In his first appearance on the mound since 2018, Western Kentucky starting pitcher Michael Darrell-Hicks led the Hilltoppers to a 9-3 victory in its season-opener against Valparaiso on Saturday at Nick Denes Field.

After sitting out the 2019 season due to injury, Darrell-Hicks picked up right where he left off, earning the starting nod and a win over the Crusaders after allowing just one hit and no runs while fanning eight batters in five innings.

“My adrenaline was going in the first inning,” Darrell-Hicks said in a news release. “But I threw that first pitch and just settled in and I really found a groove and was just trying to fill up the strike zone to the best of my ability. It felt good to be back out there, (2019) was a long year, and I was just glad to be able to compete.”

Collin Lollar entered the game in relief of Darrell-Hicks in the sixth inning, collecting three strikeouts while allowing one hit and one run in two innings. Mason Vinyard, a junior-college transfer from Wabash Valley College, then entered to close things out for WKU. The redshirt sophomore allowed three hits and two runs while whiffing one batter in his two innings of relief.

“It’s early in the season, but (Darrell-Hicks) certainly has the ability,” WKU coach John Pawlowski said in a news release. “He executed pitches and was around the zone. It is just great to see him go out there and compete. He took it one pitch at a time – he didn’t get too big in the moment. It was also great to see two other guys in Lollar and Vinyard go in there and be able to finish things off.”

The pitching staff was able to work with a comfortable lead throughout the contest as the Hilltopper offense found its rhythm early.

After both teams went scoreless in the first frame, WKU put together five consecutive innings with at least one run, leading to a commanding 9-1 lead after six.

“When you have seven seniors in the lineup they’re going to give you quality at-bats”, Pawlowski said. “We have talked about that. I thought up and down our lineup, we got a lot of professional at-bats out of our hitters today. They battled with two strikes. I thought we put a lot of pressure on Valpo today and certainly made it very difficult. We also played solid defense, and if you do that you have a chance to win the game.”

Eight players recorded at least one hit in the matchup, including four multi-hit performances, combining for a total of 13 hits on the day. Davis Sims, who was also returning from injury after missing the second half of the 2019 season, led the way with a 3-for-5 performance while adding one run and one RBI.

Justin Carlin, the lone transfer to crack the starting lineup, produced a 2-for-3 showing to go along with one RBI and one run. Kevin Lambert added a 2-for-4 outing, collecting two runs and one RBI, while Jackson Swiney rounded out the multi-hit group while going 2-for-5 with a triple and one run.

The Hilltoppers opened the scoring with a single to left field by Carlin sending home Sam McElreath, followed by a throwing error from Valpo’s outfield that plated Lambert. Carlin later scored from third on a passed ball, which gave WKU a 3-0 advantage after two frames.

Matt Phipps extended the Hilltopper lead in the bottom of the third, scoring Sims from second via a single up the middle. Another single up the middle by Lambert later in the inning sent home Phipps to give WKU a 5-0 lead after three.

The Hilltoppers tacked on one more in the fourth frame, with Sims using an RBI single to plate Ray Zuberer II.

WKU extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth, with Jack Wilson ripping a single to left field, which scored McElreath from third. Richard Constantine then put the game at 8-0, using a sac fly to plate Lambert.

The Crusaders scored their first run of the contest in the top of the sixth, using an RBI single up the middle to make it 8-1.

The Hilltoppers answered back in the bottom of the frame, with Swiney scoring from third following a throwing error to first.

Valpo tacked on two more runs in the ninth inning, but ultimately couldn’t muster enough offense to make the comeback.

The Hilltoppers will play Game 2 of their three-game series against Valpo at 1 p.m. Sunday at Nick Denes Field.{&end}