The Bowling Green girls’ lacrosse team overcame a slow start to remain unbeaten and claim the Region 1 crown with a 12-6 win over South Warren in Monday’s championship game at Bowling Green Junior High School.

Bowling Green (11-0) overcame a slow start with a dominant second half to win the first ever KHSAA Region 1 title and earn a home game in the opening round of the state tournament.

“I’m really proud of the way the girls played,” BG coach Lisa Correa said. “We got down a little bit early and they just kept fighting. We made a few adjustments and I think that really helped out on the field.”

Bowling Green took a 1-0 lead in the first minute on a goal from Piper Morton, but South Warren (8-7) quickly answered with two goals from Jordynn Brooks to take the lead midway through the first quarter.

Katie Blair White tied the score with her first goal of the night, but the Spartans were able to move back in front 3-2 when Lauren Hamilton scored off an assist from Honette Irakiza late in the first.

The Spartans opened the second with two goals from Carly Scarborough in a 46-second span to give South Warren a 5-2 advantage with 10:49 left in the first half. The flurry prompted a timeout from Correa.

“I think they were just too excited,” Correa said. “We made some defensive adjustments and that really helped. They scored five in the first half and one in the second. I have to credit the defense to that change. They really stepped up.”

BG’s comeback began with goals from White and Boyd in a 24-second span midway through the second quarter. The score remained 5-4 until right before halftime when White was able to beat the clock and tie the score with 1.7 seconds remaining.

“One person gets it going and I feel like that fires up everyone else on the team,” White said. “We all build off each other and gain confidence that way. Once we get going our team feeds off the energy and it gets easier to score.”

Bowling Green was able to take that momentum into the second half. Macy Lindsey scored twice to push the lead to 8-5. After Scarborough scored her third goal of the night to trim the deficit to two, Bowling Green scored four goals in the final three minutes of the third – including White beating the horn again with a goal with 2.8 seconds left in the quarter.

The Lady Purples added one more goal from Boyd in the opening minutes of the fourth.

White finished with five goals for Bowling Green, while Boyd added four goals.

Scarborough’s three-goal night led South Warren.

“We played our best in that first half and unfortunately we just blew it,” South Warren coach Dionna Bartos said. “They came back with the lead and we couldn’t get our ground back up.

“I definitely believe in my girls. We have a shot. They definitely proved it tonight in the first half. We’ve been working hard and I am grateful to have the opportunity to keep pursuing in the playoffs.”

Both teams advance to the state tournament. South Warren will play at Mercy Academy, while Bowling Green host DuPont Manual.

“They’ve got four seniors that are a force,” Correa said. “We will see how we do on Wednesday and I think they are going to be excited to host.”

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The South Warren boys’ lacrosse team finally got a chance to show what it could look like at full strength – the result was a resounding 20-3 win over Greenwood in the Region 1 championship on Monday at Bowling Green Junior High.

South Warren (6-5) had a balanced attack, with a trio of players scoring five goals and a suffocating defense to cruise to the win. The Spartans previously competed as a club team but now are in the record books as the program’s first ever KHSAA region title winner.

“It means a lot for this program,” South Warren coach Dale Bird said. “These kids have worked hard starting from middle school now into high school. We’ve been club for seven years and now finally having this opportunity, it feels great.

“They really worked through adversity this year. They battled through injuries. It was a difficult season trying to fit guys into places they typically don’t play. I think that made us stronger and better as a team.”

Haydon Bird, who had five goals in the win, was one of the players finally back on the field.

“This is our first game where everybody that was on the roster at the start is in the game,” Haydon Bird said. “I broke my collarbone right before the start of the season, then we just got the injury bug. All that time over the two months we just healed up and got ready for this.”

South Warren, which beat Greenwood 7-2 and 9-5 in the regular season, set the tone with a strong first quarter – and built from there.

Greenwood (8-5) took a 1-0 lead 61 seconds in on a goal from Hunter Herman, before South Warren took control. The Spartans scored four times in an 84-second span – including a pair of goals from Mason Black – to surge in front 4-1 less than two minutes in.

Kerrick Hanlon’s goal with 6:35 left in the first quarter trimmed the deficit to 4-2, but South Warren closed the first with three goals – two from Bird – to push the margin to 7-2.

Bird opened the scoring less than a minute into the second, his fourth of the day, as the Spartans continued to pull away – building a 13-2 halftime lead.

The run continued in the second half, with South Warren adding six more goals in the third. Meyer Gable’s goal in the fourth completed a 16-0 run by the Spartans, with Greenwood’s Jacob Gray capping the scoring.

Bird, Black and Sid Stewart finished with five goals each for South Warren.

“When there are pieces missing to the puzzle that are valuable to the team, I think people underestimate what that actually makes your team,” Dale Bird said. “We showed that today.”

Both teams advance to the state tournament on Wednesday.

Greenwood will play at DuPont Manual, while South Warren will host DeSales.

“The big talking point this week was to ensure that we get to play at home,” Dale Bird said. “Last year with district we didn’t get to due to some field conditions and that was unfortunate. This year to be able to play on our home field is an awesome advantage that we hope to utilize.”

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The Western Kentucky softball team saw its season come to an end with a 6-4, eight-inning loss to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament on Friday at the WKU Softball Complex.

WKU (30-21-1) rallied late to tie and had a chance to walk it off in the seventh before Louisiana Tech regained control and made a spectacular defensive play to close it out.

“I thought we fought a good game,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “It could have gone either way. The kids never gave up. It’s never fun to end your season, but I am really proud of where we got with this team. Having eight underclassmen start throughout the year, but the future is bright.”

Louisiana Tech took a 1-0 lead on an Addison Snyder RBI single in the third, but WKU was able to answer in the bottom of the inning with three straight hits from the top of the order. Annie White singled home the tying run, with a sacrifice fly from Kennedy Stinson giving WKU a brief 2-1 advantage.

Louisiana Tech quickly regained the advantage in the fourth. The first three batters reached, setting up a one-out, two-run single from Claire Raley that made the score 3-2.

Louisiana Tech extended the lead to 4-2 on an RBI single from Reagan Marchant in the sixth, before the Hilltoppers rallied in the bottom of the inning.

Stinson and Maci Masters opened the inning with walks and moved to second and third on a sacrifice by Charlotte Herron. Randi Drinnon’s RBI single to left cut the deficit to one, with the tying run scoring on a wild pitch.

WKU threatened to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out rally started by a double from White. The Hilltoppers would load the bases, with Herron hitting a hard line drive up the middle that was snagged by Louisiana Tech pitcher Allie Floyd to send the game to extra innings.

“They hit a line drive right to the pitcher,” Tudor said. “It’s unfortunate, but she made a great play on the ball.”

Louisiana Tech regained the lead with two runs in the top of the eighth. WKU tried to rally in the bottom of the inning getting two runners with two outs. Morgan Sharpe hit a screaming liner down the right-field line that would have likely allowed both runners to score, but Louisiana Tech right fielder Alannah Rogers made a diving catch to rob Sharpe of the hit and effectively end WKU’s season.

WKU was 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position — stranding 10 runners. In three tournament games, the Hilltoppers were 3-for-27 with runners in scoring position.

“It’s something we will work on moving forward,” Tudor said. “We will have some more sticks in the lineup next year, so that will be helpful. It just didn’t fall our way today.”

White and Drinnon had two hits each to pace the offense.

WKU’s season comes to an end with the Hilltoppers winning at least 30 games for a fifth straight year. WKU got off to a slow start in conference play, but was able to finish 7-0-1 over the final three weekends to earn the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.

“It’s a learning lesson,” Tudor said. “I think they did a good job of fighting back when our backs were against the wall. Hopefully we showed some fight and played some good ball. Today just wasn’t our day.”

WKU only loses one senior, Drinnon, who Tudor praised for her contributions to the program the last four years.

“I am really proud of Randi Drinnon,” Tudor said. “She’s been here four years. She was a really great catcher for us from freshman year to senior year. I relied on her a lot for feedback to the pitchers. She worked really hard. I think that is something I will take from this season, because it was probably hard to be the only senior on the squad.”

LT 001 201 02 — 6 14 1

WKU 002 002 00 — 4 9 3

WP: Floyd LP: Wood

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Since “Avengers: End Game,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a bit of a slog.

Sure there have been some bright spots, but overall the latest phase has failed to match the creative heights the MCU enjoyed for nearly a decade.

“Thunderbolts” is a return to those heights – a highly entertaining action film that gets its emotional kick from a strong cast (headlined by Florence Pugh) and a story that is grounded in reality.

The film finds Yelena (Pugh), the Russian assassin who was part of the Black Widow program, stuck in a mental rut and looking to finally get out of the hired assassin business.

She is given one final assignment by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), but the assignment turns out to be a trick with the CIA director looking to eliminate her covert program and the assassins that can link her to wrongdoings.

This forces Yelena to team up with the other assassins – John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) – to expose de Fontaine with a little help from Winter Soldier turned Senator Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

Further complicating things is a guy named Bob (Lewis Pullman) – a mystery party crasher who may bring more to the table than anyone, including Bob, realizes.

The rag tag bunch of mercenaries leads to some fun moments – with the script full of witty banner that this talented cast is able to really sink their teeth into.

Director Jake Schreier brings a human element to it all. Sure, there are fight sequences (that are well staged and visually appealing), but this is a film as much about the mental well-being of its characters as it is keeping them out of physical harm.

The supporting cast, which includes David Harbour as Yelena’s boisterous father who was once known as the Red Guardian, all shine – giving intimate moments that you don’t often see in a Marvel film.

But it’s Pugh that ultimately makes it all work – effectively capturing Yelena’s mental anguish (something which plays heavily into a creative final act). Pugh brings a relatable nature to her character that really provides the heart and soul of the film.

This is a nice step forward for the MCU (with a pretty fun post credit scene), a welcome advancement after spending the last few years spinning its wheels.

For the first time in a while there is a reason to look forward to the next Marvel adventure.

If You Go
“Thunderbolts”
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan
Directed by: Jake Schreier
Rating: PG-13 for strong violence, language, thematic elements and some suggestive and drug references
Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)
Grade: B

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The Western Kentucky softball team kept its season alive with a 3-2 win over Sam Houston in the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday at the WKU Softball Complex.

Five hours after opening the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Jacksonville State, WKU (30-20-1) was able to bounce back with just enough offense and strong pitching to advance to Friday in the double-elimination tournament.

“I thought we threw it well in the circle,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “I thought we hit better in Game 2 than Game 1. We played great defense in both games. You know it’s survive and advance.”

WKU took its first lead of the tournament in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer from Kennedy Stinson – her eighth of the season – that slammed off the bottom level of the parking structure in left field.

“The batters before me were getting that curveball off the plate a little bit,” Stinson said. “I was like, ‘All right, I am going to take that pitch away if it is there, but if she comes in on me that is the pitch I want.’ She came in on me. I was trying to hunt to the middle third of the plate, find a good ball I could put a barrel on.”

Sam Houston answered in the fourth with a two-run homer from Morgan Holiday to left center to take a brief 2-1 lead.

The Hilltoppers quickly answered in the bottom of the inning when Stinson doubled to start the inning and scored on a double from Maci Masters – WKU’s first hit with a runner in scoring position in the tournament.

The next two batters walked to load the bases with no outs. While WKU was able to scratch across the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Kendle White, the Hilltoppers were unable to get a hit to break it open. WKU finished the day 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and is now 1-for-14 in the tournament.

“Hitting with runners in scoring position is our Achilles heel right now,” Tudor said. “We get people on. Trying to push those runners across, if that can get clicking for us, we will be a lot more potent offense. We are trying to figure it out, probably pressing a little bit. Eight underclassmen are playing and I feel like they are pressing just a little bit.”

WKU was able to protect the slim lead with strong performances from Rylan Smith and Erica Houge. Smith (15-7) went four innings, allowing three hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Houge, who pitched six innings earlier in the day, came in to earn her sixth save of the season with three hitless innings of relief. She allowed a walk with four strikeouts.

