Shortstop Kevin Lambert fields a ground ball during their 5-0 loss to UTSA on Thursday, March 29, 2018, at Nick Denes Field. (Austin Anthony / photo@bgdailynews.com)

Coming off four consecutive games against ranked opponents, Western Kentucky’s baseball team will host Marshall for a Friday-to-Sunday three-game set at Nick Denes Field, with all three contests to be streamed on CUSA.tv.

The Thundering Herd leads the all-time series against WKU, 12-9, including an 8-1 mark in Conference USA play over the past three years. Going into the 2015 season, the Hilltoppers had gone 8-4 against Marshall in 12 games played from 1992-99.

Marshall has swept WKU in back-to-back series; in Bowling Green in 2016 and in West Virginia in 2017. Last year’s series was supposed to be played at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va., but with questionable weather patterns it was moved to Kennedy Center Field at a YMCA recreation location in Huntington, W.Va.

The first two games were one-run decisions, with the Hilltoppers falling by scores of 3-2 and 10-9. The Thundering Herd then held the Hilltoppers to three hits in an 8-0 win in the finale.

Although the Thundering Herd was swept in a home-and-home by Virginia Tech in midweek games, they swept C-USA foe Middle Tennessee on the road the weekend prior. For the season, Marshall stands at 14-15, including a 4-8 record in league play.

Marshall is expected to go with the same starting rotation that swept the Blue Raiders last weekend in righty Brad O’Connor, lefty Joshua Shapiro and righty Zac McNeel. That trio earned all three wins in the series, allowing only four earned runs in 20 2/3 innings.

At the plate, right fielder Shane Hanon leads the club with a .358/.456/.462 slash line, and three of his five extra-base hits on the season have come in the past week. The returning backstop, Reynaldo Pastrana, is a power threat with a team-high .525 slugging percentage. His 15 extra-base hits and 28 RBIs lead the Thundering Herd.

Defensively, the Thundering Herd pitchers and catchers have slowed down opponents’ run games, allowing only 10 stolen bases on 17 attempts. However, Marshall ranks 11th in C-USA with a .960 fielding percentage, with 42 errors in 29 games.

The Hilltoppers’ probable starters in the game notes reflects previous series. WKU’s weekend rotation remains TBA at this time.