HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team returns to Atlantic Sun Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at East Tennessee State. The series begins on Saturday at Betty Basler Field in Johnson City, Tenn., with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m., and concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch for the finale.
NKU enters the weekend with a 3-23 record after dropping both ends of a doubleheader at Butler on Wednesday. The Norse are also 1-8 in A-Sun play, having taken one of three games from North Florida last weekend in league play.
Live stats for the weekend series can be found at nkunorse.com.
A WORD ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE STATE: The Buccaneers come into this weekend with an 11-15 record, including a 1-8 record in the A-Sun, after being swept last weekend by conference foe Stetson. The Bucs feature one of the nation's most prolific home run hitters in Jackie Baird, whose 11 long balls are tied for the A-Sun lead and rank seventh in the country. Katie Wolff leads the team with a .371 batting average while Taylor Carter has posted three shutouts in the circle to help compile an 8-5 pitching record with a 3.56 earned run average.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BUCCANEERS: KC Straley went 7-for-11 and scored five runs to help the Norse to a three-game sweep over ETSU on April 13 and 14, 2013. NKU won both ends of the opening doubleheader, 3-2 and 8-5, before
Emily Schwaeble shut the door with a two-hit shutout to give NKU the sweep, 4-0.
Dee Dee Davis had four hits in the series, including three extra-base hits, and
Natalie Papi and Alexis Van Horn added four hits as well. NKU holds a 3-0 lead in the all-time series.
VAN HORN MAKING NOISE: Alexis Van Horn has stormed back to make waves in the Norse lineup, going 4-for-8 last week with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored to lead the offense and earn a spot in the lineup as the team's designated player.
CUTTING THEM DOWN: NKU catcher
Dani Devlin has thrown out five potential base stealers this season, ranking her fourth in the league in that category. Mercer's Natalie Shiver leads the A-Sun in that category with nine.
A-SUN STANDING OUT: The quality of the Atlantic Sun Conference is becoming well known as the NCAA released the first RPI rankings this past week. Four A-Sun teams stand ranked among the top 36 teams in the country, and six are within the top 100. The Atlantic Sun is one of just six conferences to place four or more teams in the top 50.
