Series Recap: Tops drop final two games against NDSU

After a hot start to the 2021 season on Sunday, the Hilltopper Baseball team came up short in their opening series versus North Dakota State.

WKU got the victory 10-4 in game one, and then dropped the last two games of the three-game series in a double header on Monday, 8-5 and 10-2.

The series was originally scheduled to begin on Friday, however the conditions at Nick Denes Field were not suitable for play after a recent winter storm. Game one was pushed back to Sunday evening, followed by a double-header on Monday.

To start the season off, WKU came out swinging putting up 10 runs on 12 hits on Sunday, including a three-run sixth and a four-run seventh inning. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Jake Kates picked up the win allowing no earned runs along with seven strikeouts over the last 4.1 innings.

Through the first four innings WKU couldn’t muster up enough run support to give junior pitcher Sean Bergeron the win, but the last half of the game saw the Hilltoppers explode for seven runs, including four RBI’s on two singles from senior outfielder Ray Zuberer III.

Monday was a much different story for WKU as they would drop both nine-inning games of their double-header.

In the first contest senior pitcher Michael Darrell-Hicks gave up six earned runs in his first 3.1 innings pitched, proving too much for the Hilltopper offense to overcome. Sophomore outfielder Jackson Swiney managed a nice game at the plate coming across twice with two hits and a walk in 4 at bats.

Later that evening pitching proved unworthy of a victory again as Alabama transfer pitcher Ryan O’Connell was blasted for six hits and four earned runs in just 1.1 innings pitched. The WKU bats stayed relatively silent in game three, with just two runs on nine hits.

Sophomore third basemen Matthew Meyer tallied a run scored and two hits in three at-bats as the Hilltoppers would drop the final game of their three-game opening series versus NDSU.

After starting the season 1-2, WKU will head to Nashville to take on the #2 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday at 4:30 PM CT. Then the Hilltoppers will face a three-game home series versus Cincinnati this weekend 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.