Hilltoppers drop CUSA Tournament opener

Published 1:59 pm Thursday, May 8, 2025

By Micheal Compton

The Western Kentucky softball team’s road to a possible Conference USA championship hit a speed bump with a 2-1 loss to Jacksonville State in the CUSA Tournament on Thursday.

Despite outhitting the Gamecocks 6-4, WKU (29-20-1) was unable to get the clutch hit when needed – snapping a nine game unbeaten streak and dropping the Hilltoppers into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

“We’re still breathing,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “We didn’t get the timely hits that we needed. I thought we threw well in the circle. One mistake was how the two runs got up there, but we still have a chance. We are still in it.”

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WKU opted to go with freshman Erica Houge over sophomore Rylan Smith in the circle. Houge overcame a 31-pitch first inning, leaving the bases loaded, to settle in nicely over six innings of work.

Houge’s only mistake came in the top of the third when Makalyn Kyser connected for an opposite field, two-run homer off the scoreboard in right. Houge retired 10 out of the last 11 batters she faced following the homer, finishing the day allowing four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

“Erica’s numbers were better against Jacksonville,” Tudor said. “She had a 1.00 ERA against them all weekend. I just think she made one mistake on one pitch.

“ … I felt like she threw very well. It was one hit. We should be able to put up more than two runs a game.”

WKU got a run back in the bottom of the third when Katie Murphy doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score on a wild pitch.

That would be it for the offense, with WKU stranding eight runners and finishing 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Hilltoppers left two in the fourth, two in the sixth and stranded a two-out single from Morgan Sharpe in the seventh.

“I think that was the difference in the game,” Tudor said.

MacKinley Portillo went the first four innings for the Gamecocks to earn the win, while Kat Carter tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save.

Six batters recorded a hit for WKU, with Annie White’s double joining Murphy as the only extra-base hits on the day.

WKU was scheduled to face Sam Houston in an elimination game on Thursday afternoon. The Hilltopper have to win three games in a little over a 24-hour span to get back to Saturday’s winner-take-all championship game.

“That is the way it is,” Tudor said. “When you get in that loser’s bracket, you have to figure out how to win games. It might not be as pretty. I guess we will see our toughness and how gritty we are.”

JSU 002 000 0 – 2 4 0

WKU 001 000 0 – 1 6 0

WP: Portillo LP: Houge S: Carter

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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