Northern Kentucky University Athletics

Week 13 Notes | Live stats | Live audio

May 9-11
Bill Aker Baseball Complex (300); Highland Heights, Ky.
NKU (14-31, 6-15 Atlantic Sun) vs. Kennesaw State (27-20, 11-9 Atlantic Sun)
Series Record: KSU leads 4-1
Last Meeting:  KSU 14, NKU 4 (March 24, 2013)
 
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team concludes the home portion of its 2014 schedule this weekend as the Norse host Kennesaw State for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
 
The series will begin on Friday at 3 p.m., and Saturday's action is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time.  The final home game of the season is slated for noon on Sunday.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at nkunorse.com.
 
NKU enters its final home stand with a 14-31 overall record and a 6-15 mark in the Atlantic Sun.  The Norse gave head coach Todd Asalon his 600th career victory on Wednesday with a 12-6 win over Butler at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.  Cole Bauml continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs, while Quint Heady finished 2-for-3 from the plate with his first collegiate home run and three runs scored on the day.  Kyle Colletta allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, on eight hits, and he struck out five batters in eight innings on the mound.
 
Kennesaw State is 27-20 on the year and 11-9 in the Atlantic Sun.  The Owls bring a 13-game winning streak to NKU after defeating Georgia State, 11-6, on Wednesday night.  Kennesaw State had three players record three-hit days, including Brennen Morgan, who finished 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and four RBIs.  Max Pentecost and Clint Wynn also each added 3-for-5 performances for the Owls, as Wynn collected a double and Pentecost scored twice and batted in two runs.
 
Pentecost, a preseason All-Atlantic Sun honoree, leads the Kennesaw State offense with a .417 batting average, which ranks third in the league and sixth in the nation.  He leads team in RBIs (45), runs scored (45), hits (83), doubles (17) and home runs (7), and has successfully stolen 12 bases in 14 tries.  Alex Liquori is batting .352 and has collected a team-high four triples while Bo Way holds a .347 batting average and Colin Bennett is hitting at a .333 clip.  Justin Motley rounds out the .300 hitters for the Owls with a .304 batting average.
 
The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Jordan Hillyer in the series opener on Friday.  Hillyer holds a 3.48 earned run average and 5-3 record, and he has struck out 55 batters while walking 21 in 67.1 innings of work.  Left-handed pitcher Travis Bergen will be Saturday's starter, and he brings a 3.48 ERA and 5-4 record to the mound.  Bergen leads the pitching staff with 57 strikeouts and has only walked nine batters over 62 innings.  Sunday's starter will be right-handed pitcher Gabe Friese, who is 1-1 on the year with a 4.31 ERA.  Friese has allowed 23 earned runs and struck out 29 batters in 48 innings for Kennesaw State.
 
NKU/KENNESAW STATE ALL-TIME: NKU and Kennesaw State have met five times in the past, with three of those meetings coming last season during the Norse's inaugural season as an NCAA Division I program.  Each matchup has occurred in Kennesaw, Ga., making this weekend's series the Owls' first trip to Highland Heights.
 
The two teams first met for a doubleheader on March 11, 1986.  NKU found itself on the winning side of a 16-14 slugfest in the opener, before Kennesaw State rebounded with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap.  After a 27-year break, the Owls won each game of a three-game conference series to take a 4-1 lead in the all-time series last season.
 
LAST SERIES AGAINST KENNESAW STATE:  NKU opened up its first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun last year with a three-game road series against Kennesaw State on March 22-24.  The Owls cruised to a 12-1 victory in the opener before posting a 15-4 win in the second game of the series.  Kennesaw State then used a 14-4 decision in the series finale to complete the season sweep.
 
Max Pentecost went 6-for-10 (.600) from the plate to lead the Owls, and he scored six times, batted in three runs and stole two bases over the weekend.  Alex Liquori saw action in two games during the series and he collected three hits, three runs, five RBIs, one double and one triple. 
 
Jordan Hillyer pitched two innings of relief in the first game of the series for Kennesaw State, as he took over for Stephen Janas, one of the nation's top pitchers last season.  Hillyer surrendered just one hit and he collected two strikeouts.
 
Caleb Lonkard saw action in each game against the Owls last season and started twice.  He drew four walks, was hit by a pitch and scored twice for the Norse offense, while Zac Asman recorded his only home run of the season in the series opener.
 
Cody Cooper made two appearances out of the bullpen for NKU, and he allowed just two earned runs on six hits over 3.2 innings on the mound.  He walked two batters and collected three strikeouts against Kennesaw State.
 
COACHING MILESTONE:  Wednesday's 12-6 victory over Butler gave NKU head coach Todd Asalon his 600th career victory.  He has recorded 456 wins as the NKU leader, and he amassed 144 victories at Thomas More College, where he began his head coaching career.  Asalon, who become just the second head coach in NKU's program history in 2000, now holds a 600-442-1 record in 20 seasons leading both the Saints and Norse.
 
At the NCAA Division II level, Asalon led NKU to the national tournament eight times and was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year three times.  During his tenure, 10 players, including nine pitchers, have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, the most recent being Dave Middendorf, who was taken in the 22nd round by the Kansas City Royals in 2011.
 
ZAC ASMAN DAY:  Prior to Saturday's game against Kennesaw State, NKU will honor its only senior, Zac Asman, in a pregame ceremony.  Asman has seen action in nearly every position on the field for the Norse over 198 games and 186 starts during his four-year career. 
 
This season, he holds a .303 batting average, and he lead the Norse with 31 runs scored, two triples and nine stolen bases.  On multiple occasions this year and throughout his time at NKU, he has recorded key hits that have driven in more than one run to energize the offense. He is currently tied for sixth place on NKU's career at-bats list with 684 plate appearances, sharing the spot with Evan McDole (2007-10).
 
As a Norse, he has recorded a .276 batting average with 47 doubles, four triples and three home runs. Zac has batted in 86 runs, scored 112 times and stolen 46 bases, including a perfect 9-for-9 in steal attempts this season.
 
COLLECTING HOME RUNS:  NKU has recorded at least one home run in each of the last four games, and the Norse hit two in the second game of the Florida Gulf Coast series last weekend.  Cole Bauml has collected two of the team's five over that span, including a three-run shot over the right-center field wall in Sunday's series finale.  Ryan Hinz and Quint Heady each recorded their first collegiate home runs this week as well.
 
As a team, the Norse have hit 33 home runs, with Jordan Procyshen leading the way with 10 homers on the season.  This year's team total is the most by NKU since the 2010 season when the Norse finished with 43 homers, led by Bryan Rose's eight. Procyshen's total is the most since 2009 when Evan McDole and Kevin Dusold each hit 15 on the year.
 
NKU, which leads the Atlantic Sun in home runs, is not eligible to be included in the NCAA national statistics as a reclassifying institution, but if the Norse were able to be ranked their 33 home runs would be tied for 20th in the nation with Arkansas-Little Rock and Belmont.  Procyshen would land in a tie for 21st place.