Northern Kentucky University Athletics

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ST. LOUIS – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team began its quest for a third consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship Thursday afternoon with a 6-0 win against Saint Joseph's in the first round.

Dave Middendorf and Kevin Jordan combined on the shutout for NKU, which is ranked 17th nationally in the latest NCAA Division II poll. Middendorf scattered six hits in seven innings of work and struck out eight batters to improve to 8-1 this season. The junior left-hander walked just one batter and gave way to Jordan after striking out the side in the seventh inning.

Jordan, who was named the GLVC's Pitcher of the Year the previous day, tossed two scoreless innings and had two strikeouts. NKU, the two-time defending GLVC Tournament champion, will face Bellarmine in the second round at noon Friday at the Missouri-St. Louis Baseball Field.

Bryan Rose drove in two runs and scored twice for NKU, which improved to 41-13. Jason Cisper scored a pair of runs for the Norse, while Shannon McCormick knocked in two runs.

NKU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when McCormick drove in Rose from third base with a grounder to second. The Norse plated two more runs in the third inning on RBI singles from Evan McDole and Jeff Bohlen to extend the lead to 3-0.

Middendorf coasted through the first five innings, allowing just three singles. Saint Joseph's rallied in the sixth with back-to-back singles to start the frame, but Middendorf retired the next three batters to keep the shutout and a 3-0 lead.

McCormick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend NKU's advantage to 4-0. Rose sealed the win for NKU in the bottom of the seventh by blasting a two-run double off the base of the center-field wall to drive in Brian Erie and Cisper.

NKU, which is the No. 2 overall seed in the GLVC Tournament, won despite stranding 12 runners on base. Saint Joseph's (30-21) committed four errors that led to three unearned runs and Puma pitchers also hit three NKU batters.

During the regular season, NKU defeated Saint Joseph's three times in four meetings.

NKU has made a habit of winning the GLVC Tournament title in even-numbered years, having claimed the title in 2002, '04, '06 and '08, in addition to last season's championship.

The final two rounds of the double-elimination GLVC Tournament, which expanded to eight teams this season, will be played at Sauget, Ill., on Saturday and Sunday. NKU, Saint Joseph's, Bellarmine and Drury are the four teams competing in St. Louis the first two days, while Southern Indiana, Rockhurst, Indianapolis and Lewis are playing at Sauget, Ill.