“I was surprised how good I felt coming into that second game,” Houge said. “Six innings that first game gets a little tiring sometimes, especially with some of the heat when the sun is out, but I felt great there at the end and I think I threw pretty well for our team to get that win.”

Stinson and Masters paced the offense with two hits each.

WKU are scheduled to face Louisiana Tech in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. A win and WKU would play a second elimination game against either Liberty or Jacksonville State immediately after the first game, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship game at noon.

“That’s what the bracket says,” Tudor said. “Hope we show up, play our best and give it all we’ve got.”

Stinson said the team is ready for the challenge, especially after pretty much having to win out to earn the second seed in the tournament. WKU finished the conference season 7-0-1.

“This past month has definitely been a hard one,” Stinson said. “Starting in eighth place and working our way up to the two seed – I think we are ready for it. We’ve put in a lot of hard work. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and we’ve shown that we can do it.”

SH 000 200 0 – 2 3 0

WKU 010 200 X – 3 7 0

WP: Smith LP: Daniel S: Houge

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The Western Kentucky softball team’s road to a possible Conference USA championship hit a speed bump with a 2-1 loss to Jacksonville State in the CUSA Tournament on Thursday.

Despite outhitting the Gamecocks 6-4, WKU (29-20-1) was unable to get the clutch hit when needed – snapping a nine game unbeaten streak and dropping the Hilltoppers into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

“We’re still breathing,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “We didn’t get the timely hits that we needed. I thought we threw well in the circle. One mistake was how the two runs got up there, but we still have a chance. We are still in it.”

WKU opted to go with freshman Erica Houge over sophomore Rylan Smith in the circle. Houge overcame a 31-pitch first inning, leaving the bases loaded, to settle in nicely over six innings of work.

Houge’s only mistake came in the top of the third when Makalyn Kyser connected for an opposite field, two-run homer off the scoreboard in right. Houge retired 10 out of the last 11 batters she faced following the homer, finishing the day allowing four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

“Erica’s numbers were better against Jacksonville,” Tudor said. “She had a 1.00 ERA against them all weekend. I just think she made one mistake on one pitch.

“ … I felt like she threw very well. It was one hit. We should be able to put up more than two runs a game.”

WKU got a run back in the bottom of the third when Katie Murphy doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score on a wild pitch.

That would be it for the offense, with WKU stranding eight runners and finishing 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Hilltoppers left two in the fourth, two in the sixth and stranded a two-out single from Morgan Sharpe in the seventh.

“I think that was the difference in the game,” Tudor said.

MacKinley Portillo went the first four innings for the Gamecocks to earn the win, while Kat Carter tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.

Six batters recorded a hit for WKU, with Annie White’s double joining Murphy as the only extra-base hits on the day.

WKU was scheduled to face Sam Houston in an elimination game on Thursday afternoon. The Hilltopper have to win three games in a little over a 24-hour span to get back to Saturday’s winner-take-all championship game.

“That is the way it is,” Tudor said. “When you get in that loser’s bracket, you have to figure out how to win games. It might not be as pretty. I guess we will see our toughness and how gritty we are.”

JSU 002 000 0 – 2 4 0

WKU 001 000 0 – 1 6 0

WP: Portillo LP: Houge S: Carter

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Katie Elmore led the way for the Barren County softball team in a 5-2 win at Warren East on May 1.

The senior finished a home run shy of the cycle, including an RBI triple, with two runs scored from the leadoff spot. Elmore said she loves to set the tone for her teammates.

“It’s great,” Elmore said. “I always strive to be a leader on this team. I feel like tonight I really achieved that goal of mine. I am always trying to mentor the girls, show them what they can do and what they are capable of. Leading that team to victory … I was very excited to be able to do that.”

Barren County plays at LaRue County at 6 p.m. CDT on Thursday.

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The Greenwood baseball team had two missions Tuesday night in a quest to take the top seed in the District 14 Tournament away from Bowling Green or South Warren.

