WKU baseball picked up a 13-3 midweek win over the Evansville Purple Aces on Tuesday night, improving to 4-3 on the road and 22-3 overall.
Junior Carlos Vasquez led the Hilltoppers offensively, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a walk. Junior Caleb Niehaus also went 3-for-4, driving in two runs and scoring three times.
On the mound, WKU pitchers allowed nine hits, issued just one walk and struck out 11 batters. Freshman Taylor Penn set the tone early, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing three hits and striking out three.
WKU scored its first three runs in the second inning first on a two-RBI single by junior Henry Brown, followed by a sacrifice fly from Niehaus.
The Hilltoppers added three more in the fourth, sparked by an RBI single from Niehaus and a two-RBI double by Carlos Vasquez giving WKU a 6-0 lead.
The Hilltoppers pushed across another run in the seventh inning with a sac fly by junior Thomas Marsala. WKU extended its lead in the eighth inning with RBI singles from seniors Austin Haller and Caleb Marmo making the game 8-0.
Evansville broke up the shutout in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of RBI singles, cutting the deficit to 8-3.
WKU responded with five more runs in the ninth. Junior Kyle Hvidsten scored on a wild pitch, Haller delivered an RBI single and freshman Reid Howard came home on another wild pitch. Senior Ethan Lizama capped the scoring with an RBI single making it 13-3.
WKU is scheduled to return to Conference USA play with a three-game home series against Sam Houston March 28–30 at Nick Denes Field.
Sports Reporter David Quintanilla can be reached at david.quintanilla0610@gmail.com,
