Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Week 13 Midweek Notes | Live stats | Live video | Live audio

May 7
Bill Aker Baseball Complex (300); Highland Heights, Ky.
NKU (13-31, 6-15 Atlantic Sun) vs. Butler (17-26, 4-8 Big East)
Series Record: BU leads, 5-2
Last Meeting:  BU 3, NKU 2 (April 24, 2013)
 
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team continues its seven-game homestand at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex with its final nonconference midweek game of the season on Wednesday as the Norse host Butler at 3 p.m.
 
A video broadcast of the matchup will be available on ASun.TV, along with live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast.  Links are available at nkunorse.com.
 
NKU is 13-31 on the season after dropping a three-game series to Florida Gulf Coast over the weekend.  In the series opener, the Norse took a 4-3 lead into the sixth inning, but the Eagles scored three runs to regain the lead.  NKU cut its deficit to one (6-5) in the bottom of the frame, but single runs in the seven and ninth innings secured an 8-5 win for FGCU.  The Eagles then cruised to a 17-5 victory on Saturday before posting a 22-13 win in the finale to complete the series sweep.  The Norse are now 6-15 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
Cole Bauml led the Norse offense, going 8-for-12 (.667) from the plate with nine RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles and two home runs.  He recorded a 1.333 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .733 on the week, while Josh Myers went 5-for-12 with one double, one triple and four runs scored.  Ryan LeFevers finished the weekend 4-for-12 from the plate, and he recorded two doubles and two RBIs. He also scored twice against the Eagles.
 
Butler enters the contest 17-26 overall and 4-8 in the Big East.  The Bulldogs have not played since April 29, when Butler defeated Kalamazoo, 8-2, in a rain-shortened, five-inning contest.  The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Bulldogs, who suffered a three-game Big East series sweep at Creighton the prior weekend.
 
Marcos Calderon leads the Butler offense with a .306 batting average, and he tops the team with 31 runs scored, 19 RBIs, nine doubles, two home runs and nine stolen bases.  Chris Maranto is batting .303 with six doubles, one home run and 18 RBIs, and he has successfully stolen six bases in eight attempts for the Bulldogs.
 
Left-handed pitcher Peter Nyznyk is expected to take the mound in Wednesday's contest.  He owns a 7.06 earned run average and 3-2 record.  He has struck out 24 batters and allowed 34 earned runs in 43.1 innings of work.  Right-hander Will Schierholz has made a team-high 21 appearances out of the bullpen for Butler, and he has compiled a 2-2 record with a 3.09 ERA, while righty Billy Laing leads the pitching staff with a 2.80 ERA with six saves and 38 strikeouts.
 
NKU/BUTLER SERIES: Butler holds a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series with NKU after the two teams faced three times last season.  The Norse won two out of the first three meetings between the programs, including the first-ever contest by a 4-2 score on March 14, 1978.  Butler responded with a 2-1 victory in 1979 before the Norse defeated the Bulldogs, 4-3, that same season.  Butler even the all-time series the following year, taking a 4-0 victory over NKU.
 
The Bulldogs won each game against the Norse last season, using 6-2 and 8-3 victories at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on March 15 and 17, respectively, before posting a 3-2 win in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 24.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST BUTLER:  Butler used a three-run eighth inning to rally for a 3-2 victory over NKU at Bulldog Park on April 24, 2013.
 
With NKU holding a 2-0 lead after seven innings, pinch hitter Nick Bartolone sent a bases-loaded single towards third base, bringing Marco Caponi home for the first Butler run of the game in the eighth.  Mike Kseniak reached on a fielder's choice play, which allowed a run to score, and a RBI single followed to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.
 
After five scoreless innings, NKU put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning on back-to-back doubles by Brett Cisper and Cody Kuzniczci.
 
The Norse took advantage of two Bulldog errors in the seventh inning to stretch the lead.  Josh Myers reached base on a throwing error by Kseniak, who was playing third, and advanced to second on the play.  A throwing error by the pitcher sent Myers to third, and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Zac Asman.
 
NKU threatened in the ninth inning when Asman sent a two-out single through the left side, but the Norse could not bring him home.
 
Kuzniczci finished 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Norse offense, and Asman went 1-for-2 after being walked, hit by a pitch and recording a sacrifice fly.
 
NEW CAREER MARK:  Cole Bauml set a career high in Sunday's series finale against Florida Gulf Coast when he batted in seven runs to lead the NKU offense.  His previous personal best in a Norse uniform was six, which he achieved against both Stetson on April 5 and Xavier on April 22. 
 
Bauml put the Norse on the scoreboard in the third inning with a two-run single up the middle before tying the game at 7-all in the fourth with his seventh home run of the season, a three-run blast over the right-center wall.  He then plated the final two runs of the game with a shot back up the middle that allowed David Head and Kyle Colletta to score in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Since a 0-for-4 performance in the final game against Mercer on April 19, Bauml's offense has picked up.  Over the last eight games, he has batted .425, scored nine times and batted in 17 runs.  During that span, he has collected three doubles, one triple, three home runs and three stolen bases, while drawing three walks with a sacrifice fly and bunt.
 
The junior from Muenster, Saskatchewan, has raised his batting average 42 points since the Mercer series and is currently second on the team with a .318 average.  He leads the team in slugging percentage at .561 and RBIs with 33.
 
HEATING UP:  Josh Myers earned his in the starting lineup against Florida Gulf Coast this weekend as his bat has been heating up recently for NKU.  Myers has improved his batting average to .274 on the year, increasing it 37 percentage points since the second game of the South Carolina Upstate series at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on April 12.
 
Over Myers' last nine appearances, he is 11-for-30 (.367) from the plate with two doubles and one triple.  He has scored six times during that span, and he has collected two stolen bases.  He concluded the FGCU series with a 3-for-5 performance with two runs scored and a double.
 
COMING UP:  NKU will host Kennesaw State for a three-game Atlantic Sun series at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex this weekend to wrap up the home portion of its 2014 schedule.  Prior to Saturday's contest against the Owls, the Norse will honor their only senior, Zac Asman, in a pregame ceremony.