Jessica Farris, NKU's lone senior, will be honored in a ceremony on Sunday.
Week 8 game notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team will honor senior
Jessica Farris in Sunday's Senior Day festivities as part of a doubleheader against Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Kentucky Wesleyan.
Saturday, the Norse will welcome in Southern Indiana. It will mark the inaugural “Bark at the Park” event, featuring the Boone County and Campbell County Adoption Waggin' and Jumping Jack's Inflatables.
Sunday will also mark NKU softball's second annual Strike Out Cancer game to support breast cancer awareness. Pink t-shirts will be available for $10, with proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
First pitch on each day is scheduled for noon.
The Norse (25-15, 15-11 GLVC) are looking to ride the momentum of a doubleheader sweep over Wisconsin-Parkside last weekend. The Norse claimed a 2-1 victory in Game 1 and used a walk-off home run by
Emily Schwaeble to complete the sweep with a 2-0 win.
LAST TIME AGAINST SOUTHERN INDIANA: The Norse were strong in a doubleheader sweep at Evansville back on March 18. Schwaeble's only mistake in Game 1 was a home run ball to Kyla Gogel, while
Kaylin Steinmetz and
Natalie Papi each hit homers in a 4-1 win. The offense came alive in Game 2, with NKU pounding out 13 hits in an 8-3 victory.
USI snapped a seven-game losing streak last weekend by handing Indianapolis just its second loss of the season.
LAST TIME AGAINST KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: Katelyn Roy singled in Farris to give the Norse all the offense they needed to take a 1-0 victory in Game 1 against the Panthers on March 17, though Game 2 saw the luck run out as KWC claimed a 2-1 win after holding NKU to just three hits in the nightcap.
JARBOE JUMPING IN: Dana Jarboe has become a regular feature in the Norse lineup over the last week thanks to her timely, and consistent, hitting. Jarboe had seven hits in 19 at bats across six games last week, raising her average 132 points in the process. Jarboe also had two doubles and drove in three runs, including the game-winning run against Bellarmine in a 3-1 victory.
TIGHT RACE FOR POSTSEASON: The GLVC postseason picture is extremely murky entering this weekend's games. Though Indianapolis looks to have punched its ticket to East Peoria, the Norse currently stand tied for third in the GLVC East Division with Bellarmine. Southern Indiana and a resurgent Lewis squad are just outside the cut, each boasting .500 conference records.
The top three teams in each division, along with two wild card teams, will qualify for the GLVC Tournament, to be held April 27-29.
REGIONAL RANKING: The first NCAA Division II regional rankings saw the Norse as the No. 6 team in the Midwest Region, the NCAA announced on Wednesday. Indianapolis was marked as the region's top team followed by Ashland. The top eight teams in each region at the end of the season are invited to the NCAA Tournament, with the top two teams in each region afforded the opportunity to host regional tournaments.
NKU has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. In 2009, NKU secured an automatic qualifier by virtue of winning the GLVC Tournament and earned at-large selections in each of the last two seasons.
