Lauren Satterly led the Hilltoppers (35-10 overall, 17-6 CUSA) with three RBI while Rylan Smith held things down in the circle, striking out seven Owls (7-39 overall, 3-20 CUSA)
WKU 13, KSU 2
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides were held scoreless through the first two innings before the Owls scored their only two runs of the day in the top of the third.
WKU quickly answered back in the home half of the frame thanks to a little league home run from Satterly to score three and take the lead, 3-2.
Two more strikeouts in the top of the fourth brought Smith's total to five before giving way to the second biggest single inning of the 2026 season.Â
WKU opened the bottom of the fourth with two walks and a sacrifice bunt from Anna Mauck to put runners in scoring position.Â
After Kendle White reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases, both Jenna Blanton and Annie White drew walks for the first two runs of the half inning.
Morgan Sharpe then smoked a single up the middle and a fielding error by the Owls' centerfielder allowed both Blanton and Kendle White to score.Â
The fifth walk of the fourth inning put Satterly back on base to load the bases as Annie White scored on a wild pitch for a 5-0 lead.
Maci Masters followed with a walk to load the bases for the third straight time.
Katie Murphy reached on a fielder's choice to third as KSU's third baseman attempted to throw out Sharpe but missed wide right and allowed both Sharpe and Satterly to score.Â
With runners on first and third, Kennedy Stinson turned on the first pitch of her at-bat and sent the ball to right center for two more runs to push WKU's lead to 12-2.
Stinson advanced to third after Mauck grounded out to third as Kendle White reached on a walk right after.
A successful first-and-third allowed Kendle White to steal second and Stinson to score for the 13th and final run of the day.
Maddy Wood made her return to the circle and secured a double play thanks to a groundout to shortstop and a runner's obstruction.Â
Wood secured the third and final out of the day with her 100th career strikeout.Â
QUOTABLE
"I thought today our base running was probably our most positive aspect offensively," said WKU Softball head coach, Amy Tudor. "Obviously people stepped up to hit like Morgan and Lauren who had two RBI, I think. Those are big at-bats from our two lefties who hit back-to-back. Rylan was great in the circle and did a really good job for us. I thought we played sound defense, a few bad hops here and there but overall, it was a great day. We appreciate all of the alumni coming back; it was great to see everyone and all our fans who are normally here as well."
NOTABLES
- The Hilltoppers move to 35-10 overall and 17-6 in Conference USA play.
- Maddy Wood earned her 100th career strikeout on Saturday.
- With the win on Saturday, WKU Softball has won all five home conference series.
- Lauren Satterly led in RBI with three.
- Six of WKU's starting nine went 1-for-2 on the day.
- Rylan Smith earned her 10th win of the season in four innings of work. Smith faced a total of 18 batters and fanned seven.
- Six of WKU's starting nine are hitting over .300 on the season (K. White, Blanton, A. White, Sharpe, Satterly, and Masters).
- With the six hits, WKU Softball now has 400 hits on the season. The all-time program record is 455.
- The 13 runs on Saturday pushes the Hilltoppers to 284 runs. The all-time program record is 290.
UP NEXT
WKU Softball will have its last home game of the 2026 season and host Senior Day on Sunday. WKU Softball senior pitcher Maddy Wood and senior manager Hannah Kirby will be honored pregame. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.
