With the win, the Hilltoppers (37-12 overall, 19-8 CUSA) earned the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA tournament and a bye to day two of gameplay.
WKU 6, DELAWARE 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hilltoppers got off to an early start in the opening frame as Jenna Blanton singled to right field to put a runner on.
Blanton stole second, and a groundout from Lauren Satterly pushed the redshirt senior to third.Â
Annie White walked and then stole second to put two Hilltoppers in scoring position, allowing Kendle White to capitalize and reach on error to push the first run across the plate.
A defensive miscue from the Tops gave the Blue Hens (30-22 overall, 17-10 CUSA) its first and only run in the home half of the first inning.
Three straight WKU batters reached safely in the top of the second to load the bases and Satterly grabbed her first RBI of the day with a single before the first out of the inning was recorded.
After a Delaware pitching change, Annie White sent a sacrifice fly to right field to score two more.
With a healthy 4-1 lead, WKU held on through the sixth and added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Jenna Blanton reached with a bunt single to third and advanced to second on a Blue Hen throwing error.
On the tenth pitch of her at-bat, Annie White sent her 12th home run of the season just over the center field wall to add two more to WKU's total.Â
With a 6-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, Erica Houge only gave up one hit before retiring three straight batters to secure the win.
QUOTABLE
"I think all weekend we hit the ball well and just haven't had timely hitting," said WKU Softball head coach, Amy Tudor. "We left a lot of runners stranded. Today, I thought we did a good job offensively scoring those runs. Obviously, Annie had a big home run in the seventh inning, which was two huge RBI there. Jenna Blanton was a force on the bases, she was 4-for-4, and that's a game changer for us. Erica Houge held it down in the circle."
NOTABLES
- Jenna Blanton was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with four singles and three runs scored.
- Erica Houge earned her 21st win of the season and moves to fifth all-time in single season wins. In her seven innings of work, Houge fanned four and did not give up an earned run.
- Annie White was the top run-getter for WKU with three RBI. White has totaled 50 RBI on the season and becomes just the fourth player in WKU history to post 50 or more RBI in a single season.Â
- Annie White also collected her 103rd base on Saturday, moving to eighth all-time in single season total bases.
- With the win on Saturday, WKU secured the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA tournament. The No. 2 seed comes with a first round bye with game play beginning on Thursday, May 7.
UP NEXT
WKU will play its first game of the Conference USA tournament on Thursday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Hilltoppers' opponent will be determined on Wednesday after the first rounds of the tournament.
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