The NKU baseball team dropped a 7-1 decision to Grand Valley State.
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – If Northern Kentucky University is going to advance to the NCAA Division II World Series, the Norse will have to do it the hard way.
That became evident Friday night after NKU dropped a 7-1 decision to No. 2 seed Grand Valley State in the second round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. The third-seeded Norse, who knocked off Wayne State (Mich.) in the opening round Thursday, will have to win four games during the next two days to claim the regional title and earn a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series.
Grand Valley State (36-14) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Steve Anderson connected for a two-run homer off NKU starter
Dave Middendorf. Anderson's home run, his ninth of the season, was a drive that hit the very top of the wall in left-center field and bounced over.
NKU (42-16) could not solve Grand Valley State right-hander Jared Knuth, who entered the fourth inning with a no-hitter.
Evan McDole ended Knuth's no-hitter by lining a double down the left-field line with two outs.
Shannon McCormick followed with a walk, and
Jeff Bohlen's double down the right-field line drove in McDole to cut Grand Valley State's lead to 2-1.
Knuth toughened up, though, and struck out
Larry Pempek to leave runners stranded on second and third. He scattered five hits and struck out seven NKU batters en route to the complete-game victory for the Lakers, who are ranked 20th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll.
Grand Valley State extended its lead to 4-1 by plating two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Torre Aguirre drilled a run-scoring triple to deep center field, and Zach Laupp plated Aguirre with an infield single that made it 4-1.
The Lakers sealed the win in the seventh by scoring twice. Kyle Gendron's RBI double made it 5-1, and Andrew Trepel's run-scoring single extended the Grand Valley State advantage to 6-1. The Lakers added another run in the eighth and cruised behind the pitching of Knuth.
NKU, which is ranked No. 22 in the NCAA Division II poll, meets Indianapolis in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. The survivor of that game plays the Grand Valley State/Southern Indiana loser later that evening in another elimination contest.
The double-elimination Midwest Region Tournament runs through Sunday, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series at Cary, N.C.
