Week 6 Game Notes |
Live stats |
Live audio
March 21-23
Highland Heights, Ky. – Bill Aker Baseball Complex
NKU (4-14) vs. North Florida (10-10)
Series Record: UNF leads 4-0
First Meeting: UNF 8, NKU 1 (March 15, 1992)
Last Meeting: UNF 12, NKU 4 (April 14, 2013)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team begins a five-game homestand by opening Atlantic Sun Conference play on Friday against North Florida at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
The three-game series will start with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday, and Saturday's action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The two teams will wrap up the series with the finale on Sunday, which is slated to start at noon. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
NKU improved to 4-14 on the year after holding off a late rally for a 13-11 victory over Eastern Kentucky in 11 innings in Richmond, Ky., on Wednesday.
Cole Bauml went 4-for-6 with a double, home run, three runs scored and three RBIs, while
Dominic Faron finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and one run.
Kyle Colletta went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Norse as well.
North Florida is 10-10 overall after defeating Savannah State, 8-7, on Wednesday. Savannah State scored four runs in the top of the ninth, but the Ospreys held off the rally for the win. Corbin Olmsted led North Florida, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs, while Patrick Ervin went 2-for-3 with a run. The Opsreys are 2-1 in the Atlantic Sun after starting play with a home series against USC Upstate last weekend.
Drew Weeks has started every game for the Opsreys and leads the offense, batting .438 with four doubles, two home runs and a team-high 13 RBIs. He has scored 14 times and stolen seven bases in eight tries, while Olmstead is hitting at a .341 clip this season and Donnie Dewees boasts a .319 batting average with one of the team's two triples. Ervin is batting .318 as James Abbatinozzi rounds out the North Florida batters hitting over .300 with a .306 average.
David Trexler, the expected starter against the Norse on Friday, has earned five starts on the mound for the Ospreys and holds a 3.38 earned run average. He has struck out a team-high 18 batters over 26.2 innings of work and only allowed 10 earned runs. Evan Incinelli, listed as Saturday's probable starter, is 3-1 on the year with a 3.64 ERA. Incinelli leads the pitching staff with 29.2 innings of work, and he has recorded 12 strikeouts and walked 10 batters.
NKU/NORTH FLORIDA SERIES: NKU and North Florida have met four times in the past, with three of the meetings occurring last season in Atlantic Sun play and all being played in Jacksonville, Fla. The two teams first met on March 15, 1992 as the Ospreys defeated the Norse, 8-1.
North Florida took a 4-0 lead in the all-time series by sweeping NKU last season as the two programs met for the first time as conference opponents. The Ospreys cruised to a 12-1 win in the series opener before using a three-run ninth inning to force extra innings in the second game of the weekend. An RBI single by Jamie Cardwell lifted North Florida to an 8-7 victory in 13 innings. The Ospreys then ended the weekend with a 12-4 win in the Sunday finale.
NEWCOMER IMPACT: Offensively, five newcomers for NKU are making their presence known. Freshman
Kyle Colletta leads the Norse, boasting a .367 batting average with two doubles and five RBIs. He has been hit by a pitch eight times and holds a .457 on-base percentage.
Junior
Jordan Procyshen is batting .290 this season and has recorded a team-leading four home runs after collecting a solo homer against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. He has scored 12 times, which leads NKU, and has added four doubles and eight RBIs for the Norse.
Junior
Cole Bauml's bat is starting to heat up for NKU, and he finished one triple shy of the cycle in Wednesday's victory over Eastern Kentucky. He went 4-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Norse, and he has hit four doubles and two home runs with six RBIs this season. Bauml leads the team with two stolen bases this season.
Freshman
Caleb Kellogg has shined since entering the starting lineup against Loyola Marymount on March 9, including a 2-for-5 performance against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. He also hit his first career double against the Colonels. Over his six appearances, he has recorded a .333 batting average, scoring three runs and batting in one.
Sophomore
Dominic Faron has made seven appearances for NKU this season, including starts in the last two games. On Wednesday, he finished 3-for-5 from the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and one run. Overall, he boasts a .357 batting average with five hits, two runs, two doubles and two RBIs.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: As a team, NKU collected nine doubles, the most for the program in recent history, against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. The Norse got one double from seven different players:
Zac Asman,
Cole Bauml,
Brad Bohlen,
Caleb Kellogg,
Cody Kuzniczci,
Caleb Lonkard and
Logan Spurlin.
Dominic Faron led NKU with a pair of two baggers against the Colonels.
On April 26, 2010, the Norse collected eight doubles against Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro, Ky. Jake Morris recorded two, while Brian Rose, Shannon McCormick, Brian Erie, Larry Pempek, Joe Mack and Jeff Bohlen, the older brother of freshman
Brad Bohlen, each added a double to the NKU total.
This season, the Norse have hit 41 doubles, which ranks second in the Atlantic Sun behind Lipscomb's 50. Spurlin leads NKU with nine two baggers on the year, while Kuzniczci and Asman have each recorded six. NKU is on pace to hit 123 doubles this season, which surpasses the 74 from last year's inaugural NCAA Division I season.
NCAA D-I RECORDS: NKU set several new Division I benchmarks for the team against Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. The Norse collected 20 hits, which topped the team's 18 against East Tennessee State at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on April 6, 2013, and scored 13 runs. The most runs NKU had scored previously was 10, which has occurred twice. The Norse defeated Ball State, 10-9, on April 13, 2013, and scored 10 runs in a loss to Loyola Marymount earlier this season.
The NKU pitching staff collected 18 strikeouts against the Colonels on Wednesday.
Aric Harris led the way with seven, as
Drew Campbell and
Jake Shaw each struck out three. Wednesday's total topped the 16 the Norse recorded against Troy in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Feb. 15. Harris collected a career-high eight K's in that outing, while Shaw recorded a career-high six against the Trojans.
STREAKS CONTINUE: Three NKU players extended current streaks against Miami (Ohio) and Eastern Kentucky in midweek action.
Logan Spurlin, who has hit doubles in the last three games, stretched his on-base streak to 22 games, dating back to last season, and he has recorded hits in the last five contests.
Jordan Procyshen extended his hitting streak to six games and has safely reached base in the past seven contests for NKU.
Caleb Kellogg has now collected hits in his last four outings for the Norse.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS: Since Wednesday's home opener was moved to Eastern Kentucky due to inclement weather, fans will have the opportunity to pick up their 2014 baseball schedule posters and koozies at Friday's game against North Florida.
Fans will also have the opportunity to participate in Sunday Funday Bingo, presented by Toppers Pizza, at every Sunday game this season. Bingo cards will be available upon entrance into the complex and are based on plays occurring during the game. The first two fans to complete their cards will receive a gift card to Toppers Pizza.
