By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
It doesn’t get much better than this. Parents, girlfriends, doggies, country music, tailgaters, even some picnickers on the outfield hill overlooking NKU’s Bill Aker Baseball Complex Sunday right before the first pitch at noon.
It’s going to be above 80, bright and breezy and sunny as the first-place Norse, two games in front in the Horizon League, face second-place Wright State on a day that makes you believe that spring – more like summer – is finally here.
With 22 wins in their first 34 games against a challenging schedule with six games – including two wins — against SEC opponents, and one game each against Big Ten and Big 12 teams, this NKU bunch has been punching above its weight.
Recruiting above its weight as well, with the 40-man roster coming from a dozen states – California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin and Iowa, to name a few – with three from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Even from three different Franklins – Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Twenty-five of the 40 are college transfers with 10 of them Division I guys. Sixteen of the Norse are from Ohio, mostly Southwest Ohio where head coach Dizzy Peyton and his staff come from.
In fact, this is a Dayton-centric day with Wright State here, bringing more fans than NKU to the 250 in the ballpark for a challenging Raider team that has 26 Ohioans. No wonder that one NKU fan had a sweatshirt that said: “SOUTHERN CINCINNATI.”
And the Norse, having lost their fifth-best active NCAA home win streak Saturday at 13 straight, hoped to get it going again and regain that two-game lead over Wright State.
But the news wasn’t all good for the Norse. Having given up 26 runs in the first two games with top Friday starter Tanner Gillis – who beat Missouri 3-1 earlier in NKU’s biggest win this season — out of action the last two weeks, the Norse would be going with a pitcher with just three appearances this season.
And this on a pitching staff with a combined earned run average of 7.31 – and just one pitcher of the seven with 10 or more appearances – with an ERA under 5.40.
One more weather element. The wind was blowing. Blowing out. Big time. Right through this diamond built on a hilltop with no protection for the gales heading toward left field.
Uh oh.
In his fifth year as head coach, Peyton, a former NKU pitcher from South Lebanon, Ohio, has been a part of this program for the last 22 years. He can only recall a handful of times the wind was blowing any other way than out toward the hills in left.
“Not that I can remember,” he says thinking back. “It’s the ballpark we play in,” he says of the combination of short distances in this geologically limited something of a band box . . . and that wind. “Ten to 20 mph,” The Weather Channel reported.
If only. Not here in Highland Heights. The Weather Channel wasn’t here. The gusts may have started at 20 but the flags straining their poles warned: “Tailgaters beware, the ball is coming your way.”
NKU’s Treyvin Moss got it going in the first but Wright State DH Julian Greenwell took full advantage in the fourth and fifth innings with a pair of grand slams. Yep, eight RBI in two swings, both against NKU relievers who made the mistake of throwing the ball over the plate with the bases loaded.
What had been a tight game with four lead changes and three ties was no more. Wright State 12, NKU 7. And four innings to go.
“You gotta’ make good pitches,” Peyton said of the challenges of being NKU against a team that would hit five out on this day. “They’ve got good hitters.”
The final score: Wright State 16, NKU 11 as the Norse came back to add four runs in the final four innings. But so did the Raiders (20-15, 10-5 Horizon).
But the key is NKU (22-13, 11-4 Horizon), despite its inability to keep Wright State off the board, did keep digging. They put up 35 runs on the weekend – winning 15-14 with a bottom-of-the-ninth three-run comeback Friday before getting rocked 12-9 Saturday and then even more so Sunday.
Do the math. NKU scored an average of 11.7 runs a game and lost two of three because the Norse gave up 14 a game – 42 in all. But those 35 runs are what Peyton chose to think about.
“It’s kind of the identity of this team,” Peyton said of a never-say-die club not letting itself get discouraged at how the weekend went. Or a thought of what this means for the Horizon race or the season-ending three-game series at Wright State.
“Way too far down the road,” Peyton said, although when asked if he thought NKU would be on top when all the games are played, he made it clear they would be in the thick of things: “That’s right.”
As for getting his pitching going in a college baseball world where the scores keep going up and the power arm recruits mostly keep going to the Power Five programs. “You just gotta’ find the right ones,” Dizzy said.
And you have to keep showing up.
“We play Union Tuesday,” he said as one of his young sons in his arms made it clear that it was time to get out of here.
As it was.
SCORING SUMMARY
Wright St.0 3 0 4 5 0 3 1 0 16 14 2
NKU 1 3 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 11 14 2
WP: T. RODER (1-2), LP NICK MCCLANAHAN (1-3)
TOP HITTERS: WSU-GREENWELL, JULIAN: 2 HR, 2B, 8 RBI; Greenwell 2HR, 8 RBI; A. Patrick (HR); P. Fultz (HR); N. Manley (HR); S. Sass (2B), B. Vore (2B); B. Smith (2B). NKU: HR-Treyvin Moss; 2B: Paulick, Jake; Wood, Mitch; Lane, Peyton.