Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Week 14 Notes | Live stats | Live audio

May 15-17
John Sessions Stadium (3,000); Jacksonville, Fla.
NKU (14-34, 6-18 Atlantic Sun) vs. Jacksonville (17-30, 10-13 Atlantic Sun)
Series Record: NKU leads, 2-1
Last Meeting:  NKU 5, JU 2 (April 21, 2013)
 
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team wraps up its 2014 schedule with a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series on the road against Jacksonville at John Sessions Stadium.
 
NKU and Jacksonville will begin the series on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., and Friday's game is also scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start time.  The Norse's final game of the season is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
 
NKU enters its final weekend 14-34 overall and 6-18 in the Atlantic Sun after being swept by Kennesaw State over the weekend.  The Owls scored three runs in the third inning and two in the fifth for a 5-1 victory in Friday's opener before using a four-run seventh inning on Saturday for a 6-3 win.  NKU held a 4-1 lead going into the seventh inning in Sunday's series finale before Kennesaw State scored 12 unanswered runs over the final three innings to complete the series sweep.
 
Logan Spurlin led the Norse offense, going 6-for-13 (.462) with a double, a run scored and an RBI against the Owls.  Cole Bauml finished 5-for-12 (.417), and he scored twice, collected two doubles and batted in one run.  Cody Cooper pitched his second complete game of the season on Friday, allowing five runs on 13 hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
 
Jacksonville is 17-31 on the year and 10-13 in the Atlantic Sun after falling to Georgia Southern, 10-9, on Tuesday in nonconference action, despite Michael Babb's 3-for-4 effort with three RBIs and three runs scored.  Last weekend, the Dolphins dropped the first game of their series against South Carolina Upstate, 10-5, before taking the final two contests.  Jacksonville scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday to rally for a 9-7 victory, and the Dolphins then used an 11-7 win for the series victory on Sunday.
 
Scott Schaub boasts a .430 batting average, which leads Jacksonville and ranks second in the Atlantic Sun, and he tops the conference with a .503 on-base percentage.  Schaub has scored 19 times and batted in a team-high 42 runs, while collecting six doubles, three triples, one home run and nine stolen bases.  Connor Marabell is batting .361 with a team-leading five home runs for the Dolphins, while Angelo Amendolare leads the team with 14 stolen bases and 30 runs scored. 

The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Alex McRae on the mound in Thursday's opener.  McRae is 4-7 on the year with a 6.66 earned run average and a team-leading 62 strikeouts, which ranks fifth among Atlantic Sun pitchers.  He has thrown two complete games and allowed 56 earned runs over 75.2 innings of work.  Friday's starting pitcher will be lefty Josh Baker, who holds a 5.23 ERA and 3-3 mark on the year.  Baker has collected 31 strikeouts and allowed 38 earned runs in 65.1 innings on the mound.  The Dolphins will bring right-hander Justin Russell to the mound in the series finale.  Russell has struck out 35 batters in 68.1 innings, and he has compiled a 4.74 ERA to go with a 6-3 record.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST JACKSONVILLE:  After Jacksonville defeated NKU, 4-1, on April 19, 2013, the Norse rebounded with two wins for their first Atlantic Sun series victory in the only three matchups between the two programs.
 
With the series opener tied at 1-all entering the final inning, Jacksonville brought home three runs in the top of the frame before retiring NKU in order for the win.  The next day, the Norse used a four-run seventh inning, highlighted by an RBI double by Zac Asman, to even the series with a 4-3 victory.  In the series finale on April 21, NKU scored four runs in the second inning and one in the third as Asman stole three bases for a 5-2 win, capturing NKU's first conference series since becoming a member of the Atlantic Sun last season.
 
Ryan Hinz saw action in each game against the Dolphins, including starts in the final two games, and he led the Norse offense, going 3-for-7 (.429) with one run scored and one RBI.  Asman and Cody Kuzniczci each finished 4-for-11 (.364) from the plate with two runs scored.  Kuzniczci hit a pair of doubles, while Asman batted in three runs, stole four bases and hit one double over the weekend.
 
Dylan Dillard went 3-for-7 (.429) over three games as well to lead Jacksonville, and he scored three times, batted in three runs and collected one double and one home run.  Schaub went 2-for-6 (.333) in two appearances, while Alex McRae pitched 6.1 innings in the second game of the series.  McRae surrendered four runs, three earned, on nine hits with one strikeout.
 
AMONG THE TOP:  Cole Bauml's recent offensive surge has placed him among the top 10 in several categories in the Atlantic Sun.  His .570 slugging percentage is fifth in the conference and leads NKU, while he is tied for fifth in doubles with Florida Gulf Coast's Jake Noll and Lipscomb's Grant Massey, each having collected 16 this season.
 
Bauml has recorded seven home runs to land seventh in the Atlantic Sun.  East Tennessee State's Clinton Freeman leads the category with 11, while Jordan Procyshen's 10 are tied for second with North Florida's Corbin Olmstead.
 
The junior from Muenster, Saskatchewan, ranks second on the team with a .333 batting average, and he leads the team with 37 RBIs, including 20 over the last 12 NKU games.  Bauml has collected one triple, six stolen bases and 27 runs scored for the Norse this season, as well.
 
THROWING THEM OUT:  Jordan Procyshen has caught 20 base runners attempting to steal a base this season to rank second in the Atlantic Sun behind South Carolina Upstate's Luke Weber, who has thrown out 23 opponents trying to take an extra base.  Last weekend, Procyshen ended the top of the second inning in Friday's opener when he stopped Alex Liquori from stealing second base to increase his season total.  Against conference teams, he has thrown out 12 base runners to lead the Atlantic Sun.
 
Procyshen's season total is the most by an NKU player since the 2011 season when Brian Erie caught 22 base runners trying to steal a base.
 
As a team, the Norse have caught 25 opposing players attempting to steal, landing fifth in the conference.  NKU is tops in the Atlantic Sun in that category against league opponents with 13 on the year.
 
TAKING THE FIELD:   Zac Asman recorded his 200th game played for NKU in Saturday's senior day action against Kennesaw State, and he has now appeared in 201 games over his four-year career.  If Asman plays in every game against Jacksonville this week, he will finish in eighth place on NKU's career list for most games played at 204.  Over the weekend, Asman passed Justin Rahschulte (1999-2002), who was in eighth place and played in exactly 200 games as a Norse.
 
The senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, also finds himself in the top 10 in NKU's all-time at-bats list.  He is currently in sixth place, having made 697 appearances at the plate heading into the final series of his career.  He needs just six more at-bats to pass Matt Wagers (2004-07), who is fifth on the list with 702 plate appearances.