WKU baseball split its second series against Indiana, battling through a tight, back-and-forth weekend.

The series was evenly matched with Indiana outhitting WKU 40-31. Both teams showed a strong presence at the plate and were forced to use every piece of the bullpen as both teams used 17 different pitchers.

“I thought it was hard‑fought by both teams, and both teams definitely earned some wins and earned some losses,” Head Coach Marc Rardin said.

Senior Camden Ross led the Hilltoppers this weekend, going 5-9 with three RBI and three walks.

Game one starter senior Gavin Perry made an impact this weekend, going five innings while keeping Indiana to five hits, zero runs and two walks while striking out six.

Game 1

WKU took game one 4-1 to open the series.

The Hilltoppers were led by senior Gavin Perry. Perry went five innings, keeping the Hoosiers to five hits, two walks and striking out six.

WKU scored the first run of the series in the fourth inning, thanks to an RBI double by senior catcher Camden Ross.

After back-to-back singles in the sixth, Perry was run out of the game. Junior Mick Uebelhor came in and got a 1-5-3 double play to exit the inning with zero damage. Uebelhor went 3.2 innings and kept the Hoosiers to two runs and one run and struck out four. However, Uebelhor ran into trouble in the ninth and senior Zach Lyles came in and secured his third save of the season.

An RBI double by senior Kyle Hayes, a bases-loaded hit by pitch, and a four-pitch walk gave the Hilltoppers three insurance runs to take into the ninth.

Despite the win, the Hilltoppers went 1-8 with runners in scoring position, a stat they have struggled with this season.

Game 2

The Hilltoppers fell to the Hoosiers 3-1 in a battle of the pitching staffs.

For WKU, junior Aaron Roberston went six innings, keeping Indiana to six hits and one run.

However, junior reliever Zach Serup couldn’t keep the Hoosiers off the board in the eighth, going only 1.2 innings while giving up two runs on three hits.

Indiana stood behind a strong outing by sophomore Brayton Thomas. Thomas threw 4.2 innings, keeping the Hilltoppers to two hits and one run while striking out four.

Then, star reliever graduate Gavin Seebold kept his 0.00 ERA for the season after 3.1 innings, where he kept the Hilltoppers to two hits and struck out three.

Overall, the Hilltoppers were held to four hits and left seven runners on base as they went 0-12 with runners on base.

The game was tied 1-1 until the eighth, where Serup couldn’t get out of back-to-back singles from Indiana.

Game 3

Saturday was a slugfest, in contrast to its doubleheader partner, with the Hilltoppers beating the Hoosiers 14-12.

Both teams got 14 hits, but Indiana could not dig their way out of the Hilltoppers four-run opening frame, highlighted by the first five WKU batters reaching base.

Senior Dawson Hall kept the Hoosiers to one run in his three innings. However, junior Gage Olsen couldn’t handle the bats of Indiana, giving up four runs while only producing one out.

The next five innings of baseball were back and forth with two-run trades in the fifth, a three-run frame from Indiana in the sixth. The teams would trade two more runs, with Indiana scoring in the seventh and WKU in the eighth.

Off-season pick-ups, junior left fielder Lane Arroyos and junior infielder JP Acosta both went 3-3, with Hayes behind them going 2-4 with three RBI.

Game 4

WKU Baseball fell to the Hoosiers 7-3 behind the struggles of their bullpen.

The Hilltoppers’ bullpen faced adversity in the opening and closing periods after sophomore pitcher Dominic Monaco gave up a three-run homer to freshman catcher Brayden Ricketts, who later went deep again in the eighth, this time off graduate reliever Sam Frizzi. The Hilltopper bullpen finished with seven strikeouts and four runs.

WKU conducted six pitching changes across eight innings, with junior reliever Ka’olu Holt logging the most innings out of the bunch at two.

Despite the mishaps on the mound, WKU’s batting squad showcased some resilience, posting a nine-hit outing with Arroyos at the forefront. Arroyos finished with a two-hit outing in five at-bats.

Senior outfielder Daniel Stewart blasted a left-field home run in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to four.

“We showed some glimpses of good. Then we showed some glimpses of guys that need to keep working and get better, because it’s a long season and we’re going to need them,” Rardin said.

WKU Baseball will return to action for a midweek home matchup versus the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday.