WKU Baseball will open Conference USA play against Florida International University this weekend at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers ended non-conference play with a 9-8 record after their game against Eastern Kentucky was postponed to May 6.
WKU is fresh off taking two out of three games from the Indiana State Sycamores, March 6-8. Graduate outfielder Parker Coley was key to the series win for the Hilltoppers. Coley went 4-12 on the weekend. In those four hits, Coley brought in five runners, including the walk-off RBI in WKU’s 6-5 game one win and the go-ahead runs in game three.
Junior Lane Arroyos is hitting .365, leading the Hilltoppers, with 19 RBIs and 16 walks. Arroyos is coming into the weekend series with a 17-game on-base streak as he has reached base in every game in 2026 so far.
Graduate Aaron Robertson leads the starters for the Hilltoppers with a 1.69 ERA with 14 strikeouts and zero walks in 16 innings. The right-hander will start game two. In his last outing against Indiana, Robertson went six innings, giving up six hits, one run and zero walks.
FIU was picked eighth in the CUSA preseason poll and comes into Bowling Green with a 7-11 record. The Panthers are coming off an 11-6 loss in extra innings to Florida Gulf Coast University on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Panthers were swept by Florida Atlantic and outscored 26-8 in three games. FIU is currently on a six-game losing streak, losing two games to Boston College on March 3 and 4.
The Panthers are led by junior infielder Samuel Fischer. He leads the Panthers with a .322 average and has 19 hits, 16 walks and three home runs. Fischer went 0-3 against FBCU, paired with three walks and scoring two.
On the mound, FIU is led by sophomore left-hander George Adams, who carries a 5.06 ERA paired with a team high 20 strikeouts in 16 innings. Adams pitched game two against FAU, going five innings while giving up five hits, three walks, and striking out eight.
The Hilltoppers and Panthers have matched up 89 times, with FIU leading the head-to-head 47-42. Their most recent matchup came in the second round of the 2025 CUSA Tournament, where WKU walked off FIU thanks to a home run by Carlos Vasquez. In their series last year in Miami, FIU swept WKU in three games, outscoring the Hilltoppers 16-10.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., with the series continuing on Saturday at 4 p.m. The series will close out on Sunday, starting at noon.
