Western Kentucky sophomore Rylan Smith pitched her second gem of the season with a one-hit, 12-strikeout performance to lead the Hilltoppers to a 2-1 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

A single from Maci Masters and another from Randi Drinnon gave the Hilltoppers (21-16 overall, 7-9 Conference USA) their two runs on the day while MTSU (20-22 overall, 8-9 CUSA) could only muster one run through the seven innings.

WKU’s Kendle White led off the game with a double down the left field line to put herself in scoring position.

Charlotte Herron followed up with a ground out to third base to advance White.

Masters added another tally to her RBI season total as she singled through the left side to bring White home and give the Hilltoppers the 1-0 advantage going into the home half of the frame.

The Blue Raiders’ only run of the day came from a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first.

Prior to issuing the bases-loaded walk, Smith had earned the first two outs of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. She earned her third of the day in the same frame to close out the first.

Across the second and third innings, Smith only saw a total of seven batters as she fanned four and forced two fly outs.

MTSU’s first and only hit of the day came in the fifth inning. Most notable, however, was Smith’s 10 strikeouts through 5 1/3 innings of work.

The penultimate inning of the day was the closest MTSU came to scoring since the first inning with Smith facing a bases-loaded situation with only one out. That out of course, was another Smith strikeout, her 10th of the game and her 200th career strikeout as a Hilltopper.

With one out and bases loaded, Smith induced a pop up in foul territory and fielded a ball herself to collect the final two outs of the inning and work herself out of the jam.

The Blue Raiders had their first through third batters up, including freshman standout Jana Want. But Smith struck out both former Hilltopper Addy Edmon and Want to close out the game and post a new single-game career-high 12 strikeouts.

Of her 12 strikeouts, Smith struck out three looking and nine swinging.

Masters extended her reached base streak to 12 with her single in the first inning. She also earned her 38th RBI on the season.

With the series split 1-1, the series win will be decided with the final game on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for noon CT.