Caleb Lonkard finished 3-for-4 from the plate and scored once as the Northern Kentucky University baseball team fell to Lipscomb University 6-3 at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Thursday in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
Trey Ganns, Logan Spurlin and Quint Heady each recorded one hit to account for the final total for NKU, which fell to 17-32 overall and 5-14 in the Atlantic Sun. Cole Bauml was walked three times for the Norse, who stranded seven runners on base.
Evan Korson (2-8) took the loss on the mound for NKU, going seven innings in the Norse start and allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Justin Watts gave up two runs on three hits over two innings of relief work.
Lipscomb, which improved to 33-18 on the year and 11-8 in the conference, took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after a Grant Massey double down the left-field line brought home Michael Gigliotti, who recorded a lead-off bunt single. The Bisons added to their lead in the second when Adam Lee hit an infield single to score Mike Korte, who was walked, to extend the advantage to 2-0.
Ganns cut the NKU deficit in half in the bottom of the second, sending a 3-1 pitch over the right-field wall for his fourth home run of the season, before the Norse tied the game in the third. Lonkard led off the frame with a single to center field, and he went to second on a Heady ground out.
Bauml followed with a walk, and David Head reached base on a fielding error by the shortstop to load the bases. Lonkard then came home on an Ian Martinez-McGraw wild pitch to bring the game even at 2-all.
A home run from Jeffrey Crisan over the wall in left-center field regained the lead for Lipscomb in the fourth, pushing the Bisons ahead 3-2, before a sacrifice fly from Lee allowed Hunter Hanks to come home for a two-run advantage in the seventh. Lipscomb added one run each in the eighth and ninth innings to take a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the final frame when the Norse threatened.
Spurlin sparked the NKU offense with a single to left field, and Lonkard followed with a single up the middle. Dominic Mercurio drew a walk to load the bases before an infield single from Heady allowed Spurlin to come home, but Lipscomb got out of the inning without allowing any additional Norse runs.
Gigliotti led the way for the Bisons, going 4-for-5 with one double and one run scored, while Lee, Massey and Crisan each finished 2-for-4. Lee drove in two runs and scored once, and Crisan added one run and one RBI.
Martinez-McGraw (7-3) earned the victory for Lipscomb, allowing just two runs, one earned, on two hits over six innings of work. He struck out four batters and walked two. Nick Andros gave up one run on four hits, struck out three batters and walked one in 2.1 innings of relief as Jaesung Hwang earned the save after striking out the final two batters of the game.
NKU and Lipscomb take the field for the second game of the series on Friday at 1 p.m. A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and John Asalon’s audio broadcast can be found at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also track the game’s progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
From NKU Athletics