Western Kentucky’s offense came up empty Wednesday night with its postseason hopes on the line.
Middle Tennessee pitcher Kailey Ahlstrom shut out the Hilltoppers over seven innings, and her Blue Raiders beat WKU 1-0 in a Conference USA Tournament elimination game in Birmingham, Ala.
No. 6 seed MTSU (29-26) clinched a spot in the double-elimination portion of the bracket, set to begin Thursday. The No. 3 seed Toppers (37-13) failed to win a game at the conference tourney for the first time in their fourth trip to the event.
WKU went 18-6 in C-USA regular-season play and won an outright East Division title.