Western Kentucky shut out No. 17 Dallas Baptist 11-0 in a run rule-shortened seven innings to clinch the Conference USA baseball series win on Saturday afternoon at Horner Ballpark in Dallas.

The Tops pitching staff has now shut out the Patriot offense for 15 consecutive innings, while the WKU bats racked up 17 hits and 11 runs to claim the series victory for the second straight year over Dallas Baptist.

WKU moves to 27-4 (6-2 CUSA) on the season and 5-6 all-time against Dallas Baptist. The Hilltoppers have now beaten DBU in two consecutive series. This marks the first series loss for the Patriots this season. The last time DBU was run-ruled was March 14, 2023, when they lost to No. 12 Oklahoma State 20-4 in seven innings.

Three runs scored for the Hilltoppers in the first inning. Camden Ross drove in two with an RBI single before Ethan Lizama scored on a wild pitch to give WKU a 3-0 lead.

Ryan Wideman singled through the left side to add another in the second inning.

An RBI double from Kyle Hayes in the third extended the Hilltopper lead to 5-0.

Two more came across for WKU in the fifth with RBI singles from Lizama and Joe Siervo. That gave the Tops a 7-0 advantage.

WKU plated four more in the sixth to push the lead to 11-0. Wideman brought one in with an RBI single before Ross was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. A Dallas Baptist balk scored Lizama in the next at-bat and an RBI single from Hayes put the 11th run on the board.

14, 2023, when they lost to #12 Oklahoma State 20-4 in seven innings.

Dawson Hall made his second start on the mound this season and earned his fifth win of the year to move to 5-0. The Bowling Green native posted six shutout innings with two strikeouts while allowing five hits and no walks. He lowered his ERA to 0.82.

“Dawson Hall, just throwing strikes. Just a tremendous outing,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “I joked with him that we had that 10th defender today, the wind. In all reality, they had the wind too when they were out on defense. We just hit more line drives. We just hit more balls on the ground through the infield. We did some good things.

“It’s good to get the series win. It’s a great statement for these guys. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Zach Lyles saw an inning of action out of the bullpen for the Tops. He surrendered just one hit in a scoreless frame.

The WKU offense scored 11 runs on 17 hits and three walks with nine RBIs.

Ross and Wideman led the way with a combined six hits. Ross reached base four times in a 3-for-3 outing with three RBIs and a run scored, while Wideman was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Hayes was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a walk. Lizama went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Siervo had one hit and one RBI. Carlos Vasquez had two hits and two runs scored, and Drew Barragan was 2-for-2 off the bench with a run scored.

WKU will go for the sweep over Dallas Baptist Sunday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT.