Western Kentucky’s baseball team beat UT Martin 12-5 and 7-1 to sweep the doubleheader and clinch the series win on Friday evening at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers improved to 18-1 – the best start in program history – and extended their win streak to 13, tied for the second-longest in program history, with the doubleheader sweep.

WKU remains undefeated at home with a 17-0 record at Nick Denes Field. That mark is good for the best start at home in program history. Of the 17 home wins, 15 of them have come in weekend series. The Tops have won all five of their nonconference series and are a perfect 15-0 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In the opener, UT Martin took a 3-0 lead on an RBI walk and a two-RBI single in the second inning. The Skyhawks put their fourth run on the board in the fourth inning with an RBI single.

WKU stormed in front with an eight-run rally in the fourth inning. The scoring started with a Camden Ross RBI single before Kyle Hayes brought in another on a fielder’s choice. Following that, Ethan Lizama drove in another with a single and a Skyhawk throwing error allowed the tying run to score. A two-RBI single from Carlos Vasquez gave the Tops the lead and a two-RBI triple from Ryan Wideman extended the WKU advantage to 8-4,

The Hilltoppers’ Reid Howard launched his third home run of his true freshman season – a three-run shot down the left=field line – in the fifth inning. An insurance run was added in the sixth with an RBI single from Hayes to make the score 12-4.

An RBI double from UT Martin in the seventh cut the deficit to 12-5, but it would not be enough as the Hilltoppers were able to hold the Skyhawks scoreless for the remainder of game one.

Treyson Peters made his fifth start of the season on the mound for the Tops. It was his shortest start of the season as he allowed three runs on two hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Gavin Perry, Zach Lyles, Elliott Rossell and Patrick Morris made appearances out of the bullpen in game one. Perry earned his first win as a Hilltopper in 2 1/3 frames of relief action. The right-hander struck out two while surrendering one run on three hits and two walks. Lyles was effective in three innings as he struck out two Skyhawks. He conceded one run on three hits and no walks. Rossell and Morris recorded a scoreless inning each and combined for three strikeouts.

The Hilltoppers got on the scoreboard first in game two as Hayes tallied his third and fourth RBIs of the day with a two-run single in the bottom of the first.

An RBI single from UT Martin in the top of the second cut the WKU lead in half, 2-1.

Lizama drove in a pair of runs with a single in the third inning to extend the Hilltopper advantage to 4-1. Two more runs came across for WKU in the sixth as Henry Brown hit an RBI single before coming around to score on a wild pitch. A perfect bunt-single from Lizama tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to cap the scoring and put the final count at 7-1.

Drew Whalen earned the starting nod in game two of the doubleheader. The right-hander picked up his fourth win of the year after striking out three in five innings. The right-hander gave up one run on six hits and one walk.

Lucas Hartman and Dawson Hall saw relief work in game two. They pitched two innings each and allowed just one hit, combined. Hartman racked up four strikeouts, while Hall collected one.

“It’s been enjoyable. It’s tiring. Those days are tiring,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “It takes pitching. It takes a grind. It takes big innings at times. It always takes like a Lucas Hartman and it takes a Dawson Hall to finish it off, that’s for sure. It always takes one of those big innings like we did today.”

On the offensive end, WKU scored 19 runs on 29 hits and seven walks with 17 RBIs.

Lizama and Hayes led the Tops with four RBIs. Lizama was 5-for-7 with a double and three runs scored, while Hayes was 2-for-7 with one run scored.

Wideman had three doubles in a 6-for-10 outing with two RBIs, a triple and four runs. Howard was the only player on either side to homer as he powered a three-run shot down the left-field line in game one.

The Hilltoppers clinch their fifth series win after five weeks of nonconference play. WKU has now won all eight meetings with UT Martin dating back to 1993.

WKU and UT Martin will conclude the three-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Nick Denes Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.