Anthony Vagnier’s 3-for-4 performance led the Northern Kentucky University baseball team to a 6-4 victory over Stetson University in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Sunday at Melching Field.
With the win, NKU salvaged the last game of the three-game series. Stetson won the other two games by scores of 13-1 and 4-3.
Vagnier scored twice and drove in one run for NKU, which improved to 12-23 overall and 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun. Quint Head and Trey Ganns each posted two-hit games for the Norse, who recorded 10 hits and left eight base runners stranded in the series finale.
Matt Jefferson (2-5) gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings on the mound for NKU for the victory. He struck out five batters and walked two. Nick Beard earned his first collegiate save after pitching two innings of one-hit relief.
NKU took advantage of a Stetson error to take an early lead. With one out, Logan Spurlin reached base on a fielding error by second baseman Jack Machonis, and he went to third on a double down the left-field line by David Head. Vagnier’s infield single allowed Spurlin to come home for a 1-0 Norse lead.
A solo home run over the left-field wall by Spurlin sparked a three-run fourth for NKU. Head then reached on a fielding error by shortstop Tyler Bocock, and Vagnier followed with a single to right field. Ryan LeFevers then reached on a fielder’s choice, which saw Head out at third, before a wild pitch advanced Vagnier and LeFevers an extra base.
A fielding error by first baseman Will Mackenzie allowed Vagnier to score and Heady to reach base to push the Norse ahead, 3-0. The third Hatters miscue of the frame saw Kyle Colletta reach base and LeFevers come home for a 4-0 advantage.
Stetson put its first run on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a Mackenzie home run over the right-field wall before NKU answered with two more runs in the sixth inning. Vagnier led off the Norse frame with a single to left-center field and scored on a LeFevers double down the left-field line. LeFevers went to third on the play as left fielder Vance Vizcaino misplayed the ball, and a passed ball allowed LeFevers to come home to extend the lead to 6-1.
The Hatters cut the Norse advantage to 6-3 on a two-run double by Patrick Mazeika, which brought home Bocock and Cory Reid, in the bottom of the seventh inning and added one more on a Bocock ground out that scored Garrett Russini in the eighth for the final margin of the game.
Mazeika posted his third two-RBI performance of the three-game series and went 3-for-5 to lead the way for Stetson, which finished with nine hits and stranded 10 base runners. Reid was the only other Hatters batter to collect a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with one run scored.
Sheller (2-6) surrendered six runs, only two earned, on seven hits with one strikeout in five innings for the Hatters, who committed five errors against the Norse.
NKU continues its nine-game road trip with a pair of midweek contests. The Norse open the week at Butler on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before heading to Evansville for a 7 p.m. 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.
From NKU Athletics