Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Week 5 game notes

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team faces another tough weekend of Great Lakes Valley Conference action as the Norse welcome in East division rivals Saint Joseph's and Indianapolis.

***UPDATE: Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Joseph's has been rescheduled for an 11 a.m. first pitch.  The Norse will host Indianapolis on Sunday at noon.

The Norse stand at 16-8 overall and 8-4 in GLVC play after taking three of four games on the road at Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Indiana last weekend.  After a day off on Monday, the Norse posted a pair of shutouts against regional foe Urbana.

LAST TIME AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH'S: NKU picked up a pair of big wins last season against the Pumas, sweeping last year's conference doubleheader by scores of 7-1 and 10-1.  Jessica Farris pounded out five hits in the twin bill while Dee Dee Davis and Emily Schwaeble each had four.  In the circle, Chelsie Roy and April Ehlers combined to allow just five hits to the Pumas in the contests.  NKU holds a 25-17 edge in the all-time series between the clubs.

LAST TIME AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: The Norse split a doubleheader at Indianapolis last season, with Ehlers surrendering a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 1 to fall, 2-0, before the Norse battled back to take a 4-0 victory in the nightcap.  Schwaeble went 2-3 in the victory, driving in an insurance run in the seventh inning.  Indianapolis, currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division II national poll, leads the all-time series, 27-23.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: In Tuesday's 9-0 win against Urbana, the Norse liked their scoring in bunches, getting all seven hits and nine runs in the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Among those seven hits were three Norse home runs – a three-run homer by Emily Schwaeble, a two-run homer by Kari Lang and a grand slam by Kaylin Steinmetz.

ANOTHER NO-NO: Schwaeble continues to put together a string of superlative pitching performances, picking up her second no-hitter in three weeks in a 9-0 victory over Urbana.  The junior out of Colerain struck out eight batters in the five-inning contest and had a perfect game going through 14 outs before surrendering a walk with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.  Schwaeble is now 12-1 on the season and stands second among GLVC pitchers with 112 strikeouts.

STEINMETZ STILL IMPRESSES: Kaylin Steinmetz has emerged as one of the top hitters not just for the Norse, but in the GLVC.  The freshman currently leads the league in home runs (12), RBIs (29), slugging (.988) and total bases (80).  Her 12 home runs have already tied an NKU single-season record for home runs and place her seventh all-time.

PAPI SHOWS SOME POP: NKU first baseman Natalie Papi had a breakout week, hitting .462 (6-13) in six games with a home run and three RBIs to lead all batters against Quincy, Illinois Springfield and Urbana.  The sophomore raised her batting average to .267 on the year with the performance.

CAUDILL TURNING A CORNER: Alex Caudill had a solid week in the circle, holding a miniscule 0.49 ERA in 14.1 innings, including a shutout against Urbana on Tuesday.  Caudill also picked up a pair of wins, pushing her record to 4-6 on the season.