Western Kentucky fell to Kennesaw State 9-8 in the baseball series opener on Friday night at S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field in Marietta, Georgia.

WKU drops to 20-2 overall and 0-1 in Conference USA play this season. The loss snapped the Hilltoppers’ 15-game winning streak.

Kennesaw State got on the scoreboard in the first inning with an RBI single. A Hilltopper error on the same play allowed another run to come across.

The Owls used a sacrifice fly to score another in the second inning.

Ethan Lizama put up the first run of the game for WKU with an RBI double down the right-field line to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Tops used a six-run fourth inning to take the lead, 7-3. Dylan O’Connell scored on a wild pitch before Carlos Vasquez and Ryan Wideman drove in four runs combined in back-to-back at-bats.

An RBI double from KSU in the bottom of the fourth cut the WKU lead to 7-4, then an Owl solo homer made it 7-5 in the fifth. Another Kennesaw State sacrifice fly in the seventh put the Hilltopper advantage at 7-6.

The Owls scored three times in the eighth to take the lead, 9-7.

WKU’s Drew Barragan checked in and launched a pinch-hit homer in the ninth, but it would not be enough as the Hilltoppers failed to bring another run across.

Jack Bennett got the starting nod on the mound for the Hilltoppers. The right-hander struck out four batters in 3 2/3 innings of work while surrendering two earned runs – the first time he’s allowed earned runs to score this season.

Lucas Hartman, Dawson Hall and Cal Higgins made appearances out of the bullpen. Hartman was the most effective, allowing just one run in 2 1/3 frames while collecting three punchouts.’

The WKU offense scored eight runs on nine hits and three walks with seven RBIs. Vasquez was the only Hilltopper with a multi-hit outing in a 2-for-5 night with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. Wideman was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a walk. Barragan left the yard in a pinch-hit situation for his first homer of the year. Lizama added a double and an RBI.

WKU and Kennesaw State will continue the series Saturday at S. Walter Kelly Sr. Memorial Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT.