The NKU baseball team dropped a pair of close games against Lewis on Friday.
Game 1 box score |
Game 2 box score
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Richard Forkin's run-scoring single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Lewis an 8-7 win against Northern Kentucky University on Friday and wrapped up a doubleheader sweep for the Flyers.
Lewis also claimed the opener in walk-off fashion, taking an 11-10 decision against NKU. The Flyers improved to 16-15 overall, 7-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
NKU, ranked 19th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, fell to 20-9 overall, 9-3 in the GLVC. The two losses also knocked the Norse out of first place in the GLVC East Division standings.
NKU rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the nightcap and owned a 7-6 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Lewis tied the game at 7-all on an RBI single from Zach Stetson. NKU had taken the lead in the top of the inning when
Max Colaner's infield single drove in
Randy Jones with the go-ahead run.
Lewis loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning. Forkin then ended the game by driving in Brian Norwood with a single to left field.
Jason Cisper and
Bryan Rose both went 3-for-6 with three runs batted in during the nightcap. Rose slammed a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 6-all. Cisper had launched a two-run homer in the third inning for the Norse.
In the opener, Mike Vucsko scored on a wild pitch with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Lewis an 11-10 victory. The Flyers rallied from a 10-7 deficit during the final three innings of play to pull out that win.
Shannon McCormick went 4-for-4 with two RBI for NKU, while Colaner homered and drove in three runs.
Larry Pempek, Cisper and Rose each added three hits for the Norse, who pounded out 18 hits as a team.
Jeff Bohlen added a two-run double to key a five-run fifth inning for NKU, which took an 8-6 lead. Lewis, though, scored a run in its half of the fifth to make it 8-7.
The Norse countered with two more runs in the sixth inning on RBI hits from Rose and McCormick to extend the lead to 10-7, but Lewis rallied late to win.
NKU and Lewis conclude the four-game series Saturday with another doubleheader.
