Week 14 Series Notes |
Atlantic Sun Weekly Release
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team concludes its inaugural NCAA Division I season with a three-game series against Atlantic Sun Conference leader Mercer University at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday, with a 1 p.m. start time for Friday. The two teams will conclude the series Saturday at noon, and the Norse will host senior day and alumni day for the final game of the season. Video for the series will be available via ASun.TV, and live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast links will be available at NKUNorse.com.
The Norse are 8-44 on the year after dropping a 13-8 decision to Bowling Green State University on Tuesday.
Logan Spurlin went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI to lead the NKU offense.
Brad Clement and
Anthony Vagnier each finished 1-for-2 with two walks. Clement scored one run and batted one in, while Vagnier recorded two RBIs and one run. The Norse are 3-12 in the A-Sun.
ABOUT MERCER: Mercer enters its first meeting with NKU 39-14 overall and 17-7 in the conference, and the Bears are ranked 28th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll. After dropping a 1-0 decision to East Tennessee State University last Friday, Mercer rebounded with a 12-7 victory on Saturday and defeated ETSU, 2-0, on Sunday to win the series.
Mercer ranks in among the top in several NCAA categories. The Bears lead the nation with a .982 fielding percentage, having only committed 35 errors in 53 games this season. Mercer's 53 home runs lands the team in fourth, while the Bears are fifth in the nation with 283 walks. They are also in the top 10 for home runs per game (No. 6 – 1.0), runs (No. 7 – 391) and scoring (No. 9 – 7.4).
Chesny Young has collected 87 hits on the year to lead the conference and rank second among the nation. He is one of four Bears batting over .300 with a .378 average. Nick Backlund is hitting .324 on the year and is fifth in the NCAA with 63 RBIs and ninth with 1.19 RBIs per game. Backlund also leads the A-Sun with 13 home runs on the year to power the Mercer offense.
Right-handed pitcher Brandon Barker, who the Norse are expected to face on Thursday, boasts a 6-1 record and 2.03earned run average. He has started 14 games, which is No. 4 in the nation, and has collected 69 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings of work. Barker has only allowed 17 earned runs on 68 hits this season.
SENIOR SEND OFF: NKU will honor its 10 seniors with a short ceremony prior to the national anthem and first pitch on Saturday. It will mark the last game in an NKU uniform for
Blake Bagshaw,
Chuck Calhoun,
Tim Clark,
Brad Clement,
Mike Derby,
Luke Greene,
Pat Hyde,
Brett Loeding,
Bradley Vanderglas and
Brandon Wood.
ONE-RUN GAMES: Sunday's 7-6 loss to Stetson marked the 19th time this season an NKU game has been decided by one run, including nine of the last 14. On the year, the Norse are 4-15 in one-run contests. The four victories were against Texas State (6-5), Ball State (10-9), Indianapolis (5-4 in 12 innings), and Jacksonville (4-3).
CLEMENT CLIMBING: Brad Clement has entered two career top 10 lists for NKU this season. With one swing of the bat on May 1, the senior from Brunswick, Ohio, earned a share of eighth place on NKU's all-time runs batted in list with Mike Pitzer (1994-98) when his three-run home run against Ohio State gave him 124 RBIs.
He combined for three more against Lipscomb and Stetson for a total 127 to take sole possession of eighth place. Clement's RBI in the third inning of NKU's game against BGSU increased his career total to 128. Keith Jackson (2002-05) is currently in seventh place with 132 RBIs.
On Sunday, Clement climbed into NKU's career hit list against Stetson. He finished 2-for-4 on the day, and his first hit moved him into a tie for 10th place with Chris Helfer (19093-96) with 200 total hits. Clement then moved into a tie for ninth with Brandon Chesnut (1991-94) with 201 career hits when he singled down the right-field line in the sixth inning.
Clement collected a hit in Tuesday's action against BGSU for his 202nd career hit to move ahead of Chesnut. Gary Wall (1974-78) is currently in eighth place with 203 career hits, while Bryan Jackson (1986-89) sits in seventh with 204.
