WKU Baseball will look to bounce back from their first series loss as they travel to the University of Evansville on Tuesday to face the Purple Aces.
The Hilltoppers dropped two of three games to Kennesaw State in their first Conference USA series of the season March 21-23. WKU’s road record moved to 3-3, and they hold an overall record of 21-3.
WKU was troubled by defensive struggles in the series, giving up eight errors. The series marked the first time in the season the Hilltoppers have been outscored in a series, with the Owls besting WKU 18-14.
WKU pitching has been dominant this season, holding a 2.79 ERA, the second-best in the nation. Opposing batters have been held to a .223 average against Hilltopper pitching.
Sophomore Drew Whalen has led the strong pitching staff, posting a 2.16 ERA, with just seven walks and 41 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Whalen earned the win in game two against KSU, going 5.2 innings, holding Owl batters to three hits and striking out six.
University of Evansville, of the Missouri Valley Conference, currently holds a 7-16 record and a 2-1 conference record.
The Purple Aces are coming off their first conference series win taking two of the three games from Murray State. However, both teams ended up with 26 runs in the series. In game one Evansville won 15-10 and every Purple Ace batter in the lineup recorded a hit.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Sports Reporter David Quintanilla can be reached at david.quintanilla0610@gmail.com.
