Jim Mashek

WKU TRIES TO SALVAGE GAME THREE AT THE NICK

Twenty, maybe 30 minutes after it was over, Liberty University right-hander Ben Blair was still speaking to a Chicago based sports agent, leaning against the right-field wall while plotting what’s next for his final year of college baseball.

It’s been an impressive two months for the Flames’ hard-throwing junior, a first-team All Conference USA choice in 2025, with a promising future in the pro game.

Blair dominated a scrambling Western Kentucky squad on a warm, sunny Friday evening at WKU’s Nick Denes Field, guiding the Flames to another impressive victory over the Hilltoppers.

Western gets a shot to salvage the third and final game of the three-game C-USA series, with the Tops (16-15 overall, 4-7 in Conference USA) playing host to the Flames (21-9, 8-3 in C-USA) in a noon game at The Nick.

“We’ve got to put some (at bats) together … we’re just in a funk, right now,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said when it was over.

For all practical purposes, it might have been over after the third inning, with the Flames cruising along with a three-run lead, and Ben Blair on the bump.

Liberty 6, Western Kentucky 2.

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us. We won the league (tournament) last year,” Rardin said. “Baseball’s rough. It starts between the ears.”

Blair would be quick to concur.

The hard-throwing, 6-foot-4 righty from Graetna, Virginia, just a stone’s throw from the Liberty campus, shackled the Tops for seven innings before yielding to junior left-hander Josh Swink to complete the task at hand. Blair scattered six hits over his seven innings, recording eight strikeouts with just one walk.

“It’s a lot easier, when you have a good defense,” Blair said in the corner of the stadium. “I’m just trying to throw strikes … whenever you walk guys, it usually comes back to haunt you.”

Liberty catcher Kyle Hvidsten, who spent the 2025 season at WKU, did an exceptional job framing pitches behind the plate, and like Thursday’s game, he had plenty of firsthand knowledge of the Hilltoppers’ top-flight batters, in particular senior first baseman Kyle Hayes and junior catcher Camden Ross. Blair threw 100 pitches, 66 of them for strikes, in earning his fifth victory against a single defeat.

“Ben has an unbelievable work ethic, and he shines in big moments,” Hvidsten said. “Nobody else I would rather fight for, than him. He had all of his pitches working, all day, and he kept them off balance.

“His pace is definitely a big part of his game. You’re never comfortable in the box.”

Ask Hayes.

Hayes leads the Hilltoppers with seven home runs this season, but Blair and LU left-hander Josh Swink combined to strike him out four times.

That’s right.

The Grand Sombrero.

WKU left-hander Zach Serup earned the starting assignment, for the Tops, but he couldn’t make it through the second inning. His location was clearly off, as the Flames were building that early 3-0 lead, and WKU coach Marc Rardin went to the bullpen with a bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the second.

“We’re kind of forcing the issue, trying to stay in the game,” Rardin said. “(Serup) was leaving the ball up, and he didn’t have anything on his breaking ball …”

Leadoff man Tanner Marsh, the Flames’ do-it-all junior shortstop, continued to haunt the Hilltoppers. He drilled a two-run double to the left-field corner in the top of the second inning, and he made one big play after another in the field. Marsh went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Landon Scilley, Liberty’s sophomore DH, went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the sixth.

“We’ve got to approach (Saturday’s game) with the right frame of mind on offense,” Rardin said. “Create some breaks, execute, get men on base, that sort of thing.

“There’s always an advantage, putting the ball in play.”