in CUSA play.
- Gavin Perry was Saturday's starter for WKU.
- Perry finished with six strikeouts and no walks, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits in 6.0 innings of work en route to his fifth win.
- Out of the bullpen WKU used Dawson Hall and Zach Lyles.
- Zach Lyles earned his fourth save of the year, finishing with two strikeouts and one hit in 1.0 inning of work.
- Parker Coley managed a career best three hits Saturday. He led the offensive effort finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
- Lane Arroyos also had a 3-for-4 game with two runs and a double.
- Camden Ross knocked in two RBIs on a 2-for-5 game along with a run.
- Cael Frost also drove in two runs and finished with a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate, entering as a pinch runner in the sixth.
- Hayden Robbins and Austin Haller both tabbed a 1-for-4 day. Haller added a run and an RBI while Robbins tallied two runs.
- Kyle Hayes walked three times on Saturday, marking a career high.
- The WKU offense tallied 14 hits in the game, marking the seventh consecutive game the team has done so.
- The Hilltoppers finished with five errors in the game. The last time the team tallied that was on March 17, 2023 at Middle Tennessee.
- The last time WKU committed five errors in a game and won prior to Saturday was a 9-5 win over Old Dominion on March 15, 2015.
- With the win, WKU has won five straight, marking the second five game winning streak of the season.
QUOTABLE
On the gritty win, head coach Marc Rardin said "While we didn't have enough timely hitting, look at Frost coming off the bench and he gets two, two-out RBI hits and we win the game 8-6. We had a couple of stolen bases with two outs that allowed things to happen."
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers will wrap up the three game series with Kennesaw State on Sunday, April 26. First pitch from Nick Denes Field is set for 1 p.m. CT and is set to be streamed on the Varsity Network.
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.
