Western Kentucky beat Lafayette 9-3 and 8-1 to complete the three-game baseball series sweep and move to 5-0 on the season on Sunday night at Nick Denes Field.

“It’s early in the season. Some of the early season, for sure, is just ‘win or learn.’ The winning is a by-product,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “It’s good. It’s exciting for the guys, but it’s about what we do within the game. Throwing the strikes, making the routine plays and having good approaches at the plate.”

In the opener, the Tops scored twice in the first inning with an RBI single from Ryan Wideman and an RBI groundout from Camden Ross.

The first Hilltopper home run of the year came from Ethan Lizama in the second inning as he launched a three-run shot over the right-field wall to extend WKU’s advantage to 5-0.

Lafayette got on the board in the fifth by scoring a run on a fielder’s choice.

WKU’s Drew Barragan added a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame with a two-RBI single to make the score 7-1.

A WKU error allowed another Leopard run to score in the top of the sixth.

Barragan tallied the Tops’ eighth run of the day with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

An RBI single from Lafayette in the top of the eighth cut its deficit to five.

Wideman singled up the middle to score Carlos Vasquez in the bottom of the frame to make the final score 9-3.

Drew Whalen made his second start on the mound for the Hilltoppers. The right-hander set a new career-high with five innings pitched while matching career-high of eight strikeouts. He allowed just one run on two hits and one walk. Whalen is the first WKU starting pitcher to earn the winning-decision this season.

Dawson Hall, Evan Jones and Zach Lyles saw action in relief for the Hilltoppers. Combined, they conceded two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk while fanning a pair of Leopards in the final four frames.

WKU scored first once again in game two as Vasquez reached home while Lizama drew a throw to second on a steal attempt.

Wideman and Kyle Hayes homered on back-to-back pitches to start the third inning and extend the WKU lead to 3-0.

The fourth Hilltopper run of the day crossed the plate in the fifth as Kyle Hvidsten knocked in Wideman on an infield single.

Two more runs came home for WKU in the sixth as Lizama was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and a sacrifice fly from Wideman scored another to make the tally 6-0.

The Leopards’ first run of the game scored in the top of the eighth on an RBI double.

Lizama homered again in game two as he hit a towering shot down the right-field line to score two more runs and put the final score at 8-1.

Jack Bennett got the starting nod in game two – his first appearances of the season. The right-hander was excellent on his way to picking up his first win of the 2025 season. He tossed five shutout innings and registered five strikeouts while only giving up four hits without a walk.

Lucas Hartman and Lucas Litteral pitched two innings a piece in the final four frames. They surrendered just one run on three hits while collecting six strikeouts.

The Hilltoppers had 29 hits, 17 runs and 16 RBI during the doubleheader. WKU reached double-digit hits in each game – a feat they had not accomplished in 2025 prior to today.

Lizama led the way with a 5-for-9 (.556) outing. He totaled six RBIs off two home runs and a double while scoring three times. In the three-hole, Wideman was 5-for-9 (.556) with four RBIs, a near 400-foot home run and two runs scored. He was 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts. Vasquez was 5-for-8 (.625) at the plate with a double and four runs scored. Barragan had three RBIs on the day, going 3-for-7 with a double.

WKU hits the road for the first time this season as they take on Murray State on Monday in Murray. First pitch from Johnny Reagan Field is schedule for 3 p.m. CT.