Western Kentucky junior Ryan Wideman dives into third base during the Tops' 9-4 baseball win against Jacksonville State on Friday at Nick Denes Field. (WKU ATHLETICS)

Western Kentucky beat Jax State 9-4 to tie the Conference USA baseball series on Friday afternoon at Nick Denes Field.

The Hilltoppers overcame multiple deficits and used a five-run seventh inning to defeat the Gamecocks, notching their 42nd win, the most regular-season wins in program history. With the victory, the Hilltoppers achieved the most wins in the regular season in program history, surpassing the 1980, 1985 and 1988 teams.

WKU used a balance offensive attack that produced nine runs on 11 hits and got a standout performance from Ryan Wideman, who broke the single-season stolen base record.

WKU moves to 42-11 overall and 18-8 in CUSA on the season and 5-7 all-time against Jax State (32-23, 14-12 CUSA).

WKU also improved to 30-2 at home in 2025 – the most home wins in a single-season for WKU. The previous record was 27, set by the 1988, 2002 and 2009 Hilltopper teams.

The Hilltoppers clinched the No. 2 seed in the Conference USA Championship – the highest regular-season finish for the program since joining CUSA in 2015 – next week in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Hilltoppers will face the No. 7 seed when tournament play begins next Wednesday at Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium.

“Really it goes from yesterday — just too much anxiety, too much trying, outside of our own skin, just trying too much,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “We talked a lot about it after the game yesterday, but really today when we got to the field, we really talked about just being ourselves.

“There’s a fun factor that has to be in there to where this is a business and we’re working at it. There’s care, but there’s got to be some fun too. We didn’t have it yesterday. We battled back and forth all day with these guys until we did what we tend to do every now and then at the end of the day. That’s to play our game, play with confidence and play with energy. We talked about the importance of staying focused and not letting the pressure get to us. I think the guys really responded well today, and it showed in our performance. We’re going to keep building on this and keep pushing forward.”

WKU’s Carlos Vasquez scored while the Gamecocks turned a double play in the first inning.

Jax State used a two-RBI triple to take a 2-1 lead in the third.

The Tops executed pickle play, allowing Henry Brown to steal home to tie the game in the bottom of the frame.

The Gamecocks retook the lead 3-2 with an RBI double in the fourth.

The Tops’ Kyle Hayes knotted the game up with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

An RBI single gave Jax State the lead 4-3 in the sixth.

Hayes evened the score again with a sacrifice fly RBI in the home half of the inning.

WKU used a five-run rally in the seventh to take the lead and eventually win the game, 9-4. Austin Haller got the rally started with a two-run single before Kyle Hvidsten and Ryan Wideman plated runs in back-to-back at-bats with an RBI single each. Ethan Lizama rounded out the scoring with an RBI single of his own two batters later.

Drew Whalen got the starting nod on the mound for the Hilltoppers. The right-hander tossed four innings and struck out three Gamecocks while surrendering three runs on five hits and three walks.

Dawson Hall and Taylor Penn saw action out of the bullpen. Hall worked three frames, allowing one run on three hits with a trio of strikeouts. He earned the win to move to 6-1 on the season. Penn retired six in a row in the final two innings while fanning two.

The Tops produced nine runs on 11 hits and 11 walks with seven RBIs. The Hilltoppers stole seven bases Friday, marking the second-most in a game this season.

Wideman paced the offense in a 3-or-4 outing with a double, an RBI, three stolen bases, two runs and a walk. He is now the program’s single-season stolen base leader with 42 this year. He passes Carlos Akins, who totaled 41 in the 1995 season.

Hvidsten had a pair of hits in a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI, a stolen base, a pair of walks and a run scored.

Vasquez also had a multi-hit outing in a 2-for-4 day with a stolen base, two runs scored and a walk.

Hayes and Haller each had multi-RBI games. Hayes went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two walks, while Haller was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a stolen base, a run scored and a walk.

Brown had the other stolen base, scoring on the pickle-play.

WKU and Jax State conclude the regular season Saturday afternoon. First pitch from Nick Denes Field is set for 1 p.m. with senior day festivities beginning at 12:30 p.m.