Evan McDole leads the Norse with a .683 on-base percentage after the team's first weekend of action.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team returns to action this weekend when the Norse hit the road for a three-game series at Christian Brothers in Memphis, Tenn.
First pitch for both Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's matinee are 1 p.m. Links to live stats for all three games will be available at nkunorse.com. An audio broadcast of game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader will also be available at nkunorse.com.
NKU's season-opening series at Montevallo saw a positive in a 12-0 shutout to give the Norse their first 1-0 start since 2006. While NKU scored 17 runs in the next two games, the negatives came in the form of losses in both of those contests.
Jeff Bohlen was an offensive star of the weekend, going 7-for-12 (.583) with three doubles and four runs batted in.
Evan McDole was 4-for-9 on the weekend and used five bases on balls to score a team-best five runs. Both players share the team lead with .643 on-base percentages.
A WORD ABOUT CHRISTIAN BROTHERS: The Buccaneers enter the weekend with a 4-5 record and are led offensively by third baseman Alan Wright, who is hitting an even .500 (13-for-26) with seven RBI on the season. Alex Sikes leads the pitching staff with a 2.77 earned run average in 13 innings of work. Sikes has struck out eight batters without surrendering a walk. This weekend will mark the first meeting between the Norse and the Buccaneers.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: NKU's
Dave Middendorf used his performance in Saturday's season opener to earn Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors. In the start, Middendorf went five innings allowing four hits and striking out five batters to take the win and help lead the Norse to a 12-0 victory. Middendorf has led the Norse in strikeouts in each of his last two seasons and has averaged better than a strikeout an inning over his career (141 K's in 135 2/3 innings).
TYING A RECORD: Kevin Jordan tied a school record on Saturday with his (there is an extra space in here) 2 2/3 inning appearance in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Jordan tied Joe Renner's record of 76 career pitching appearances, set between 1989-1992. Last season, Jordan led the Norse in both appearances (32) and innings pitched (77).
TEAM OFFENSE: Though just two weeks have passed in the 2010 season, NKU has already set the bar high for the team offense, hitting .346 as a unit with five players – Bohlen (.583),
Max Colaner (.500), McDole (.444),
Patrick Muth (.417) and
Jason Cisper (.400) – hitting .400 or higher.
