WKU Baseball will continue Conference USA play as they travel to Huntsville, Texas, to face the Sam Houston Bearkats in a three-game series.
The Hilltoppers are coming off a 10-5 win over Louisville, bringing their season record to 14-11. However, WKU sits at 3-3 in conference play after being swept by Jacksonville State in a three-game series last weekend. The sweep brought the Hilltoppers to 1-4 away from Nick Denes Field, with their sole away win being at First Horizon Park against Belmont.
In their win against Louisville, the Hilltoppers racked up 16 hits while hitting .379 with runners on. The first six WKU batters reached base to begin the game, which resulted in a four-run opening frame. Senior catcher Camden Ross and junior infielder JP Acosta led the team with three hits apiece.
The Hilltoppers hope not to repeat any struggles in the Jax State series, as the team batted just .200 with runners on base and were held to just 15 hits across the three games. In the series, WKU scored just five runs while allowing Jax State 35, including a 10-0 run-rule loss in eight innings in game three.
WKU’s starting rotation will look for redemption this weekend against Jax State. The three starters, graduates Gavin Perry and Aaron Robertson, and redshirt sophomore Zach Serup combined for just 8.1 innings while allowing 14 runs on 17 hits.
This weekend’s rotation will change for the first time since conference play started.
Graduate left-hander Aaron Robertson will take the mound for game one. Robertson has been the game two starter for both the FIU and Jax State series. The left-hander comes into the weekend with a 3.91 ERA alongside 19 strikeouts and zero walks. In Robertson’s last start in game two against Jax State, he was held to four innings while giving up five runs on six hits and getting four strikeouts.
The conference rotation for WKU will feature a new face, as graduate right-hander Nathan Lawson will get the ball in game two. Lawson has been a go-to reliever during weekend series for Head Coach Marc Rardin, pitching 20.2 innings. The right-hander carries a 3.92 ERA with 17 strikeouts and two walks. In his last outing, Lawson threw a season-high 4 innings, holding Jax State to 1 hit and striking out 1 batter.
Graduate right-hander Gavin Perry will start the series finale. Perry has been the Hilltoppers’ game one starter for weekend series since their first series of the season against BYU. Perry has a 6.23 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 12 walks in 26 innings. In game one against Jax State, Perry pitched four innings, where he allowed six runs on seven hits.
Sam Houston comes into the weekend series with a 12-12 record after a 12-5 win over the University of Texas Arlington on Tuesday.
The Bearkats sit 2-4 in conference play after playing the same opponents as WKU has. Sam Houston started CUSA play by getting swept by Jax State, being outscored 25-11 in the series.
Last weekend, Sam Houston won their series against FIU, taking two out of three games. In the series, the Bearkats outscored FIU 21-15.
Sam Houston has been a dominant pitching staff; as a team, they hold the second-lowest team ERA (4.61) in CUSA, but also have the lowest team batting average (.243) in the conference.
The Bearkats are led by game one starter junior right-hander Ryan Peterson, who holds a 1.80 ERA and a conference-high 51 strikeouts in 35 innings. In his last five starts, Peterson has punched out at least eight batters. Against FIU, the right-hander went seven innings, allowing one run on two hits alongside eight strikeouts and one walk.
Sam Houston will use a new arm to start game two, sophomore right-hander Tyler Ryden. Ryden started the season as a weekend starter but took a relief role for the Bearkats CUSA series. In game two against FIU, Ryden shut out the Panthers for 5.1 innings and struck out six batters.
Sam Houston has not announced its starter for game three.
With their conference’s low batting average, the Bearkats have found success in baserunning, ranking conference-high with 65 stolen bases.
Leading the way is senior outfielder Jeric Curtis, who has a team-high 15 stolen bases on 22 attempts. Curtis bats .364 at the top of the lineup with a .474 on-base percentage, which is 11th in CUSA.
This weekend series will mark the seventh, eighth, and ninth meetings between the two teams. WKU leads the head-to-head 5-1. Last year, the Hilltoppers swept Sam Houston, March 28-30, scoring 26 runs while holding the Bearkats to one run in three games. The teams played in 2024 in Huntsville, Texas, where WKU took the series 2-1, with the sole Bearkats win a 10-0, seven-inning run-rule victory.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and will continue at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The series will close out on Sunday, starting at noon.
