Hilltoppers Win Fourth Consecutive Series; Clinch Spot in C-USA Championships
MIAMI, Fla. – WKU Baseball beat FIU, 3-1, to win their fourth consecutive conference series for the first time since 2009 on Sunday afternoon at the FIU Baseball Stadium.
“For my first year here, we were just trying to be better than what they have been, in every way,” said head coach Marc Rardin. “I cannot say enough about the kids. With them accepting me and my staff, listening, believing in us, doing the work, and changing. Making a 180-degree change in every way. It feels good. Anywhere you are in life, you want to leave it better than where you found it and right now, we are doing a good job.”
With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 27-21 (12-12 in C-USA) while the Panthers drop to 18-29 (5-19 in C-USA). WKU has now clinched a spot in the Conference USA Championships for the third time in program history since joining the league in 2014.
“As the newcomer, both to WKU, Conference USA, and the history, overall, I am just learning a lot,” said Rardin. “The fun way I am learning is, a lot of the time, we are making history, or we are coming back to it, so it has been really good. Like I said the staff has been great and the players have been outstanding. They are well-deserving, they have wanted this, and we put ourselves in position, so we are thrilled to be a part of the postseason.
RHP Dawson Hall made his fourth straight series finale start on Sunday afternoon. The freshman right-hander fanned five batters in 5.0 innings of work while allowing just one run on two hits and one walk, earning his, team-high, sixth win of the season. Three Hilltoppers saw action in relief in RHP Evan Jones, LHP Cam Tullar, and RHP CJ Weins. They combined for five strikeouts in 4.0 frames without allowing a run on just two hits and no walks with Jones and Tullar each earning a hold while Weins claimed his, team-high, eighth save of the year.
In a game that saw just nine hits, combined, the Hilltopper offense produced just what they needed to claim the series. AJ Fiechter notched the only multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3 with a couple of singles while Tristin Garcia had a two-RBI double to take the lead in the top of the sixth. Lukas Farris tied the game with a solo shot, in response to a solo homer from FIU in the bottom of the first to help jumpstart the Tops offense in the top of the second.
SCORING SUMMARY
A solo home run from FIU gave them a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
The Hilltoppers responded with a solo shot of their own from Lukas Farris in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1.
A two-RBI double from Tristin Garcia gave WKU a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth which ended up being the difference, giving the Tops a 3-1 win to clinch the series.
UP NEXT
The Hilltoppers will host their final midweek game against Eastern Kentucky beginning at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, May 9 at Nick Denes Field.
