Kaylin Steinmetz rounds third and prepares to greet her teammates at home plate following her first home run of the season. The freshman hit two home runs in NKU's doubleheader against Ashland on Sunday.
Game 1 box score |
Game 2 box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –
Kaylin Steinmetz had four hits, including a pair of home runs, but they weren't enough as the Northern Kentucky University softball team fell short on Sunday against Ashland. NKU was swept in the doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 7-2.
With the losses, the Norse fall to 3-3 on the season.
Steinmetz, a freshman out of Glen Else High School, recorded 2-3 performances in each game. She was the only Norse batter to record multiple hits in either game, and the hits extended her season-opening hitting streak to six games.
“It's really nice to come back home,” said Steinmetz of the team's home opener. “We had some friends and family come out, and it was nice to be able to play in front of the home crowd.”
Her first long-ball of the season came late in Game 1. With Ashland enjoying a 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the freshman rocketed a 2-2 pitch deep over the wall in left centerfield.
“I was fighting off some good pitches and then I saw [Ashland pitcher Emilyn Knerem] grip the changeup, so I knew it was coming,” said Steinmetz, who led the Fort Ancient Valley Conference with 10 home runs last season. “I was looking for it and I hit it.”
It proved to be the only run Knerem (2-0) would surrender in the game. The senior struck out 11 Norse batters for the win.
In Game 2, Ashland built up a quick lead, scoring runs in each of the first four innings. Steinmetz helped the Norse keep pace, taking a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the second inning to right center, cutting the lead to 2-1 at the time.
She would later score NKU's other run in that game after she and
Natalie Papi led off the fourth inning with back-to-back doubles to make it a 4-2 game.
Ashland scored three more runs in the seventh inning to get the game's final score.
McKenna Galloway (1-0) got the win, giving up three runs on two hits and striking out three. Knerem pitched the final two innings to earn her first save of the season.
NKU hits the road next weekend to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play against cross-division foes Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville.
