With three unearned runs, West Virginia defeated Western Kentucky on Sunday 7-1 at Nick Denes Field in the final game of a weekend series. Colie Currie and Colin Butkiewicz each had a pair of hits for the Hilltoppers, who fell to 5-7.

In the top of the first inning, the Mountaineers got one of their unearned runs when Ivan Gonzalez reached base via catcher’s interference and Darius Hill followed with an RBI double off WKU starter Paul Kirkpatrick.

The visitors struck for three runs in the fourth frame, when Kyle Brophy scored on a passed ball and a two-out throwing error off a Brandon White ground ball brought in two more.

Currie got things started for the Hilltoppers in the bottom of the fourth, doubling down the left-field line and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Steven Kraft to bring the score within three, at 4-1.

Kraft later added a single and since returning to the team before Saturday’s game, has gone 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch and an RBI.

Brophy pushed the Mountaineers’ lead back to four with a sac fly in the following frame.

The righty Kirkpatrick from Austin, Texas, threw 71 of 99 pitches for strikes, striking out five in 6 1/3 innings while not issuing a walk. He hit two batters and allowed six hits. He was issued a loss with five runs allowed, but only two earned.

When Kirkpatrick departed with one out and one on in the seventh, reliever Troy Newell induced a double play, then pitched a perfect eighth inning to follow.

West Virginia added a pair of runs in the ninth off righty reliever Maddex Richardson, making his first appearance of the series, which pushed the score to its final of 7-1.