Week 7 Midweek Notes |
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March 25 - NKU (5-16) vs. Cincinnati (8-14) – 3 p.m.
Bill Aker Baseball Complex (300); Highland Heights, Ky.
Series history: UC leads 28-14
Last meeting: March 20, 2013 – at UC (UC 4-3)
March 26 - NKU vs. Morehead State (11-12) – 3 p.m.
Bill Aker Baseball Complex (300); Highland Heights, Ky.
Series history: MSU leads 17-6
Last meeting: April 9, 2013 – at NKU (NKU 8-2)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team wraps up its five-game homestand with a pair of nonconference contests at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex this week.
NKU begins midweek action on Tuesday as the Norse welcome Cincinnati to their home field for the first time since the 1996 season. NKU will then host Morehead State on Wednesday. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 3.p.m. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast for each contest will be available at nkunorse.com.
NKU enters the week 5-16 on the year and 1-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after dropping two of three games over the weekend to North Florida in Atlantic Sun action. North Florida opened the series at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex with a 14-4 victory over NKU on Friday, before the Norse held off an Osprey rally for an 8-6 win to even the series. North Florida scored five runs over the final two innings on Sunday to capture the series with an 8-1 victory.
Caleb Kellogg's hot bat continued over the weekend, going 5-for-10 with two doubles, one home run, two runs scored and six RBIs over the three games. In Saturday's NKU victory, Kellogg went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and his first collegiate home run to lead the Norse to the win.
Josh Myers also batted .500 for the series, finishing 6-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs and one run scored.
ABOUT CINCINNATI: The Bearcats are 8-14 on the year and 0-3 in the American Athletic Conference after being swept by Central Florida over the weekend. The Knights used a three-run seventh inning in the opener to cruise to a 7-1 win before taking a 7-4 victory on Saturday. UCF completed the sweep with a 5-1 win over Cincinnati on Sunday. In midweek action, the Bearcats scored 11 runs over four innings for a 12-3 victory over Wright State on Tuesday.
Redshirt sophomore Will Drake, who has missed the last eight games, leads Cincinnati with a .345 batting average. He has recorded two doubles, six runs scored, four RBIs and four stolen bases. Sophomore Ian Happ is hitting .338 for the Bearcats and leads the team with 18 RBIs. Happ's 27 hits are tied for the lead with senior Matt Williams, who holds a .329 batting average.
The Norse are expecting to go up against sophomore right-hander Mitch Patishall in Tuesday's matchup. He has posted a 6.20 earned run average with 17 strikeouts over six appearances on the mound. He has allowed 17 earned runs on 25 hits over 24.2 innings of work. Redshirt sophomore Bryan Chenoweth leads the Cincinnati pitching staff with a 1.19 ERA in eight relief appearances. Chenoweth has recorded two saves in 22.2 innings of work, and he has struck out 10 batters while surrendering just three earned runs.
LAST TIME AGAINST CINCINNATI: Brendon Neel went 2-for-3 and collected the game-winning double in the fifth inning to lead Cincinnati to a 4-3 victory over NKU at the Marge Schott Stadium on March 20, 2013.
Cincinnati plated two runs in the first inning for the early lead, but NKU cut the lead in half in the third. With the bases loaded,
Brett Cisper was hit by a Christian McElroy pitch, sending
Josh Myers home to bring the Bearcat lead to 2-1.
Myers started the top of the fifth off for the Norse with a triple and scored on a double by
Bradley Vanderglas to tie the game. A single up the middle by Cisper allowed Vanderglas to score and gave NKU a 3-2 advantage.
After a strikeout,
Logan Spurlin was hit by a pitch, sending Cisper to second. An error by shortstop Ian Happ allowed
Pat Hyde to reach base, but NKU could not do any more damage.
A double by Neel in the bottom of the inning allowed Jeff Murphy and Devin Wenzel to score and regain the lead for the Bearcats.
NKU had runners in scoring position twice during the final three innings, but the Norse could not bring the tying run home as Cincinnati held on for the victory.
Justin Glass and Matt Williams each finished 2-for-4 for the Bearcats. Art Warren recorded his first win of the season after pitching one inning of relief and only surrendering one hit.
Myers and Vanderglas each collected two hits for NKU.
Aric Harris allowed two runs and struck out two batters in his second start of the season.
AGAINST THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: NKU is 24-38 all-time against members of the American Athletic Conference, including Cincinnati's 28-14 advantage. The Norse have only played one other member of the league and are tied 10-10 with Louisville.
NKU will face return the trip to Cincinnati later this season, when the Norse cross the Ohio River to face the Bearcats on April 29 at the Marge Schott Stadium at 6:30 p.m.
ABOUT MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles enter Wednesday's game with an 11-12 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. Morehead State won two of three games against Southeast Missouri State over the weekend to improve its record. The Eagles were on the winning side of a 9-8 victory in 11 innings in the opener against the Redhawks, before using a 6-1 win on Saturday ensure the series victory. SEMO avoided the sweep with a 7-1 win in the series finale.