First the Gators had to beat Bowling Green, which would have clinched the top spot with a victory, but Greenwood also had to hold the Purples to four runs or less to prevent South Warren from winning the top spot on a three-way tiebreaker.

Greenwood took care of both tasks — pulling away late for a 7-1 win over the Purples on Tuesday at Greenwood High School.

Zach Davis tossed a complete game and added three hits as Greenwood (21-6 overall, 4-2 District 14) avenged a one-run loss to Bowling Green on Monday to claim the top spot in the district tournament later this month.

“We didn’t talk to the boys about any of that,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “We told them to flip the page, move on to the next game. I thought we had a good round of (batting practice). I thought our kids were locked in. They did what they needed to do.

“Now we were scoreboard watching of course, but these boys weren’t. They were just playing.”

Bowling Green (17-9, 4-2) loaded the bases without a hit in the top of the first, but Davis was able to work out of it. It remained scoreless until the third before a single and a stolen base from Davis set up an RBI single from Andy Jolly that made the score 1-0.

Greenwood then used some trickery to limit a BG rally in the fourth. With a runner at second and one out, Davis faked a pick-off throw and the fielders reacted like the ball was thrown into the outfield The runner broke for third and Davis promptly stepped off the pitching rubber and ran to the runner to tag him out.

The play proved to be even bigger with Bowling Green getting three straight two-out hits — including a game-tying RBI single by James Yarbrough.

Jaggers said the hidden ball trick was a big swing in momentum.

“I’ve been running that since I was the (junior varsity) coach here,” Jaggers said. “It worked last week. It’s probably a 90% success rate this year. Worst-case scenario, he stays on the bag. Best-case scenario, we get the out. It’s unfortunate we get a three-hopper on the one and we don’t make the play there. It could have really continued to swing the momentum, but we were able to limit the damage to one inning there and I thought that was key.”

Davis said the success rate maybe wasn’t as high as his coach suggested.

“We usually run that play probably once a game, in a moment where it is a close game and we’ve got to get the runner at second,” Davis said. “He said it works 90% of the time, but it rarely ever works against people we have been running it against the four years I have been here — especially Bowling Green and South. The fact that it worked is a miracle, to be honest.”

The Gators got the lead back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out, two-run double from Davis. It remained 3-1 until the sixth, when Greenwood plated four runs — including RBI singles from Jolly and Whitt Glosick to break the game open.

“It was huge,” Davis said. “(Monday) night we had the lead late, but we didn’t have a big lead so we were all tight. I think that led to them coming back and winning. Tonight those runs we got at the end of the game were so huge because we got to go out there and play loose.”

The only drama left in the seventh was if Greenwood could keep BG to under four runs scored. Davis took care of that — allowing a one-out single and nothing else to clinch the top seed for the Gators, who will host the tournament.

Greenwood will open against Warren Central.

“Like I have said before, (South Warren coach Chris Gage) and I have had this conversation, how many districts in the state have more than one team that is in the top 20,” Jaggers said. “One, and it is the 14th District. We’ve got three. There are several teams in our region that can win it, but our district is one of the best.”

With the loss, Bowling Green drops to the third seed and will face South Warren in the opening round of the district tournament. The Spartans are ranked eighth in the latest statewide poll, with the Purples ranked 19th. Greenwood is ranked 11th.

“Zach Davis pitched very well,” BG coach Nathan Isenberg said. “We didn’t play awful. They played a great game. I’ve said from the get-go that us, South and Greenwood are very even. We all split head-to-head. That tells you a lot. We just didn’t take care of the run situation like we should, but that is just part of it. We have been banged up with a lot of injuries. I’ve been constantly having to move guys around. It’s a long season and of course we have a week and a half for district, so we have to get ready.”

Davis scattered eight hits and struck out four with two walks to earn the win. Jolly and Davis paced the offense with three hits each.

Yarbrough, Evan Schallert and Andru Jones had two hits each for Bowling Green.

Greenwood will play two at Highlands starting at 11 a.m. CDT on Saturday. Bowling Green will play two in Russell County on Saturday, facing Elizabethtown at 1 p.m. and Russell County at 3:15 p.m.

