Game notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team travels across the river for a midweek matchup with Cincinnati at the Marge Schott Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
First pitch was originally set for 6:30 p.m. but was moved to 4 p.m. Live stats and broadcast information are available at NKUNorse.com.
NKU enters the contest 2-18 on the season, looking to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Bearcats. The Norse dropped four games over the weekend, two each to Butler and Eastern Michigan, at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
ABOUT CINCINNATI: The Bearcats are 6-10 overall before facing Wright State on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. Cincinnati took two out of three games over Western Michigan, defeating the Broncos 11-1 on Friday and winning the opener of a doubleheader on Saturday, 3-1. Western Michigan avoided the series sweep with an 8-4 win in the second game.
Devin Wenzel has started every game of the season for Cincinnati and leads the team with a .338 batting average. He has collected 14 RBIs, 13 runs, two doubles and three home runs. Wenzel has reached base safely in each contest this season and is looking to extend his current 11-game hitting streak.
Right-handed pitcher Austin Pritchard will be making his first start collegiate start against the Norse. He has made one appearance this year, pitching two innings of relief. He only surrendered one hit, walked one batter and struck out two in a 12-0 victory over New York Tech on March 1.
NKU/UC SERIES: Cincinnati holds a 28-14 lead in the all-time series against NKU. The two teams began meeting during NKU's first season of competition, with the Bearcats sweeping the Norse in a doubleheader, 8-0 and 10-0, on May 5, 1972.
NKU defeated Cincinnati in the most recent meetings. The Norse opened the 1996 season by hosting Cincinnati and holding on for a 3-2 victory, and later used an 8-6 road-win to complete the season sweep of the Bearcats.
BAGSHAW'S SOLID PERFORMANCE: Blake Bagshaw put together a strong performance on Saturday afternoon against Eastern Michigan. The Norse, however, dropped a 2-1 decision to the Eagles in 10 innings. Bagshaw went 6 2/3 innings and only allowed one run on five hits. He recorded eight strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
On the season, Bagshaw (0-3) currently leads NKU with a 4.63 ERA and has struck out 16 batters over 23 1/3 innings of work.
KUZNICZCI'S SPARK: Cody Kuzniczci has made a solid case for himself in the starting lineup recently by providing an offensive spark for the Norse. Over the weekend, Kuzniczci went 6-for-15 (.400) with his first collegiate home run, four RBIs and two runs. He drew one walk and was hit by a pitch twice.
For the season, Kuzniczci is batting .273, second on the team for those who have played 10 or more games. He has collected seven RBIs and seven runs.
