UPDATE: Due to weather concerns in the Macon, Ga., area, the schedule for this weekend has been changed. The teams will now play a single game on Friday at 11 a.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University softball team hits the road for the first time in eight games this weekend, traveling south to face Atlantic Sun Conference foe Mercer in a three-game series over Easter weekend.
The series begins on Friday with a single contest, beginning at 11 a.m. The teams will conclude their series with a doubleheader, scheduled for an 11 a.m. first pitch on Saturday. Links to live stats are available at nkunorse.com.
NKU will look to snap its 15-game losing streak, lengthened by a weekend sweep at the hands of the nationally ranked South Carolina Upstate squad. The Norse, now 3-35 on the season and 1-17 in A-Sun play, were outscored 49-2 in the three-game series.
A WORD ABOUT MERCER: The Bears stand at 29-17 overall and 11-8 in conference play, looking to lock in a trip to the A-Sun Tournament after missing postseason play in each of the last two seasons. Mercer is looking to solve a six-game slide of its own after being swept over the weekend by Lipscomb.
Offensively, Mercer will look to mash the ball, as the Bears rank second in the conference with 52 home runs on the year. Leading the charge is Caroline Taylor, who has 13 bombs to go with 41 RBIs, ranking third among league batters. Kaytlin Haney tops the A-Sun RBI chart with 47 on the year.
Scoring many of those runs is McKenzie Woody, who leads the team with a .345 batting average and 33 runs scored and shares the league lead with 21 stolen bases.
Kirsten Stevens leads the Bears' pitching staff, compiling an 11-4 record with a 2.15 ERA and four shutouts. Stevens has struck out 75 batters in 114 innings of work so far this season. Anna O'Neill (5-6, 3.59 ERA) and Julia Rice (8-4, 3.75 ERA) back up Stevens in the rotation, with O'Neill adding a pair of saves on the year.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BEARS: In the first-ever A-Sun series at the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field, Mercer took a three-game sweep from NKU on March 16-17, 2013. Game 1 saw Krista Kennedy go 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs in a 7-2 win. The top four batters in the Mercer lineup combined to hit 10-for-16 in the game.
KC Straley and
Natalie Papi each had two hits for the Norse.
In Game 2, Sarah Santana provided all the offense Mercer needed, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBIs in a 3-1 win for the Bears.
Emily Schwaeble struck out seven and scattered six hits in the loss for NKU.
Tory Speakman and Alexis Van Horn hit back-to-back home runs for the Norse to tie things up after two innings, but a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning and six more in the fifth, including an inside-the-park three-run home run by McKenzie Woody, capped a 15-5 win in the series finale.
Dee Dee Davis and
Mandi McQueen each had a pair of hits in the contest for NKU.
BANKING ON SPEED: KC Straley is continuing to use her speed on the base paths this season. Her 17 stolen bases on the season rank sixth among league speedsters and are the most by a Norse player since Stephanie West swiped 19 bags in 2008.
