4/5/2021 baseball Edit

Series Recap: Panther pitching too much as Tops drop series to FIU

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Casey Warner • InsideHilltopperSports

Staff Writer

WKU was unable to combat strong pitching by FIU over the weekend losing their four game series three games to one.

Thursday to start the series the Hilltoppers came out hitting, taking a 9-2 victory in game one. Friday's double-header was not quite the same story as FIU held WKU to win game two 3-2 and game three 2-1.

Saturday's series finale was all Panthers as FIU shut down the Hilltoppers completely, taking game four 10-0.

The Hilltoppers totaled just three runs in the last three games combined versus FIU. (Photo: @WKUBaseball Twitter)

WKU came out swinging in game one on Thursday, triggered by a Davis Sims two-run shot in the fourth inning which gave the Hilltoppers a lead they would not lose the remainder of the game. Pitcher Jake Kates allowed just two hits and one unearned run, striking out seven over seven strong innings.

Friday the brilliant pitching was on FIU's side as the Panthers held WKU to just seven hits in game two. Game three was even more of a struggle at the plate for the Hilltoppers as they were able to push across just one run on four hits in their second one-run loss of the day.

The series finale on Saturday saw WKU get blanked completely as the Hilltopper defense committed five errors in a 10 run loss. Six WKU pitchers combined to give up four earned runs, striking out five batters and walking none.

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Series Standouts

Player	Games Played	Series Stats	Season Stats
Jake Kates, RHP	1	7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 7 SO, 1 W	43 IP, 2.51 ERA, 55 SO, 2-1 W/L
Jackson Gray, OF	4	.417 AVG, 5 hits, 2 RBI, 1 run	.363 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 16 runs, 6 2B
Devyn Terbrak, LHP	1	6.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 4 SO	25 IP, 3.60 ERA, 19 SO, 0-1 W/L

WKU's record now stands at 12-16 and 2-6 in conference play. The Hilltoppers are in fifth place in the east division, just ahead of upcoming opponent Marshall.

An eight-game homestand lies ahead for WKU as they will begin a four-game series with Marshall this upcoming weekend and then a four-game series with rival Middle Tennessee State the following weekend. Game one versus the Thundering Herd is set for first pitch at 5:00 PM CT on Friday at Nick Denes Field.

Keep up with Hilltopper Baseball live game broadcasts all season long on ESPN 102.7 FM or the ESPN 102.7 app.

– Casey Warner is a Baseball and Staff writer for InsideHilltopperSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @thecaseywarner. –