BGHS 000 100 0 — 1 8 2

GHS 001 204 X — 7 10 3

WP: Davis LP: Kries

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New faces, but the same place for the Western Kentucky softball team heading into the Conference USA Tournament.

WKU was the No. 2 seed in last year’s tournament – with an experienced squad that made it to the finals unscathed before a heartbreaking nine-inning loss to Liberty in the championship game. A much younger roster is back – entering again as the two seed, but this time a little more optimistic. WKU opens at noon on Thursday against either Jacksonville State or Sam Houston.

The Hilltoppers come in playing the best softball of the season and get the added caveat of hosting the tournament this season.

WKU (29-19-1 overall, 14-10-1 CUSA) started 2-6 in conference play, but went 7-0-1 the final three weekends including two wins against Jacksonville State this weekend that clinched the two seed.

Sophomore pitcher Rylan Smith said the team set goals before the New Mexico State series, figuring a path that led them to that second seed and a first-round bye in the tournament.

“We mapped it out and we said, ‘All right we need to win six out of these next nine games,’ ” Smith said. “I think that’s where it started, so FIU was continuing on from New Mexico State and building off that. Everyone just went out and played with so much confidence and so much grit. I think that we will be a really hard team to beat.”

WKU coach Amy Tudor said her team handled the rough start and has turned it around in positive fashion.

“It’s hard to start off that way, especially when you are used to winning,” Tudor said. “We tried to handle this a little differently than we did last year. I give my staff a lot of credit as well – all the time they put in and coming up with solutions to try to help them achieve success. The girls deserve all the credit.”

Smith said the rough start – which included two decisive home losses to Liberty – made the team more determined.

“We really had to get knocked down for a little bit to learn what it takes to put ourselves into the second seed,” Smith said. “I think just learning and trusting that we can do it, because in reality if we don’t go 7-0-1 these past three weeks if we don’t all believe that we can do it.”

Now WKU has its sights set on a return trip to the title game, but the path won’t be easy. The second- through sixth-place teams were all bunched together by three games in the loss column – with top seed Liberty emerging as the prohibitive favorite with a 23-3 record in conference, 44-11 overall.

“Tournament time it is anybody’s game,” Tudor said. “It’s your third season. You are starting over. I would say there is parity throughout the country, so that is pretty common. Obviously you see it with Conference USA – except for the wide spread of Liberty at the top. They are the people to knock off at the top.”

Tudor added her team is playing the best ball of the season at the right time.

“It felt like the second half of April we played really good softball,” Tudor said. “From the circle has probably been the biggest change. Erica (Houge) and Rylan have really stepped up. I feel like our hitters have stepped up our game a little bit too. We’ve played some quality defense. We were challenged and they rose to the occasion.

“We’ve been in quite a few championship games, sometimes on the good side and sometimes on the not so fun side. It’s great if you get a chance to compete for a championship. I think it teaches you a lot. You remember those games and when you are able to close the door it is even better.”

WKU would like nothing more than to be able to shut the door this season after last year’s disappointment. Doing it at home would make it even sweeter.

“Having that home-field advantage is great for us,” sophomore outfielder Kendle White said. “We are a young team. We are feisty and we are gritty. I think the ability to play these games at home will be key for us.”

Masters, Houge receive conference honors

Maci Masters earned CUSA All-Conference second team and Erica Houge earned CUSA All-Freshman team recognition, the league announced on Tuesday.

Masters started all 49 games this season, leading WKU in home runs with 14 – three shy of the program – while adding a team-leading 45 RBIs.

She is second on the team in hits (46) while leading in slugging percentage (.674) and OPS (1.109).

Houge finished the regular season with a 10-9 record across 36 appearances and 14 total starts. She had a team-best 3.10 ERA, highlighted by a two-hit shutout against Louisville on April 22.

Houge has also proven to be one of the best in tight situations as the freshman has accumulated a conference-leading five saves. In addition to her saves, Houge’s .240 batting average against ranks seventh in the conference.

