For the first time since joining the league prior to the 2015 season, Western Kentucky baseball has clinched a berth in the Conference USA Tournament.

The eight-team, double-elimination championship will take place May 22-26, as MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss., hosts the event for the third consecutive year.

It’ll mark WKU’s first appearance in a league tourney since 2014, when it competed in the Sun Belt Conference.

Standing at 15-9-1 in C-USA play thus far and with 30 total games scheduled in the league’s regular season, the Hilltoppers are guaranteed to finish above Alabama-Birmingham (9-17), Florida International (10-16), Charlotte (10-15-1) and Middle Tennessee (11-15).

The Blue Raiders’ 7-3 loss to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon was the berth-clinching result.

WKU had its Saturday game at Louisiana Tech postponed due to inclement weather. The Hilltoppers and Bulldogs will conclude their weekend series Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.

Per league rules, both games in the twin bill will be scheduled seven-inning contests.

In his fourth year at the helm, coach John Pawlowski has led WKU to a 24-22-1 record with six regular-season games remaining, already matching the 2015 (24-28) and ’16 (24-30) campaigns for the most overall wins since the Hilltoppers joined C-USA.

The 15 league wins are also the most, surpassing WKU’s 2018 mark of 11-18.

The entirety of the 2019 C-USA Baseball Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship game to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

C-USA hands down suspensions after Friday fight

Conference USA suspended WKU pitcher Troy Newell and Louisiana Tech outfielder Steele Netterville four games each for their roles in a postgame altercation Friday between the two teams, Hilltopper team spokesman Bryan Fyalkowski told the Daily News on Saturday.

The benches-clearing incident occurred after WKU pitcher Bailey Sutton struck out Netterville with the bases loaded to seal the Tops’ 5-4 win.

Video from the game at Ruston (La.) High School showed Netterville’s bat strike WKU catcher Collin Hopkins’ left arm after he swung and missed the final pitch.

Hilltopper players exchanged words with Netterville as Hopkins held his arm in pain. The situation escalated from there until the teams and coaching staffs were separated.