Kempf’s arm leads Western

A balanced nine-hit attack from eight different Lady Toppers was enough to beat Louisiana-Monroe 2-1, Sunday at the WKU Softball Complex.

Sophomore third baseman Rebecca Horesky scored the first run in the second inning when junior Shelby Smith hit a single to short right field.

The go-ahead and winning run came in the third after senior left fielder Alana Towns scored on a stand-up double by sophomore Sam Cronk. Cronk led Western with two hits.

Sophomore Jennifer Kempf gave up six hits and struck out five. She is now 14-13 in the circle this season.

- Andrew Robinson

Western can’t bring runners in in loss

Western dropped its second straight conference series with a 6-4 loss to Arkansas State Sunday.

The Indians (16-23, 8-10 Sun Belt Conference) took the series’ opener, 8-5, which was played over Friday and Saturday due to rain.

The Toppers (15-18, 7-8 SBC) earned their lone victory of the weekend 10-3 Saturday. Freshman pitcher Matt Ridings (4-1) threw his first career complete game, limiting the Indians to three hits.

Western out-hit Arkansas State 13-10 Sunday, but left 12 runners on base.

“We did a decent job of putting ourselves in position, and a terrible job of getting (runners) in,” coach Chris Finwood said. “It was certainly a winnable game.”

- Will Perkins