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The Western Kentucky baseball team completed a historic sweep of Louisiana Tech, taking both games of a doubleheader on Sunday at Nick Denes Field.

WKU held off a late rally to take the first game 5-4, then overcame a seven-run deficit in the first inning to roll to a wild 22-12 win in the nightcap.

It was the sixth doubleheader sweep of the year in six tries for WKU (38-10 overall, 14-7 Conference USA) and the first three-game sweep against Louisiana Tech since 1996.

“I just want us to be playing good baseball and everything will take care of itself,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said. “Right now we are playing well. We are hitting balls hard. We’re having good ABs. We are putting up some decent scores. That is all we can concentrate on. I don’t want to get ahead to the conference tournament. I don’t want to get ahead to anything right now.”

In Game 1, the Hilltoppers overcame nine walks and one hit batter by the pitching staff — blanking Louisiana Tech through the first six innings.

WKU held the Bulldogs hitless until the sixth inning. Louisiana Tech stranded nine base runners.

“There are some days that you can fight through that like we did,” Rardin said. “Obviously you guys know that’s not who we are. That’s not who we’ve been. There are some days where it is not going to be your day, yet you have to find a way to battle through it and that is what we did.”

Ethan Lizama had an RBI triple during a two-run second and doubled home a run during a two-run third that extended the lead to 4-0.

Lizama capped his big game with a solo homer to left in the fifth that made the score 5-0. He finished game one a single shy of the cycle, accounting for three of WKU’s five hits.

“I think we are just stacking days and trying to be good every day,” Lizama said. “I think if we can just continue to get better every day — as cliche as it sounds — we are going to be really good.”

Louisiana Tech (27-20, 11-9) made it interesting, scoring four times in the seventh before Cal Higgins got a strikeout with the tying run at second to close it out for his sixth save of the season.

Louisiana Tech’s offense picked up in Game 2 where it left off in the opener, scoring seven runs with two outs. The momentum quickly shifted to WKU in the bottom of the inning. The first three batters reached, with a two-run single by Kyle Hayes got WKU on the board.

After the next two batters were retired, the Tops went on a massive two-out rally with the next 10 batters reaching base. The big hits included a two-run single from Carlos Vasquez that tied the score 7-7 and a two-run double from Ryan Wideman that pushed WKU in front.

“I think it starts on an individual level, trying to win one at-bat at a time,” Vasquez said. “Trying to get on first, trying to get stuff going — it caught on pretty quick.”

Every batter reached base at least once in the inning, with WKU scoring 12 times to surge in front 12-7.

“It was about getting a couple of guys on,” Rardin said. “We just needed to change the tempo a little bit. Offense is all about momentum. They had all the momentum and then all of a sudden we get a walk and hit and even though they’ve got the 7-0 lead, momentum starts to shift. Momentum offensively is everything.”

The offense continued to thrive, scoring once in the second and answering a two-run third by the Bulldogs with another run in the bottom of the third to make the score 14-9.

Austin Haller’s RBI double fueled a four-run rally in the fifth that extended the lead to 18-9. Sebastian Mexico hit a solo homer for Louisiana Tech in the top of the sixth, but WKU answered with four more in the bottom of the inning — including RBI doubles from Camden Ross and Reid Howard.

Louisiana Tech added a two-run homer in the seventh, but was unable to get any closer.

WKU finished with 18 hits in Game 2. Eight players had at least two hits with Vasquez, Ross and Howard all finishing with three hits each.

The Hilltopper offense produced 27 runs on 23 hits with 18 walks and 24 RBIs in the doubleheader.

Taylor Penn earned the win in Game 2, with Zach Lyles working the final four innings to earn the save.

With the two wins WKU improved to 29-1 at Nick Denes Field this season, eclipsing the record of 27 home wins in a season set on three occasions — the last time in 2009.

“We’re 28-1 at home,” Rardin said. “We’re 6-0 in doubleheaders. Those are just crazy numbers.”

WKU will return to action at 7 p.m. CDT on Friday, opening a three game series at New Mexico State.

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