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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Alex Merritt went 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the University of North Florida baseball team to a 14-4 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Friday at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
Drew Weeks and Alex Bacon each recorded three-hit games for North Florida, which improved to 11-10 overall and 3-1 in the Atlantic Sun, as Weeks scored three times. Bacon batted in three runs and scored twice.
Merritt's RBI single through the left side in the top of the second inning stretched the North Florida lead to 2-0 early. NKU, however, responded in the bottom of the frame to bring the score even at 2-all.
Cole Bauml began the Norse inning with a one-out single up the middle, and
Zac Asman reached base when he was hit by a David Trexler pitch.
Caleb Kellogg extended his hitting streak to five game with an RBI double to left field to bring Bauml home.
Josh Myers then helped Asman score with the third hit of the inning, a single up the middle.
Trent Higginbothem put the Ospreys ahead again in the third when he singled to right-center field, scoring Drew Weeks, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning, for a 3-2 North Florida advantage.
The NKU offense battled back to take its only lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bauml collected his second hit of the game, a one-out single to centerfield, and Asman followed with a double to left-center field to bring Bauml home. A Kellogg ground out advanced Asman to third, and he scored when Myers hit an infield single to give the Norse a 4-3 advantage.
Higgenbothem collected his second RBI of the game in the top of the next inning to tie the game once again at 4-all, and the Ospreys took the lead for good in the sixth on a Merritt single to right-center field that allowed Ty Kelly, who doubled down the left-field line to start the frame for North Florida, to score.
The Ospreys broke the game open with four runs on four hits in the seventh to take a 9-4 lead. Bacon singled to rightfield to bring home Weeks and Kyle Brooks, and Merritt's final hit of the game drove in Higginbothem and Bacon.
North Florida, which hammered out 18 hits against the Norse, added two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth for the final margin of the game.
Brooks and Kelly each recorded 2-for-4 performances for the Ospreys, who left seven runners stranded. Kelly collected a double and a home run, and Higgenbothem went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs for North Florida, which improved to 5-0 all-time against the Norse.
Myers led the way for NKU, which fell to 4-15 on the year and 0-1 in the Atlantic Sun, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Bauml finished 2-for-4 from the plate for the Norse, and he scored twice. The Norse received one hit from five other players, including
Logan Spurlin, who extended his on-base streak to 23 games and hitting streak to six, and
Jordan Procyshen, who has now collected hits in the last seven games.
Trexler (2-1) went eight innings for North Florida to earn the victory after surrendering four runs on 10 hits. He struck out five NKU batters, while walking just two.
Cody Cooper dropped to 0-5 on the year for the Norse after allowing six runs on nine hits in six innings of work on the mound.
The two teams return to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on Saturday with the Norse looking to capture their first win over the Ospreys. First pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. NKU and North Florida will conclude the weekend series on Sunday at noon. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast both days will be available at nkunorse.com.
