Tops end regular season with series win over New Mexico State
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Baseball defeated New Mexico State, 6-2, Saturday afternoon at Nick Denes Field to clinch the series win. The Hilltoppers improve to 34-20 (15-9 CUSA) while the Aggies drop to 25-27 (10-14 CUSA).
After being shutout through the first five frames, the Tops got on the board in the sixth with a three-run home run from junior Blake Cavill to put them in front. From then, WKU tacked on a few insurance runs on its way to a 6-2, series-clinching win. Cavill’s long ball gives him, a team-high, seven on the season.
“Last year we lost eight in a row and this year it felt even worse when we lost five of six,” said head coach Marc Rardin. “Just because it’s a year later and because of expectations and what we see in ourselves. To get these two wins here, it was big for momentum. To get on that bus on Monday morning and head to the tournament.”
Up 3-2 in the seventh inning, the Tops took advantage of an Aggie error. A failed pickoff to second base that allowed sophomore Dylan O’Connell to score from third. The next inning junior Kyle Hayes put the exclamation point on the victory with a two-run, pinch-hit home run, his second of the season.
On the mound, senior Lane Diuguid got the start in his final game at Nick Denes Field, and he didn’t disappoint. Diuguid allowed just one unearned run on three hits in 3.0 innings of work while striking out three.
The outstanding pitching continued out of the bullpen as freshman Drew Whalen and graduate student Coby Moe combined for 3.0 shutout frames, conceding just one hit, and fanning three batters.
Junior Cal Higgins came out of the bullpen to start the seventh inning and worked himself into some trouble, loading the bases with no outs, but a double play and a groundout helped exit the inning with just one run scored. Higgins returned to the bump in the eighth inning and retired the side in order.
The final frame was owned by the Tops’ closer, senior Mason Burns. Burns needed just six pitches to retire the side and clinch the series win for the Tops in the final game of the regular season on senior day.
UP NEXT
WKU will begin postseason play with a first-round matchup with No. 6 FIU in the Conference USA Championships. The Hilltoppers and Panthers will kick off tournament play from Ruston, La. on Wednesday, May 22 beginning at 9 a.m. CT at Pat Patterson Park.
