Week 10 Game Notes |
Atlantic Sun Weekly Notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team returns to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex and welcomes Jacksonville University for a three-game series in Atlantic Sun Conference action this weekend.
NKU holds a 6-30 overall record and a 1-11 mark in the conference after the Norse dropped three decisions to North Florida last weekend.
Pat Hyde finished 4-for-6 with six RBIs as the Ospreys rallied for a 7-8 victory in 13 innings on Saturday. His three-run double in the fourth gave NKU a 4-3 lead, and his three-run home run in the eighth stretched the advantage to 7-4.
First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. The two teams will take the field on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a noon start on Sunday to conclude the series. Live stats, broadcast and ASun.TV information will be available at NKUNorse.com.
NKU and Jacksonville have never met in baseball.
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE: Jacksonville enters the weekend 13-23 overall and 6-6 in the A-Sun. The Dolphins are coming off a series win over Kennesaw State last weekend. Kennesaw State earned a 14-4 victory in the opener, but Jacksonville rebounded with a 4-0 win on Saturday then defeated the Owls, 12-10, on Sunday.
Jake Huxtable leads the Dolphin offense with a .364 batting average. He has recorded a team-high 20 runs and 36 hits on the year, and he has collected four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs. Brady North leads the team in home runs (5) and RBIs (22), while Zach Houck has successfully stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts this season.
Right-handed pitcher Chris Anderson has been a force on the mound for Jacksonville. He holds a 5-3 record and a 2.95 earned run average. He has earned A-Sun Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season, and his 78 strikeouts ranks first in the league and fifth in the nation. Anderson averages 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings.
JU'S NKU CONNECTION: Jacksonville's sophomore catcher Garrett Ruckel has family ties to NKU. His maternal grandfather, Dr. Frank Steely, was one of NKU's founding fathers and served as the university's president from 1969-75. He continued teaching history until his retirement in 2001.
This season, Ruckel is batting .215 with five doubles, six runs and six RBIs. He has seen action in 25 games, including 16 starts. On Sunday, he recorded one hit, one run and one RBI in Jacksonville's 12-10 win over Kennesaw State.
HYDE HEATS UP: Hyde batted .545 (6-for-11) over three games last week to lead the Norse offense. He recorded an RBI in NKU's 5-4 extra-inning victory over Indianapolis on Wednesday on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score the first Norse run of the game.
He followed that with a 4-for-6 performance on Saturday against A-Sun foe North Florida. Hyde collected six RBIs on a three-run double in the fourth and a three-run home run in the eighth. He finished the series going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a double to lead NKU. Hyde finished the week with a .538 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Hyde raised his batting average 51 points last week and is now batting .211 on the season. He has recorded six doubles and 13 RBIs, and he has caught five opponents attempting to steal base.
CLEMENT CLOSING IN: Brad Clement only needs five more RBIs for 123 in his career as a Norse to move into a tie for ninth place on NKU's all-time list. Over his career at NKU, he has batted in 118 runs, including 19 this season after collecting two against North Florida last weekend. He recorded 29 as a sophomore and 50 last season. Clement is looking to tie the mark held by Dan Logan (1984-87) and Gary Flowerdew (1985-88). He needs just six more RBIs to catch Mike Pitzer (1994-98) in eighth place with 124.
