Week 1 Notes |
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Feb. 14-16
Troy, Ala. – Riddle Pace Field (2,000)
NKU (2013: 8-47) vs. Troy (2013: 42-20)
Series Record: Troy leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: Troy 15, NKU 4 (March 12, 1985)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team begins its 2014 season with a four-game weekend series against Troy beginning Friday night in Troy, Ala., at Riddle Pace Field.
First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday will feature a doubleheader between the two teams starting at 2 p.m., and Sunday's conclusion is also slated for 2 p.m. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
NKU finished its inaugural NCAA Division I season with an 8-47 overall record and a 3-24 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Sophomore
Logan Spurlin returns for his second season with the Norse after earning Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team honors last season. He returns as the team's top hitter, having batted .271 with five doubles and four home runs, including a grand slam in a 10-9 victory over Ball State.
The Norse welcome back five starters from last season's squad, including right-handed pitcher
Aric Harris, along with 17 new faces to their roster this year. Harris finished last season with a 4.86 earned run average, which is tops among the returning pitchers, and is expected to start in Game 2 on Saturday. He struck out 26 batters last season and only allowed 25 earned runs on the year. The sophomore from Ashland, Ohio, earned his first collegiate victory against South Carolina Upstate after scattering five hits over five scoreless innings on March 28.
Troy, which received votes in both the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll, ended the 2013 season with a 42-20 overall record and captured the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship after going 20-10 last season. The Trojans have won four Sun Belt titles and one Atlantic Sun championship, which was in 2005, under head coach Bobby Pierce. Troy captured back-to-back Division II national championships in 1986 and '87.
Troy returns 19 lettermen from last year's team, including the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, Shane McCain. McCain, who is expected to start in the first game on Saturday, went 9-1 last season with a 3.48 ERA. The senior left-hander struck out 105 batters over 98 1/3 innings of work and only walked 18, and he surrendered just 38 earned runs on the year.
The Trojans also welcome back senior shortstop Tyler Vaughn, the team's top returning hitter who earned All-Sun Belt honors last year. He started every game during the 2013 season and hit .327 on the year. He collected 84 hits, 20 doubles and one triple, and he batted in 26 runs and scored 72 times. Vaughn successfully stole nine bases in 10 attempts and recorded a .412 slugging percentage.
NKU-TROY SERIES: NKU has faced Troy four times in the past, and the Trojans hold a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. NKU won the first game between the two programs, taking a 4-1 victory over Troy in 1979 before the Trojans captured the last three victories.
Troy topped the Norse, 7-3, the following game in 1979. Two season later, the Trojans defeated NKU, 3-1, in the postseason during head coach
Todd Asalon's sophomore season, during which he earned all-region honors.
Troy also won the last meeting against NKU, 15-4, on March 12, 1985, in Panama City, Fla.
AGAINST THE SUN BELT: NKU is 2-5 against members of the Sun Belt Conference. In addition to Troy's 3-1 advantage over the Norse, Texas State holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series after winning two of the teams' three meetings last year. The Norse scored six runs in the ninth inning for a 6-5 victory over the Bobcats to start the series on March 12 for their second Division I win.
NKU will face another Sun Belt member in two weeks when the Norse travel to Atlanta, Ga., for a three-game series against Georgia State Feb. 28-March 2.
LONE SENIOR: The NKU roster this season features just one senior in
Zac Asman. He is listed on the roster as an outfielder but proved his versatility last season. Asman was a "jack-of-all-trades" for the Norse in 2013, playing 45 games last year in six different positions. Offensively, he will continue to bank on his speed, which helped him steal nine bases and score 18 runs.
Over the first three seasons of his career, Asman has hit .267 with 33 doubles, two triples and two home runs, while batting in 64 runs and scoring 81 times. He has recorded a .948 fielding percentage and earned 53 walks after transferring from Georgetown (Ky.) where he played one season of football.
NEW FACES: After losing 10 seniors from last season's roster, NKU welcomes 17 new faces for 2014, including several who could make an immediate impact, including infielder
David Head and outfielder
Cole Bauml, who both earned first-team all-region honors in 2013.
Junior transfer
Jordan Procyshen will likely earn a spot in the starting lineup behind the plate this season. He helped Northeastern (Ill.) Junior College to a 40-21 record last season, and his 15 home runs led the nation. Procyshen batted .418 and collected 65 RBIs to help earn NJCAA Division I first-team All-American honors last season.
ON THE MOUND: NKU returns four pitchers from last season's squad, led by sophomore right-hander
Aric Harris, who returns as the team's top hurler. He finished 2013 with a 4.86 ERA and struck out 26 batters over 46 1/3 innings of work.
Junior
Cody Cooper, who is expected to start on Friday night, returns to the mound this season after compiling a 7.46 ERA and 23 strikeouts last season. Junior
Drew Campbell saw 25 1/3 innings of work in 2013 and finished with a 5.68 ERA with 15 strikeouts. Sophomore
Alex Bolia struck out five batters in 8 2/3 innings of relief work last season.
Freshmen
Adam Jafine and
Garrett Schrantz, who earned all-area honors as junior at Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, Fla., are expected to make an immediate impact on the mound for the Norse this season. Jafine is listed as the probable starter for Game 1 on Saturday. This summer, the left-hander from Toronto, Ontario, threw a no-hitter against the Ottawa Canadian's 18 U team on May 12.
