WKU Falls to Belmont

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Hilltoppers fell, 2-0, to the Belmont Bruins Wednesday night in the Tops first midweek of the season at the WKU Softball Complex. Katie Gardner threw a six-strikeout, three walk deal in six innings, while Maddy Wood came in for an inning relief with a strikeout under her belt.

A slow night in the batter’s box, Taylor Davis and Faith Hegh were the lone Hilltoppers with hits on the evening.WKU 0, BELMONT 2

Making their way onto the board, the Bruins hit a single up the middle, good for an RBI and unearned run for an early 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Taylor Davis inched her way on the bag with a hard hit back to the pitcher’s circle, putting on the wheels, to make it safe to first base for the first Hilltopper hit of the night in the bottom of the third.

The Bruins found the right field line in an unlucky bounce off the bag that was good for an RBI double and the final score, 2-0 in the sixth.

Faith Hegh picked up her 12th consecutive hit – the longest active hitting streak for the Tops – in the bottom of six: a single popped into shallow left-center field.

A solid evening in the circle, Katie Gardner got the go as she worked to strike out six, walk three, and gave up two runs on seven hits to the Bruins. Maddy Wood saw action in the seventh frame. She saw back-to-back fielder’s choices before giving up a hit down the right field line, before striking out the last Bruin batter of the evening.

WKU is back for another three-game series against C-USA opponent, the Charlotte 49ers, starting Friday, March 31st. First pitch for Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

TOP STORYLINES

• The Hilltoppers hold the upper hand in the all-time conference series, 31-2.
• Head coach Amy Tudor earned her career 500-win mark in the Tops 9-0 win over Evansville. She is 509 all-time, while 292 as WKU’s head coach.
• On the stat sheet, Faith Hegh is leading the Tops with a .396 batting average, while also owning 36 hits. Taylor Sanders leads with 39 RBIs and nine home runs and while Taylor Davis has 37 hits and stolen 15 bases.
• The Hilltoppers collectively hold 252 hits, 155 RBIs, a .314 batting average with 15 home runs.
• In the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll, the Hilltoppers were predicted to finish second in C-USA, while fifth-year outfielder Taylor Davis was named to the Preseason All-Conference team.