WKU Baseball will host Dallas Baptist for its last home Conference USA series this weekend at Nick Denes Field.
The Hilltoppers hold a 26-23 overall record and 11-13 in CUSA. Their record puts them level with Kennesaw State for sixth place.
WKU is coming off a 5-3 loss at the hands of Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. The Hilltoppers were outhit 10-7. In the game, the usual game one starter, graduate left-hander Aaron Robertson, was brought in for the final two outs. Robertson is not listed as part of the starting rotation for this weekend.
However, the Hilltoppers suffered a significant loss in fifth-year infielder Kyle Hayes, who left the game with an apparent leg/ankle injury in the first inning. Hayes announced on Thursday via Instagram that his collegiate baseball career is over. Hayes was hitting .266 with 37 RBIs and a team-leading 10 home runs.
WKU will look to their .300 batting average bats to pick up the slack due to the loss of Hayes. Junior infielder Lane Arroyos leads the team with a .374 average, and his 22 doubles lead CUSA. Arroyos went 0-3 with a walk and a hit pitch against EKU. Junior outfielder Hayden Robbins (.327) and senior catcher Camden Ross (.303) are the other over .300 Hilltopper bats.
On the mound, WKU holds a 5.38 team ERA, with graduate right-hander Gavin Perry being the only player stat-eligible due to the minimum of one inning pitched per game played. Perry holds a 4.09 ERA paired with 69 strikeouts and 17 walks in 66 innings of work.
Perry will take the mound for game two against DBU. In his last outing in game two against Middle Tennessee State, Perry earned the shutout win after holding them to five hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Junior right-hander Gage Olsen will replace Robertson as the game one starter. Olsen has started in three midweek games for the Hilltoppers this season. His most recent start came on April 22 at Austin Peay, where he went 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while getting six strikeouts. Olsen appeared in game one against MTSU, where he went another 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits while getting seven strikeouts.
The Patriots come into the weekend series with a 28-21 overall record and a 16-8 CUSA record. DBU is coming off a 9-7 loss at Texas Tech, where they were outhit 9-5.
In their last CUSA series, the Patriots took two of three games from LA Tech. In the series, DBU outscored LA Tech 17-13.
As a team, the Patriots hit .292, the fourth-highest team average in CUSA. DBU is led by junior infielder Cooper Neville, who is hitting .333. In the series against LA Tech, Neville went 2-12 with two RBIs and a walk. Neville is the only Patriot bat over .300.
DBU’s pitching staff holds a 6.34 ERA, the eighth lowest in the conference. The Patriots are led by the CUSA pitcher of the week, senior left-hander Liam Watt. Watt started game one against LA Tech and went all nine innings, where he allowed one run while striking out a career high 10 batters. The southpaw currently holds a 4.27 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Watt will take the mound for DBU in game one. Senior right-hander Ryan Borberg will start game two. Borberg carries a 7.11 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 22 walks. In his last outing, Borberg went just 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and walking three.
Friday’s game will mark the 13th time the two teams have met, with DBU leading the overall head-to-head 7-5. WKU traveled to DBU last year, April 5-8, while the Patriots were ranked No. 17. The Hilltoppers took two of three games, running-rule DBU 11-0 in seven innings in game one. In the last series against the Patriots at Nick Denes Field, WKU also took two of three games, winning the first two games while DBU was ranked No. 8.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m., with the series continuing on Saturday, starting at 4 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.
