The Hilltopper Baseball team will host their second weekend series of the season starting Friday against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nick Denes Field.

Game one is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM CT Friday, Game two at 1:00 PM CT Saturday, and Game three at 1:00 PM CT Sunday.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Game 1:

WKU - Jake Kates, RHP

Cincinnati - Evan Shawver, LHP

Game 2:

WKU - Sean Bergeron, RHP

Cincinnati - Dean McCarthy, LHP

Game 3:

WKU - TBD

Cincinnati - Garrett Schoenle, LHP

In WKU's mid-week matchup on Wednesday, the Hilltoppers fell 12-1 at #3 Vanderbilt. The offense was unable combat the Commodore's pitching efforts, mustering up just five hits.

Junior pitcher Aristotle Peter allowed five earned runs across three innings pitched in his first start of the 2021 season.

Friday's matchup is just the seventh meeting between the Hilltoppers and Bearcats, with WKU flawless at 6-0 in the series. An average margin of victory of 4.3 runs, WKU won it's last matchup against Cincinnati five years ago to date 5-2 at the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Georgia.

The Hilltoppers will look to improve on a shaky 1-3 start in which pitching has been their weakness to this point. WKU ranks 17th in the nation in doubles with 10 on the season.

Although pitching has been throttled for earned runs, WKU hurlers have managed to strikeout 45 batters through 34 innings, ranking 34th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.6.

Cincinnati comes into the matchup at 0-3 on the year with just one series versus #25 Clemson under their belt. The Bearcats are hitting .188 as a team, along with a 6.48 team ERA through 25 innings of action.