Zac Asman scores NKU's first run in the opener Monday.
Game 1 box score |
Game 2 box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – If late-season momentum means anything, Northern Kentucky University is definitely a baseball team to watch in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
NKU continued its late-season surge by sweeping a doubleheader from Bellarmine on Monday, walking off with a 2-1 win in the opener and posting an 8-4 victory in Game 2. The Norse wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Tournament and improved to 31-18 overall, 21-13 in the GLVC.
NKU has won 12 of its past 13 games and enters the postseason on a roll.
In the opener,
Brad Clement drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning to give NKU a 2-1 walk-off win. The Norse collected just four hits in the game, but a single and a stolen base by
Jake Morris, a sacrifice by
Max Colaner and three consecutive walks produced the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
Brent Wethington picked up the victory by pitching three innings of scoreless relief. Norse starter
Blake Bagshaw went five innings and allowed just one run on seven hits.
NKU completed the sweep in the nightcap as Morris drove in three runs. The Norse bolted out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning by collecting five hits and taking advantage of two Bellarmine errors.
Morris highlighted the first inning with a two-run double. After Bellarmine eventually cut the NKU lead to 5-4, the Norse plated two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to seal the win.
Bradley Vanderglas drove in two runs for NKU, while teammates
Zac Asman and Patrick Hyde each scored twice. Clement was 3-for-3 and scored a run.
Norse head coach
Todd Asalon now has 393 career victories in 11 years at NKU and 542 wins overall. The Norse have also won at least 30 games the past four seasons.
NKU begins the GLVC Tournament Thursday at 9 a.m. by facing sixth-seeded Drury at St. Louis, Mo. The GLVC Tournament continues through Sunday, and the winner will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
NKU has made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
