Hilltoppers Fall to No. 23 Kentucky in Final Midweek Game
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Despite an early lead, WKU Softball fell 12-3 in five innings to in-state rival, No. 23 Kentucky at the WKU Softball Complex Wednesday evening. WKU ends their non-conference slate at 15-11-1 as they competed in their final midweek game of the 2024 season.
“Kentucky is a strong contender – we fell apart a little bit in the circle and defensively, but we can get better at those things,” said head coach Amy Tudor. “I thought we set the tone very early in the game. I know we only had four hits, we also had three runs. Offensively, we produced runs and that’s all you can ask for.”
No. 23 KENTUCKY 12, WKU 3 [5inn.]
The Hilltoppers got going at the plate in front of 876 fans at the WKU Softball Complex with a first inning RBI single up the middle from Annie White. Next at-bat, Sophie Weber drew a bases-loaded walk and led WKU to a quick 2-0 lead after one frame.Cheyanne Sales would plate another run with a single in the second inning, scoring Brylee Hage, and gave the Tops a 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats would pick up runs in each of the final three innings of the run-rule ballgame, as WKU worked through three pitchers in the circle.
Katie Gardner got the start in the circle for the Red and White. She gave up four runs off of five hits and earned two strikeouts before Rylan Smith and Kelsie Houchens later came in for relief.
TOP STORYLINES
- Kentucky holds on to the all-time series over the Hilltoppers, 17-9.
- Sophie Weber was 2-for-2 at the plate, picking up a leadoff double in the third inning.
- Annie White and Cheyanne Sales also collected hits at the plate, both earning RBIs.
- TJ Webster leads the Tops with a .388 batting average, while Morgan Sharpe owns 49 hits on the season. Sharpe is tied for the lead in hits in Conference USA.
- The Red and White continue to lead Conference USA in batting average (.306) and fielding percentage (.973) on the season.
- Katie Gardner is operating with a 2.61 ERA to lead the WKU pitching staff, producing 93 strikeouts at the plate. Rylan Smith is next in line with a 4.06 ERA with 92 strikeouts.
- The Hilltoppers are set to host Middle Tennessee for their next CUSA series, April 19-21 at the WKU Softball Complex.
