By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the first time ever, Northern Kentucky University will be one of the teams announced during the NCAA Division I baseball playoffs selection show on ESPN2 at noon on Monday.
NKU won the Horizon League tournament championship game on Saturday to earn a berth in the Division I 64-team field that will be divided into 16 region brackets. The Norse will enter the competition with a 35-22 record following a three-game sweep at the Horizon tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
NKU blasted Youngstown State, 23-5, in the league championship game on Saturday that was televised on ESPN+.
“It feels unreal,” NKU coach Dizzy Peyton said in an interview after the title game. “This is just such a special moment by so many special people. The players poured so much into this.”
The tournament’s MVP Award went to NKU right fielder Treyvin Moss, who had five RBI in the title game and a three-game total of 12 RBI.
The team’s other two starting outfielders — Tyler Shaneyfelt and Logen Devenport — combined for four hits and seven RBI in the title game.
Clay Brock earned the victory on the mound. The senior right-hander allowed four runs on five hits in 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts to push his record to 8-3.
The Norse scored seven runs in the fourth inning and six more in the fifth to open up a 14-2 lead. It was the 22nd time this season that they reached double figures in runs scored. In the seventh inning, a bases loaded triple by Moss made it 21-2. It was the fourth time this season that the team scored 20 runs or more.
“Now we just keep moving forward,” Moss said after the win. “We’ve got a regional (berth), which is the first in school history, so it’s awesome to be a part of this. But now we’re on to the next … No matter who we play, no matter where we’re at we’re going to play our best ball and give it all we’ve got.”
This is Peyton’s third season as head coach of the Norse after spending 17 years as an assistant coach in charge of the pitching staff. NKU finished 19-35 and 30-27 in his first two seasons as head coach.