Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Western Kentucky
Players Mentioned
MSU Set For First of Two Matchups Against WKU
4/3/2017 2:55:00 PM | Baseball
GAME 28
Murray State (15-12) vs. Western Kentucky (9-20)
April 4, 2017
First Pitch: 5 p.m.
Series History: MSU leads the all-time series 71-50-1
Stadium: Denes Field
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 400 (CF) | 330 (RF)
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Live Stats
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers begin their four-game road trip Tuesday as they resume their rivalry with Western Kentucky. MSU is coming off a 1-2 weekend against Jacksonville State at Reagan Field while No. 25 Southern Mississippi swept the Hilltoppers at home.
Inside the Matchup
Tuesday will be the first meeting since 2015 between the two teams. The Racers and Hilltoppers will be playing two games against one another for the first time since 2010 with WKU coming to Reagan Field April 18. MSU is 26-27-1 all-time at WKU and has lost its last eight meetings in Bowling Green.
Scouting Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers are led by Colie Currie's .320 batting average. Currie and Kevin Lambert are the only two Hilltoppers to have started in all 29 games this season for WKU. Hunter Wood leads the team with 19 RBIs on the year while Thomas Peter has a team-best 20 runs scored, six RBIs and 13 extra-base hits. As a team, the Hilltoppers are hitting .249 in 2017, are 23-for-33 on stolen base attempts and are averaging 4.4 runs scored per game.
Ryan Thurston leads the Hilltoppers with three wins this season and is tied with Paul Kirkpatrick with a team-best 42.1 innings pitched. Thurston also leads the team with 59 strikeouts on the year. Connor Boyd leads WKU with a 1.50 ERA and 13 appearances this season. Kevin Elder and Jackson Sowell both have two saves each to lead the team.
Second-year head coach John Pawlowski leads WKU. Pawlowski spent the previous 14 seasons at the College of Charleston and Auburn.
Probable Pitching Matchup
John Lollar (RHP) (1-1, 7.00 ERA) vs. Caleb Bruner (RHP) (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
