Week 8 Game Notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team ends its eight-game road trip with a non-conference matchup against Ball State on Wednesday at the Ball Diamond in Muncie, Ind.
NKU is 3-24 overall and 1-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after losing two of three games at South Carolina Upstate last week. The Spartans closed the series with a 4-1 victory against the Norse on Saturday.
First pitch between NKU and Ball State is set for 3 p.m. A link to the live broadcast will be available at NKUNorse.com, which will start approximately 15 minutes prior to the game.
The Norse continue A-Sun play on Friday against East Tennessee State at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
ABOUT BALL STATE: Ball State enters the contest with a 12-12 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Mid-American Conference. The Cardinals avoided a series sweep to Kent State with a 4-3 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Kevin Schlotter boasts a .341 batting average while Billy Wellman is hitting .309 on the year to lead the Cardinal offense. Wellman leads the team with 15 RBIs and has collected 10 runs, six doubles and a home run.
The Norse are expected to face Clay Manering on the mound. Manering is 1-2 this season and holds a 5.73 earned run average over 11 innings of work. He has allowed seven runs on 14 hits and recorded seven strikeouts in seven appearances.
NKU-BSU SERIES: NKU holds a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series against Ball State. The two teams faced off in a doubleheader during the 1980 season, and the Norse cruised to a 12-6 victory in the opener and an 8-2 win in the second game.
SCHOOL-RECORD STREAK SNAPPED: Entering Thursday's game against USC Upstate, NKU was in the midst of a school-record 16-game losing streak. The Norse held off a late Spartan rally for a 5-3 victory to end the skid in the first game of the series.
NKU jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the top of the sixth before USC Upstate brought a run home in the bottom of the frame and added two more in the seventh.
Brett Loeding, however, retired the final seven batters in order for his second save of the season.
Aric Harris (1-0) did not surrender a run and scatter three hits to earn his first collegiate victory, while
Hunter Morey led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance. Morey scored twice and added an RBI for the Norse.
CLEMENT'S HOT BAT: Brad Clement went 5-for-10 against USC Upstate to spark the Norse offense over the weekend. He added a run during Thursday's victory and collected two RBIs on the weekend, while reaching base twice after being hit by a pitch on Saturday. Clement finished the weekend with a .583 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage.
Clement leads the Norse with a .323 batting average, 14 RBIs, 11 runs and five doubles.
LOEDING'S RELIEF: Loeding made an appearance in each of NKU's three games against USC Upstate and pitched 9 1/3 innings of relief. Over the weekend, he only surrendered two earned runs on eight hits while striking out five Spartans.
He earned his second save of the season on Thursday after relieving Harris in the sixth inning. On Friday, Loeding retired the final six Spartan batters in order, including three strikeouts, but the Norse were unable to reach base over the final two innings to attempt a come-from-behind victory.
Loeding holds a 4.40 ERA on the year and lead the Norse in innings pitched (43) and appearances (16). Last season, he set the school record after making 40 appearances and fell just shy of setting the bar for innings pitched (108).
