3-0 turned out to be the magic deficit Friday for Western Kentucky on both ends of a doubleheader.
The Hilltoppers spotted visiting Rice 3-0 leads in both contests before coming back and winning 6-3 and 9-5 over two games at Nick Denes Field.
WKU (22-22-1 overall, 13-9-1 Conference USA) clinched a series victory over the Owls (21-26, 12-11), who entered the day a half-game ahead of the Toppers in the C-USA standings.
Coach John Pawlowski’s WKU squad pushed its way into third place in Conference USA, passing both Rice and Louisiana Tech (28-18, 12-10) in the league table.