hit a pair of home runs to provide a bright spot on a 13-4 loss for the Norse in Game 1. With the results, NKU enters the final game of the year with a 5-44 overall record and a 1-24 mark in A-Sun play.
Makensie McAvoy and Chelsea Zgrabik each had three hits as the Eagles combined for 15 in the opener. Kelsey Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and four RBIs. The Norse managed eight hits off FGCU's Shelby Morgan, including VanHorn's two bombs.
Dee Dee Davis also went 2-for-3 on the game. Morgan improved to 12-7 with the win, striking out three Norse. The loss fell to
Alyssa Enrique (3-14), who added four strikeouts of her own.
Paige McQueen came on in relief and retired the first six batters she faced, striking out one.
FGCU jumped out to a big lead early, putting up six runs on eight hits after just two innings. Carpenter and Louie Ross each pitched in with RBI singles in the first while Kirsten Bembnowski added a sacrifice fly. In the second inning, McAvoy ended a string of four consecutive singles with a run-scoring shot through the right side to plate Jeanie Verderese. Carpenter added a run on a bases-loaded walk and Bembnowski brought home another on an RBI groundout.
VanHorn provided an answer for the Norse in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run home run to right center field, scoring
Katelyn Roy, who doubled to lead off the inning. VanHorn would add another long ball to dead center in the fourth inning.
The Eagles kept the scoring going, answering the VanHorn homer with one from Brittany Garabedian to push the margin back to five at 7-2.
The Norse added a run in the third inning after
KC Straley and Davis led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Straley got cut down at third base on a double-steal attempt before
Dana Jarboe hit a corkscrew off the end of the bat down the first-base line. Zgrabik came out from the catching position to field the ball and put out Jarboe, leaving the plate unprotected and allowing Davis to take the initiative to score from second base on the play and make it a 7-3 game.
FGCU added three-run innings in the fourth and seventh innings to get to the final score.
Things looked grim for the Norse early in Game 2 as the Eagles scored four runs in the second inning without benefit of a hit. Things took a more conventional turn in the third inning as FGCU plated four more runs. Verderese doubled to the gap in left center field to plate Ross, whose one-out walk started the rally. Regan Knapik followed with an RBI single deep in the hole at shortstop to score Garabedian, who followed the Ross walk with an infield single. Jessica Barnes then cleared the bases with a two-run triple off the wall in right field, extending the FGCU lead to 8-0.
Garabedian added on in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run home run, scoring Ross.
The Norse comeback started with a leadoff home run by
Mandi McQueen in the bottom of the fifth inning. After working a full count, the senior hit a rocket shot that slammed off the face of the scoreboard beyond the fence in right field. VanHorn and Nicollette Hayes followed up with back-to-back singles to set up a three-run bomb for Straley, her second of the year.
Davis kept the rally going with a single up the middle before the Eagles recorded their first out, retiring Davis on a fielder's choice after Jarboe's sharply hit ground ball to first base.
Rachel Kohlman then walked on four pitches to bring up
Michelle Carson, who laced a single up the middle past the diving FGCU shortstop to cut the deficit in half. Back-to-back walks to
Mandi McQueen and VanHorn forced home another run and brought up Hayes for the second time in the inning, this time representing the tying run. The rally ended there, however, as the sophomore popped up to first base to close out the inning.
The Norse got on the board again in the sixth inning beginning with a Straley walk. The speedy centerfielder stole second base before taking two bases on a wild pitch to score.
Kari Lang followed up with a single down the left field line and came in to score on Kohlman's double to the wall in left field, cutting the Eagles' lead to 10-8. Again, the Norse got the tying run to the plate in the person of
Michelle Carson, who put a charge into a fly ball to left that Carpenter tracked down for the final out of the inning.
The Eagles extended their lead in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three runs on three hits before the Norse came up for their final chance in the home seventh. Consecutive fielding errors allowed Hayes and Straley to reach and set up back-to-back RBI singles by Davis and Jarboe, bringing up Lang as the tying run. However, once more the Eagles had an answer, as Lang grounded out to third base to end the game.
The Norse outhit FGCU by a 13-9 margin in the contest, with four players posting two-hit games. The 13 hits and 10 runs were both season highs for the Norse as well. The win went to Amanda Josie, who is now 10-9 on the season.
Kelley Benhase took the loss, falling to 1-6 on the year.
Sunday's contest is set for a noon first pitch. Fans are encouraged to come early as NKU will honor its senior class with a special pregame ceremony.
