The Northern Kentucky University softball team will stay busy this week with a pair of non-conference doubleheaders.
The Norse will take on Morehead State on Tuesday before traveling to face Marshall on Wednesday. First pitch each day is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Norse lost three close games in a weekend series against Atlantic Sun foe Stetson. The Norse fell in Saturday’s doubleheader, 3-1 and 3-2, before dropping Sunday’s finale, 7-5. NKU battled throughout and had the game-tying run at the plate in the final inning of each contest.
Paige McQueen had a huge finale, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBIs. McQueen’s homer in the seventh inning was her second of the season and the second grand slam for a Norse player this season (Katelyn Roy) and put the Norse in a position to tie the contest after being down seven runs earlier in the game. The five-RBI game was the first for a Norse player since Roy’s performance against Florida A&M on March 11, 2014.
Sydney Ferrante extended her on-base streak to 12 games over the weekend. Ferrante drew a pair of walks in the opener on the weekend, went 2-for-3 in Saturday’s nightcap and was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored on Sunday. Over the span, Ferrante has hit .394, drawing 10 walks and scoring eight runs in the process.
Dani Devlin returned to the lineup and returned to form, picking up hits in all three games to extend her streak to nine games. After missing six games, Devlin stormed back to go 4-for-12 over the weekend to keep her team-best hitting streak going. In the nine games, Devlin has hit .455 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Devlin continues to be one of the A-Sun’s toughest outs, ranking fifth in batting average (.402) and third in slugging (.782).
The Norse pitching staff posted a 1.94 ERA over the weekend at Stetson. The NKU hurlers allowed just five earned runs over 18 innings of work. Alex Caudill’s miniscule 0.91 ERA over 7.2 innings bolstered NKU’s effort, while Ashlynn Roberts allowed four earned runs in 7.1 innings in the circle.
Morehead State split a doubleheader at Southeast Missouri State on the weekend to enter Tuesday’s twinbill at 17-19. Leadoff hitter Kayla McGuffey has led the Eagles’ offensively, posting a .370 batting average, scoring 19 runs and swiping 11 bases. Karly Thompson has provided the power with a team-best seven doubles. In the circle, Mackenzie Grossman leads the way with a 10-7 record and a 2.65 ERA to go along with 72 strikeouts in 119 innings.
Marshall had a 10-game winning streak snapped on Saturday after a doubleheader split with Florida Atlantic. Marshall is 29-11 on the season thanks to a speedy offense that leads the nation in stolen bases per game (3.39) and ranks 12th in team batting average (.344). Morgan Zerkle stands atop both of those lists for the Thundering Herd, boasting a .517 batting average and 42 stolen bases that ranks second in the nation for each category.
In addition, Zerkle has scored 53 runs, ranking third nationally, and driven in 26 more.
The Norse face a test in conference play this weekend, traveling to take on South Carolina Upstate for a three-game A-Sun series. First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s finale are both scheduled for 1 p.m. NKU returns home on April 28 to open a five-game homestand that will wrap up the 2015 regular season with a nonconference doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) at 2 p.m.
NKU baseball team visits Butler, Evansville
The Northern Kentucky University baseball team continues its nine-game road trip with a pair of midweek contests in Indiana as the Norse travel to Butler and Evansville in non-conference action.
NKU opens the week at Butler in Indianapolis on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m., before heading to Evansville for a 7 p.m. Eastern contest on Wednesday. Links to live stats and John Asalon’s audio broadcast for each event are available at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also follow each game’s progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
The Norse improved to 12-23 overall and 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after capturing a 6-4 victory in the series finale against Stetson on Sunday after the Hatters defeated NKU 13-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday to claim the series. Anthony Vagnier finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead the Norse offense, while Quint Heady and Trey Ganns each posted two-hit games.
Matt Jefferson earned his second victory of the season after giving up three runs on seven hits in seven innings, and he struck out five batters and walked two. Nick Beard posted his first collegiate save after pitching two innings of one-hit relief.
Butler holds a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series with NKU, which started with a 4-2 Norse victory on March 14, 1978. The two teams split a pair of games during the 1979 season before the Bulldogs handed the Norse a 4-0 loss the following year.
During NKU’s inaugural NCAA Division I season in 2013, the programs resumed the series. That season, the Norse suffered losses by scores of 6-2 and 8-3 at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex before the Bulldogs also claimed a 3-2 win in Indianapolis one month later. Last season, NKU took advantage of five Butler errors to take a 12-6 victory in Highland Heights, giving head coach Todd Asalon his 600th career victory.
Evansville moved to 20-16 overall and 5-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Aces dropped a 7-3 decision in the first game of its South Alabama series on Friday, but they held off a seventh-inning rally for a 6-5 victory on Saturday. Evansville claimed the series in Sunday’s finale with a 9-5 win over the Jaguars.
Kevin Kaczmarski leads the MVC with a .422 batting average, and he has recorded 10 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 10 stolen bases in 13 attempts for Evansville. Kaczmarski has driven in a team-leading 30 runs and has scored 24 times, while Josh Jyawook is batting .323 with a team-high 12 doubles, two home runs, 22 RBIs and 35 runs scored. Jarod Perry has also scored 35 times for the Aces and is hitting .299 with nine doubles and one triple.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Billo is expected to take the mound against the Norse on Wednesday. Billo is 4-1 on the season and has recorded a 3.22 ERA over 50.1 innings of work, and he has struck out 33 batters to lead the Evansville pitching staff and he has walked 12 batters in 12 appearances, including seven starts.
NKU travels to Spartanburg, South Carolina, for a three-game Atlantic Sun series against USC Upstate. First pitch for Friday’s opener is slated for 6 p.m. with Saturday’s contest set to begin at 2 p.m. The two teams will wrap up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Links to live stats and John Asalon’s audio broadcast for each contest will be available at NKUNorse.com.
Mother Nature suspends A-Sun men’s golf tournament
For the second time in as many days, Mother Nature decided to intervene in the 2015 Atlantic Sun Men’s Golf Championship at Braselton, Georgia. Second round action was suspended following a brief hail storm, forcing Northern Kentucky and the remainder of the field to wait until Tuesday morning to complete just the first round.
Sunday’s round was pushed back to Monday after rain and a tornado watch were put into effect for most of the daytime. The teams were going to play 36 holes on Monday, but were unable to finish the first round before hail started falling.
Hail that resembled golf balls littered the majority of the course prompting the suspension of Monday’s play.
First-round action resumed at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Players will use carts in attempt to close out the first round, as well as finish the final 36-holes on Tuesday.
From NKU Athletics