Hilltopper softball secures series win with Thursday sweep of Sam Houston

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Softball earned their third-straight series win on Thursday with two wins over Sam Houston. The Hilltoppers (26-8 overall, 10-4 CUSA) defeated the Bearkats (24-17 overall, 9-5 CUSA) in a 9-1, run-rule win in Game One and a 6-1 win in Game Two.

WKU’s hitters combined for five home runs and a total of 22 hits across both games while the Hilltoppers pitching staff limited SHSU to only two runs in 12 innings.

WKU 9, SHSU 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Two, four-run innings propelled WKU to its first win of the day on Thursday while Annie White secured the game with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
• Jenna Blanton earned her first home run of the season with a rare, inside-the-park home run with a hit to left field in the bottom of the first.
• Up 1-0 going into the home half of the second, Kennedy Stinson started the inning with a double to left field followed by a walk from Maci Masters. A sacrifice bunt from Anna Mauck moved the pair to second and third, and Blanton brought Stinson in with an RBI bunt single.
• On the second pitch of her at-bat, Annie White turned on the ball and sent her ninth home run over the centerfield wall for three RBI to extend WKU’s lead to 5-0.
• Sam Houston got their only run of the day from an RBI single in the top of third and both sides were scoreless in the fourth.
• In the bottom of the fifth inning, Morgan Sharpe opened the frame with a walk and immediately after, Stinson hit her fifth two-RBI and ninth total home run of the season.
• Masters, Mauck, and Kendle White then loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, respectively.
• Blanton hit an RBI single up the middle to score the seventh run of the day, and Annie White walked it off with an RBI single to left center.

WKU 6, SHSU 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Masters was the hero in Game Two, smashing two home runs and totaling four of WKU’s six runs.
• The Bearkats jumped to an early lead in the top of the first but three innings later, Masters hit her first two-run home run of the game in the bottom of the fourth.
• Katie Murphy also contributed to WKU’s scoring in the fifth after Sharpe and Lauren Satterly both singled to put two Tops on the base paths. Murphy then singled through the left side to score both Satterly and Sharpe.
• With two outs on the board, Masters sent the third pitch of her at-bat over the centerfield wall to score Murphy and secure her second two-run home run of the day.
• Rylan Smith earned her eighth start in Game Two and finished the last two innings of the day giving up only one hit.

QUOTABLE

“I thought today was a really good day in the circle,” said WKU Softball head coach, Amy Tudor. “Obviously at the plate we had a lot of hits, and a lot of runs and it was pretty clean. Overall, I’m pretty happy with two wins today and I’m really proud of our squad.”

NOTABLES

• WKU moves to 18-1 when playing at the WKU Softball Complex and 7-2 overall against Sam Houston.
• The five home runs across the two games is the most in a single day since Feb. 27 when the Tops hit nine against Illinois and Detroit Mercy.
• WKU now has 44 home runs this year. The team’s single season program record for home runs is 50.
• Both Erica Houge and Rylan Smith threw complete games on Thursday, with Houge throwing five innings and Smith throwing seven. The pair combined for only one earned run, eight hits, and six strikeouts in 12 innings of work.
• Maci Masters is the first Hilltopper to break into double-digit home runs this season with her 10th and 11th against SHSU.
• Maci Masters is also the first player to hit back-to-back home runs in the same game since Kendle White hit back-to-back home runs against FIU on April 25, 2025.
• With the two wins, WKU secured its third-straight CUSA series win.
• Four different players hit .500 or better across both games: Kennedy Stinson, Jenna Blanton, Anna Mauck, and Maci Masters. Masters led the group with a .800 batting average, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers look to sweep the Bearkats with the final game of the series on Friday, April 3. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.