Western Kentucky redshirt junior Carlos Vasquez (center) celebrates his walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning against Louisiana Tech in the Tops' 9-8 win Friday at Nick Denes Field. (STEVE ROBERTS / WKU Athletics)

Western Kentucky opened its pivotal Conference USA baseball series with a thrilling 9-8 victory over Louisiana Tech on Friday evening at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers (36-10 overall, 12-7 CUSA) rode a 13-hit offensive attack and timely pitching to fend off a late Bulldogs rally, improving to 27-1 at home and notching their 36th win of the season. The 27 wins at home tie the 1988, 2002 and 2009 WKU squads for the most home wins in a single-season.

“I mean we came out and it was awesome,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “Then, LA Tech being LA Tech and who they are overall, but who they’ve been this year. You look at their stats and they’re very average stats. Just everything about them, very average. But then they’re 27-18 and 11-7 overall.

“They kind of have that intestinal fortitude, that toughness of them. This what they’ve been doing. They’re going to grind it out and they almost have like literal fight in them. Like they’ll want to fight you, but, I think where we’re taking this is, you know, we take that gut punch in the eighth and it’s just the weekend we’re at home and in baseball someone’s got to be at home and it’s those last three outs, the toughest thing to get is those three outs.”

WKU jumped out early with a three-run homer from Ryan Wideman.

The Bulldogs evened the score at 3-3 in the second inning. An RBI double scored one before back-to-back RBI groundouts tied the game.

The Hilltoppers retook the lead 6-3 in the second. Carlos Vasquez singled home a run before Kyle Hayes drove in a pair with a two-RBI double.

A solo homer in the third cut the LA Tech deficit to two.

WKU extended its lead to 8-4 in the sixth. Wideman took a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded before Hayes grounded out to bring in another.

Four runs scored for LA Tech (27-18, 11-7 CUSA) in the eighth to tie the game. Two wild pitches scored a couple before a two-RBI single knotted the score, 8-8.

Vasquez doubled to right-center in the bottom of the ninth to score the game-winning run for the 9-8 walk-off win.

This marks the fourth walk-off win for WKU this season and the second by Vasquez.

WKU’s Jack Bennett started and worked five innings, allowing four runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Lucas Hartman and Cal Higgins combined to finish the final four innings, with Higgins earning the win after 1 2/3 scoreless frames and three strikeouts to improve to 1-2 on the season.

The Hilltoppers produced nine runs on 13 hits and nine walks with nine RBIs.

Wideman totaled four RBIs in a 1-for-3 outing with a three-run home run, two hit-by-pitches and two runs scored.

Vasquez was the only Hilltopper with a trio of hits – his eighth three-hit game of the season – in a 3-for-5 night at the plate with a double, two RBIs, two runs scored and a walk.

Hayes had three RBIs with a two-RBI double and a stolen base in a 1-for-4 performance.

Camden Ross, Austin Haller and Reid Howard tallied multi-hit efforts. Ross reached base four times while Howard added a walk and a run scored.

Kyle Hvidsten checked into the ninth inning and had a crucial hit before scoring the game-winning run.

WKU and Louisiana Tech continue the series Saturday afternoon at Nick Denes Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.