WKU Earns 20th Win At Home With 5-1 Victory Over Lipscomb

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Softball earned its 20th win at home on Tuesday with a 5-1 victory over Lipscomb.

The Hilltoppers (28-8 overall, 11-4 CUSA) earned five runs on eight hits while Erica Houge and Rylan Smith combined for seven strikeouts and did not allow a Bison (9-29 overall) earned run.

WKU 5, LIPSCOMB 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

Houge earned her 18th start on Tuesday night and opened the game allowing only a single in the top of the first.

The Hilltoppers began the home half of the frame with back-to-back walks from Kendle White and Jenna Blanton.

While Annie White reached on a fielder’s choice and Kendle White was thrown out at third, a third walk from Lauren Satterly loaded the bases.

Katie Murphy capitalized on the bases loaded with a single up the middle to bring in Blanton and a defensive miscue by the Bisons’ center fielder allowed Annie White to score for the second run of the inning.

Houge repeated her performance from the first inning and allowed only a single in four total batters and recorded her second strikeout of the night in the second.

WKU is only five home runs from setting a new single-season program record, and Maci Masters cut the deficit to four with a solo shot to right center in the bottom half of the inning.

Blanton continued in the second with a fielder’s choice followed by another single from Annie White to put runners on first and third. Satterly doubled to left field to extend her hitting streak to three games and scored Blanton to widen WKU’s lead to 4-0.

Neither side scored in the third and fourth innings, but Lipscomb grabbed its lone run of the game with a passed ball in the top of the fifth.

The Hilltoppers added their fifth and final run of the night thanks to a sacrifice fly to left field from Kendle White.

Smith earned her fourth save of the season on Tuesday, throwing 2.0 innings with four strikeouts and only two hits.

QUOTABLE

“Good midweek win. Shoutout to all the fans, it was fun to see all the kids up there, big kids too, all the adults,” said WKU Softball head coach, Amy Tudor. “I thought we hit well, played good defense, and scored enough runs to win. It’s something to build on before we head east.”

NOTABLES

• The Hilltoppers improve to 28-8 overall.
• With Maci Masters’ home run, the Hilltoppers are now four home runs away from setting a new single-season program record in home runs. The previous record is 50 set by the 2013 and 2017 squads. The 2026 team’s 47 home runs places them tied for fifth all-time.
• The win against Lipscomb marks the 20th win at home this season. The 20-1 record is WKU’s best start at home since 2022 when the team went 23-2.
• Both Kennedy Stinson and Maci Masters are on six-game hitting streaks. In those six games, Masters has hit .600 with nine hits including three home runs and a double. In that same time, Stinson has hit .350 with seven hits including three home runs and two doubles.
• Lauren Satterly and Maci Masters led the Tops in hits with two each. Satterly went a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with one RBI and Masters went 2-for-3 with one RBI as well.
• Tuesday’s game against Lipscomb is the first game all season without a single Hilltopper strikeout.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers head east to take on Liberty in Lynchburg, Va., in a three-game series starting Friday, April 10. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.