Northern Kentucky heading to Lexington after adding weekend baseball series with UK


The Northern Kentucky University baseball team picked up a three-game series with Kentucky in Lexington this weekend after travel complications due to inclement weather in northern Kentucky forced the team’s New Mexico State series to be canceled.

First pitch for Saturday’s opener from Cliff Hagan Stadium is slated for 2 p.m., and the two teams will take the field for a doubleheader on Sunday.

Game 1 begins at noon Sunday with game 2 following after a short break. Links to live stats and John Asalon’s audio broadcast will be available at NKUNorse.com. Fans can follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for updates as each game progresses as well.

NKU will be in Lexington this weekend for a three-game series against Kentucky and the Norse will be looking for their first win over the Cats after nine straight losses (NKU Athletics Photo)
NKU will be in Lexington this weekend for a three-game series against Kentucky and the Norse will be looking for their first win over the Cats after nine straight losses (NKU Athletics Photo)

NKU takes a 2-8 overall record to Lexington and looks to snap a four-game losing streak.

The Norse traveled to Emerson, Georgia, last weekend and dropped three neutral-site contests to William & Mary, including a pair of extra-inning games in Sunday’s doubleheader. The Tribe handed NKU a 9-3 loss in the series opener on Saturday before defeating the Norse, 6-4 and 5-4, respectively, on Sunday.

Caleb Lonkard paced the NKU offense against William & Mary, batting .556 (5-for-9) with three runs scored and one RBI. The senior infielder recorded his first career home run and stole successfully two bases in as many attempts against the Tribe.

David Head went 4-for-9 (.444) with one double, while Trey Ganns continued his impressive performance at the plate in his first season with the Black and Gold, hitting .400 with one double and two RBIs on four hits.

Left-handed pitcher Cody Cooper struck out five batters to equal his career high in 2.2 innings of relief, surrendering just one unearned run on two hits in Sunday’s night cap. Fellow lefty Evan Korson pitched six innings of relief in Sunday’s opener, giving up two earned runs on two hits with five strikeouts as well.

The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 9-3 overall record after sweeping a midweek doubleheader against Murray State.

Kentucky scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning and added one more in the fifth to take a 4-1 win in the opener before using a three-run seventh for a 4-3 victory in the nightcap.

Kyle Barrett leads seven Wildcats batting over .300 with a .431 batting average to go along with four doubles, seven RBIs and eight runs scored, and he has successfully stole three bases in five attempts. Zach Arnold is batting .429 with three doubles and has scored four times, while Ka’ai Tom holds a .422 batting average.

Tom has driven in 10 runs, which trails just Thomas Bernal’s 12, and scored 11 times for UK this season. Bernal is hitting .342 as Evan White (.326), Riley Mahan (.321) and Connor Heady (.308) round out the heavy hitters.

Right-handed pitcher Dustin Beggs has earned three starts for the UK pitching staff this season and holds a 2.08 earned run average and 1-1 record. He has allowed five runs, four earned, on 17 hits with 12 strikeouts and has walked just two batters in 17.1 innings on the mound.

Fellow righty Kyle Cody has started in each of his three appearances for the Wildcats, and he is also 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. He leads the team in strikeouts with 18, and he has only walked three batters over 14 innings.

UK has won each of the previous nine games in the series with NKU. The two teams first met during the 1972 season as Kentucky shut out the Norse in an 8-0 victory in Camp Springs, Ky. The Wildcats completed the season sweep on May 3, when Kentucky defeated NKU, 5-1, in Lexington.

NKU and Kentucky faced each other six more times through the 1980 season with the closest contest coming in 1979 when the Wildcats held on for a 3-2 victory over the Norse, before taking a break until the 2005 season when the two teams met again for their most recent matchup.

NKU begins midweek play on Tuesday, March 10, at Dayton before the Norse open a four-game home stand the following day, welcoming IPFW to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex at 3 p.m. NKU then hosts Eastern Michigan for a three-game series, starting with a 3 p.m. contest on Friday, March 13.

Meanwhile, the Northern Kentucky University softball team will take to the field this weekend in Canton, Georgia, to face three separate teams in an impromptu tournament to take place at Boling Park.

The games have been added to replace those lost to the cancellation of the Southeast Games, set to be host by Southeast Missouri State. NKU will take on Cleveland State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., followed by a contest against Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the Norse will again face Cleveland State at 12:30 p.m., and will close out the weekend with a 3 p.m. first pitch against Saint Louis.

Following Sunday’s games, the Norse will enjoy an off day on Monday before heading to Nashville, Tennessee, for a pair of games against Tennessee State. The following day, NKU plays two against UT Martin before heading south on Thursday for a doubleheader at Alabama A&M. After a day of rest on Friday, NKU will open a three-game weekend series against Alabama State to close out the week’s work.

From NKU Athletics


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *