WKU Baseball maintained its impressive 2025 season March 7-9, sweeping the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in a four-game series at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers outscored the Bulldogs 40-7 in the series and held UNC Asheville to 17 hits over the whole series.
The Hilltoppers remained undefeated at home this year with a 14-0 record and improved to a 15-1 overall record, which is tied for the best start in program history with the 1928 team which played only 16 games.
“I’ve just been trying to make WKU Baseball Alumni proud. The alums, not just people who grew up here, but went to school here, played here and have a lot of pride in this place,” Head Coach Marc Rardin said. “Just want to try to leave it better than how I found it.”
Game 1
The Hilltoppers opened the series Friday in dominant fashion, run-ruling the Bulldogs in a 12-0 victory.
WKU came out hot in the first inning. Senior Camden Ross brought in the first run with an RBI walk, followed by a two-run single from junior Thomas Marsala. Junior Joe Siervo capped off the inning with a three-run homer, giving the Hilltoppers a quick 6-0 lead.
Ross added to the lead in the second inning with a sacrifice fly.
WKU put the game away in the sixth, capitalizing on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice hit from senior Ethan Lizama. Marsala and Siervo each drew bases-loaded walks, and the final run crossed the plate on a wild pitch sealing the win.
Senior pitcher Treyson Peters pitched 5.2 innings, holding the Bulldogs to two hits and striking out five batters.
Game 2
The Hilltoppers opened Saturday’s doubleheader with an 8-2 win.
The Bulldogs got the first run in the first inning from an RBI double.
The Hilltoppers responded in the first inning with an RBI double from Marsala tying the game 1-1.
WKU extended its lead in the second inning with a two-run home run by Vasquez. The Hilltoppers added two runs in the third inning from back-to-back RBI singles from senior Austin Haller and freshman Reid Howard making the game 5-1.
UNC Asheville got a run back in the sixth inning from an RBI double.
The Hilltoppers got three more runs in the sixth inning from an RBI by Ross, a wild pitch and an RBI from senior Henry Brown.
Sophomore Drew Whalen earned his third win of the season, going 5.2 innings, holding the Bulldogs to two hits and striking out seven batters.
Game 3
The Hilltoppers closed Saturday’s doubleheader with a 17-5 win.
UNC Asheville jumped out to an early lead, scoring four unearned runs in the first inning with a pair of RBI singles and a groundout.
The Hilltoppers responded in the third inning. Lizama tripled down the right-field line driving in a run, followed by back-to-back RBI singles from senior Ryan Wideman and Marsala cutting the deficit to one. Ross then tied it up with an RBI double.
WKU took the lead in the sixth inning from an RBI double from Vasquez and a fielder’s choice. Marsala doubled the lead with a two-run single before Kyle Hayes capped the inning with an RBI groundout making it 9-4.
The Bulldogs got a run back in the seventh from an RBI single.
The Hilltoppers put the game away in the seventh inning. An error and a sacrifice fly from Marsala brought in two runs, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Ross. Hayes and Howard tacked on three more runs with back-to-back singles, and Siervo sealed the walk-off run-rule win with a three-run homer, securing the 17-5 victory.
Senior Jack Bennett went five innings, allowed five hits and four runs and struck out four Bulldog batters.
“It’s hard to win doubleheaders at the Division I level. It’s just long days,” Rardin said.
Game 4
The Hilltoppers finished the sweep against UNC Asheville Sunday with a 3-0 win.
WKU got their first run in the third inning from an RBI double from Wideman. The Hilltoppers added to their lead in the seventh inning from a Brown home run and a wild pitch.
The Hilltoppers pitchers held the Bulldogs to one hit and struck out nine batters.
WKU Baseball’s next game is Tuesday, March 11 against Southern Illinois at Nick Denes Field starting at 4 p.m.
Sports Reporter David Quintanilla can be reached at [email protected].