Junior
Wendell Wright went 1-3 with four saves in 20 2/3 innings of work as the closer for Trinidad State (Colo.) Junior College last season, while lefty
Josh Wiesman collected 41 strikeouts over 56 1/3 innings of work last year for Lincoln Trail (Ill.) College. Out of the bullpen, the Norse will look to
Jake Shaw, who is one of six newcomers from Canada to join the team. Freshmen
Evan Korson,
Russell Rockwell and
Nick Beard, who struck out 23 batters over 28 innings on the mound for Elder High School as a senior, will also provide depth in the Norse bullpen this season as well.
IN THE INFIELD: Returning to the infield this season for NKU will be sophomore
Logan Spurlin, who made the transition from catcher to first base last season, after earning Atlantic Sun All-Freshman accolades with a .271 batting average and team-high four home runs. Senior
Zac Asman could also see time in the infield this season after making 33 appearances in the infield last season.
Sophomore
Quint Heady batted .265 with two doubles over 37 games last season and will challenge for a spot in the starting lineup this season.
Josh Myers, who can play in both the infield and outfield, returns for his junior season. Myers finished with a .245 batting average, collected 11 extra-base hits, including four home runs, and successfully stole a team-high 11 bases. Rounding out the returning infielders is junior
Caleb Lonkard, who recorded 21 hits, 15 runs and seven RBIs last year.
Several newcomers are expected to make an impact for the Norse around the horn right away. Freshmen
Kyle Colletta and
Brad Bohlen will be looked upon this weekend to start at shortstop and third base, respectively. Colletta, who was only the second four-year starter in Niles West High School history, finished his senior season with a .974 fielding percentage after only committing two errors on the year. Bohlen, whose brother Jeff played for NKU from 2008-10, helped lead Marian Catholic High School to the 2012 Illinois Class 3A state championship and batted .417 with 50 hits, 46 RBIs and 28 runs as a senior.
The Norse also added junior
David Head, a transfer from Northeastern (Ill.) Junior College. Head finished the 2013 season with a .367 batting average and collected 44 RBIs and 10 doubles. He successfully stole seven bases last year to help him secure all-region honors last year.
Behind the plate, NKU will feature NJCAA Division I All-American
Jordan Procyshen, who batted .418 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs. Providing relief will be sophomore
Cody Kuzniczci, who is expected to see time as the designated hitter as well this season, and Spurlin. Last season, Kuzniczci saw action in 45 games and recorded a .247 batting average. Fifteen of his 40 hits last season went for extra bases, and he finished with two home runs, 20 RBIs and 19 runs.
IN THE OUTFIELD: Three players who saw their season ended by injuries last season will return to the outfield this year for NKU, including redshirt freshman
Ryan LeFevers. Last season, LeFevers started six of NKU's first eight games in left field.
Barrett Arnold, who was also granted a medical redshirt after only playing in nine contests for the Norse, will look to challenge for playing time as will sophomore
Conor Ledger, who saw action in 24 games in his injury-shortened freshman season and batted .253 with eight RBIs, four doubles and one triple.
Sophomore
Ryan Hinz played in 39 games and earned 10 starts in the outfield last season for the Norse. He recorded 14 hits, scored 11 times and batted in six runs. Sophomore
Anthony Vagnier made 25 appearances in 2013 and collected eight hits with three RBIs and six runs scored.
Junior
Cole Bauml looks to make an immediate impact in centerfield this season. The transfer from Trinidad State (Colo.) Junior College earned all-region honors after batting .370 with six home runs, 14 doubles and six triples. He also stole a team-high 17 bases in 20 attempts in 2013.
Adding depth to the outfield will be sophomore
Dominic Faron, who transferred from Lincoln Trail (Ill.) College, and freshman
Caleb Kellogg, who earned third-team all-state honors as senior at North Oldham High School in Goshen, Ky.
OPENING-GAME RESULTS: NKU is 16-25 all-time in season openers. Last season, Lamar scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory over the Norse on Feb. 15 in Beaumont, Texas.
Bradley Vanderglas finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, a double and a triple to lead NKU.
The team's last win to start the season came on Feb. 19, 2011, when the Norse defeated Montevallo, 15-7. Eight of the nine NKU starters claimed multiple hits on the day, led by Vanderglas, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs.
ATLANTIC SUN PRESEASON POLL: NKU was picked to finish 10th in the 2014 Atlantic Sun preseason coaches poll. Defending regular-season conference champion Mercer, which won a school record 43 games last year, was chosen to repeat last season's success and received seven first-place votes. North Florida earned one top vote and finished second among the coaches, while Florida Gulf Coast rounded out the top three with two first-place votes.
ABOUT THE HEAD COACH: Todd Asalon is entering his 14th season as the baseball head coach at NKU. Asalon owns a 442-319-1 record in 13 years as the leader and led NKU to the Division II regional tournament eight times. During his tenure, 10 players, including nine pitchers, have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, with the most recent being Dave Middendorf in 2011. Asalon coached current MLB players Nate Jones, who was recently named the Chicago White Sox of the Year at the Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards on Monday, and Josh Lueke (Tampa Bay Rays).
