Hilltoppers roll to 13-3 road win at Evansville
Published 11:06 pm Tuesday, March 25, 2025
- Western Kentucky freshman starting pitcher Taylor Penn fired three shutout innings to earn the win in the Tops' 13-3 win at Evansville on Tuesday in Evansville, Indiana. (JACK TODD / WKU Athletics)
Western Kentucky rolled past Evansville for a 13-3 baseball win on Tuesday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
The Hilltopper pitching staff held the Purple Aces scoreless through seven innings and Caleb Niehaus went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three stolen bases to lead WKU to the blowout midweek victory.
WKU improved to 22-3 1-2 on the season. The Hilltoppers are now 41-34-2 all-time against Evansville.
The Tops’ Henry Brown got the scoring started with a two-RBI single before a sacrifice fly from Niehaus made the score 3-0 in the second inning.
Niehaus drove in another with an RBI single before Carlos Vasquez brought a couple more in with a two-RBI double. That doubled the Hilltopper lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning.
A sacrifice fly from Thomas Marsala in the seventh inning extended the WKU lead to 7-0.
Two RBI singles from Austin Haller and Caleb Marmo brought the Hilltopper advantage to 9-0 in the eighth.
The Purple Aces cashed in three times in the bottom of the frame.
Four more runs crossed for the Tops in the ninth. Kyle Hvidsten scored on a wild pitch before Haller tallied his second RBI single of the day. Another wild pitch scored Reid Howard and Ethan Lizama drove in the 13th and final run with an RBI single.
WKU’s Taylor Penn made his second consecutive midweek start. The freshman fanned three batters in three shutout innings while allowing three hits and no walks. He earned his first win as a starter and improved to 2-0 on the season.
Patrick Morris, Luke Wright, Hunter Small and Luke Leverton saw action out of the bullpen for the Tops. Morris collected five strikeouts in three scoreless frames, while Wright and Leverton held the Purple Aces off the board in an inning of work each.
The WKU offense totaled 18 hits and eight walks with 11 RBIs.
Niehaus was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, three runs and three stolen bases. Vasquez went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Haller was a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Brown went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run. Lizama and Marsala had two hits and an RBI a piece.
WKU hosts Sam Houston for its first CUSA home series beginning on Friday. First pitch at Nick Denes Field is set for 6 p.m.
