Weekend game notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team closes out its eight-game road trip this weekend with a three-game series against Atlantic Sun Conference foe Florida Gulf Coast.
First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader at the FGCU Softball Complex is set for 2 p.m. The series wraps up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start. Live stats links are available at nkunorse.com.
The Norse, currently 11-35 overall and 5-16 in A-Sun play, are looking to rebound from a doubleheader sweep at the hands of in-state foe Eastern Kentucky. Last weekend, the Norse closed out their weekend series with a 4-3 victory over North Florida, marking NKU's first extra-inning victory of the season.
FGCU SCOUTING REPORT: The unanimous preseason favorites in the A-Sun, the Eagles enter the weekend's action with a record of 32-16, including a 13-7 mark to place them fourth in the league standings, 2.5 games back of front runner South Carolina Upstate. Preseason A-Sun Player of the Year Chelsea Zgrabek provides the power in the Eagles' lineup, with more than half of her hits this season going for extra bases, including 15 home runs to rank second in the league. Zgrabek boasts a .329 batting average and leads the league with 56 RBIs. Kelsey Carpenter leads the team with a .364 batting average and a league-best 45 runs scored.
Shelby Morgan leads the Eagles' pitching staff, holding a 12-6 record with a 2.94 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 107 innings of work this season. Jaclyn Owen (9-6, 3.10 ERA) and Amanda Josie (11-4, 3.30 ERA) both figure to get starts in the weekend series as well.
This weekend will mark the first ever meetings between NKU and FGCU in softball.
DEE DEE'S STREAK ENDS: Second baseman
Dee Dee Davis saw her 13-game hitting streak come on an end after an 0-for-3 performance in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader at Eastern Kentucky. Davis rebounded in the nightcap with an RBI double and has now hit in 14 of her last 15 games. Her hitting streak was the longest for a Norse batter since
Jessica Farris hit safely in 15-straight games in 2011.
STRALEY LEADING OFF WELL: Centerfielder
KC Straley has turned into the prototypical leadoff hitter for the Norse. Since the April 13-14 series against East Tennessee State, Straley has gone 13-for-29 (.448) with five walks, 10 runs scored and another run driven in. In league play, Straley is hitting .364 on the season, ranking 12
th among all A-Sun batters.
CAUDILL WARMING UP: Pitcher
Alex Caudill was a hard-luck loser in Tuesday's nightcap against Eastern Kentucky. The sophomore carried a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning of the game before the Colonels were able to come up with a three-run frame to take the walk-off victory.
CLOSING OUT THE SEASON: The Norse end the 2013 regular season next weekend with a three-game series against Lipscomb at the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field. The Norse will celebrate the collegiate careers of seniors
Emily Schwaeble and
Alesa Collinsworth in a special ceremony prior to next Saturday's game.