Junior Brandon Rawe leads the Morehead State attack, batting .436 with a team-high 12 doubles, 21 RBIs, 21 runs scored and two home runs. Redshirt junior Chris Robinson boats a .366 batting average, and he has collected four doubles, one triple, one home run, 20 RBIs and a team-high five stolen bases. Freshman Ryan Kent is hitting at a .329 clip, while junior Kane Sweeney rounds out the Eagles who are batting over .300 with a .310 average.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Craig Pearcy leads Morehead State on the mound. He holds a 2.19 ERA and a 3-1 record in nine relief appearances, and he has collected 24 strikeouts, while allowing just six earned runs over 24.2 innings. Junior righty Blake Smith is 1-1 on the year with a 4.32 ERA over 16.2 innings of work. Smith has struck out 13 batters and has surrendered just eight earned runs over four appearances.
LAST TIME AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE: Brad Clement finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in to lead NKU to an 8-2 victory over Morehead State on April 9, 2013, at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
NKU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after two innings and did not let up for its first victory at home last season.
Cody Kuzniczci was hit by a Tyler Keele 0-1 pitch to start the second inning. An error by Alan Mocahbee allowed
Logan Spurlin to reach base, sending Kuzniczci to second. Walks to
Bradley Vanderglas and
Caleb Lonkard brought home the first run of the game and gave NKU a 1-0 lead.
Hunter Morey drew the third consecutive walk to bring Spurlin home, and
Conor Ledger singled to right field, scoring Vanderglas. With one out, Clement reached on a fielder's choice with Ledger out on the play, but Lonkard was able to score, giving NKU a 4-0 advantage.
A double to left field by
Josh Myers extended the Norse lead by scoring Morey and Clement.
Morehead State threatened in the top of the fourth but could only muster one run on a double by Mocahbee before leaving the bases loaded. NKU, however, answered in the bottom of the frame to stretch the lead back to six (7-1).
Brandon Rawe sent a 2-0
Brett Cisper pitch over the left-field wall to cut the Norse advantage to 7-2 in the sixth, but Myers came home on a Kuzniczci single in the seventh for the final margin of the game.
The Eagles finished with a 9-8 advantage in hits, but Morehead State stranded eight runners while NKU left just five.
Myers collected two RBIs and successfully stole two bases for the Norse. Cisper earned his first victory on the mound for NKU after six innings of work. He allowed two runs on seven hits while collecting two strikeouts.
Cody Cooper pitched three scoreless innings and struck out three for the first save of his career.
Kane Sweeney, Chase Greenwell and Rawe went 2-for-4 to lead Morehead State. Keele struggled on the mound over 3.2 innings of work for the Eagles. He surrendered four earned runs on seven hits while walking four and hitting three Norse batters. Dan Hyatt pitched 3.1 innings and only allowed one run on three hits while striking out four.
AGAINST THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE: NKU is 31-60-2 all-time against members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Norse have faced six opponents from the OVC and hold a winning record over Tennessee Martin (1-0). In addition to Eastern Kentucky's 15-11-1 and Morehead State's 17-6 lead in the series, Belmont (1-0), Southern Illinois Edwardsville (24-13-1) and Tennessee Tech (2-0) each lead series against NKU.
The Norse will face Eastern Kentucky once more this season, as the Colonels will travel to Highland Heights, Ky., for a contest on April 9, looking to avenge a 13-11 loss to NKU in extra innings last week. The Norse will then head to Morehead State's home field on April 30.
KELLOGG HEATING UP: Caleb Kellogg has been an offensive spark for the Norse since entering the starting lineup, especially over the last five games. The freshman outfielder batted .500 and collected six RBIs, three runs, three doubles and one home run over NKU's five games last week with wins over Eastern Kentucky and North Florida. He recorded a .600 on-base percentage and an .875 slugging percentage.
After going 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in the series opener against North Florida to open conference play on Friday, Kellogg went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and one run scored to lift the Norse to an 8-6 win on Saturday. In that game, he collected his first collegiate home run. He finished the week with an RBI double on NKU's only run of the game in the series finale against the Ospreys on Sunday.
This season, Kellogg is batting .400 over nine appearances, including seven starts. He has recorded three doubles, one home run, five runs scored and seven RBIs. Kellogg has been walked four times this season, including twice against Miami (Ohio) last Tuesday.
A WIN AND A SAVE: Right-handed pitcher
Wendell Wright recorded a victory and a save last week in NKU's wins against Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday and North Florida on Saturday. Against the Colonels, he pitched a scoreless 11th inning to earn the save as the Norse held on for a 13-11 win. He only allowed one hit and struck out one.
His performance on Tuesday helped him earn his third start of the season in Saturday's matchup against the Ospreys. Wright went eight innings for the Norse, and he surrendered five earned runs on 13 hits. He walked two batters and collected two strikeouts to set NKU up for the victory.
Freshman righty
Jake Shaw also earned a win and a save last week. He was credited with the Eastern Kentucky victory despite allowing three runs on three hits over 1.1 innings, but he collected three strikeouts for the Norse. On Saturday, he allowed one earned run on three hits in the ninth for his third save of the season.
TUESDAY'S PROMOTION: Tuesday's game against Cincinnati is Greek Day. Students in attendance will also receive a pair of NKU sunglasses.
