BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball held off a late Campbell University rally for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap as the two split a doubleheader on Saturday at Jim Perry Stadium in nonconference action.
Cole Bauml went 3-for-5 with three doubles to lead NKU (1-2), and he scored twice and drove in one run.
Cody Kuzniczci,
David Head and
Ryan LeFevers each posted two-hit days in Game 2 for the Norse, as Kuzniczci scored twice as well.
Justin Watts (1-0) pitched two inning of relief for his first win for NKU, and he gave up two runs on two hits.
Wendell Wright went four innings in the start and only allowed one unearned run, while
Alex Bolia struck out three batters and surrendered two runs in two innings of relief.
Game 2 of the doubleheader saw the NKU bats come out hot. Bauml sparked the offense with a one-out double to left field, and Kuzniczci brought Bauml home by sending the first pitch down the left-field line for an RBI double.
Trey Ganns grounded out but Kuzniczci moved to third on the play, and he scored on a Head right-field single for a 2-0 lead.
Head added the final run of the opening frame for the Norse. He advanced to third on a
Ryan LeFevers double to left field and came home on a fielder's choice which saw
Anthony Vagnier reach base and LeFevers out at second.
The Norse added to their lead in the third inning. Kuzniczci started the frame off with a single through the left side, and he went to third on a one-out Head single through the right side. A sacrifice bunt from LeFevers brought Kuzniczci home and gave NKU a 4-0 advantage.
After Wright retired Campbell in order and a Camels pitching change,
Kyle Colletta drew a two-out walk and scored on Bauml's second double of the nightcap, putting the Norse on top, 5-1, after the top of the fourth.
Campbell took advantage of a pair of NKU errors in the bottom of the inning to put a run on the scoreboard. Steven Leonard reach on a fielding error by
Caleb Lonkard, but he was taken off the base path when Austin Lopez reached on a fielder's choice. Lopez moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt and went to third on a wild pitch. A Kyle Leady ground out brought Lopez home and cut the Norse lead to 5-1.
Seth LaRue brought Campbell to within 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth when he doubled and scored on a ground out, but Bauml got the run back for the Norse in the top of the next inning when he came home on a throwing error by Leonard as he stole third base.
The Camels plated another run in the sixth inning to make it a 6-3 game and struck again in the bottom of the ninth. Campbell loaded the bases after Lopez singled, Leady walked and Danny Pardo was hit by a pitch.
Aric Harris took over on the mound for the Norse, and LaRue sent his second pitch of the game into center field, scoring Lopez and Leady to pull the Camels to within one run (6-5).
Cole Hallum popped out to Head at first before Prado was picked off at second, bringing Brian Taylor to the plate. Harris worked back from a 2-0 situation and caught Taylor swinging for the first strike. Taylor then fouled of the fourth pitch before swinging at the third strike to end the ballgame, giving Harris his first collegiate save.
LaRue went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored for the Camels (2-1) in the second game of the twin bill as Lopez scored three times. Grant Yost (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Campbell, surrendering four runs on six hits over three innings of work.
In the opener, Cedric Mullins, Leady and JD Andreesen each recorded three hits apiece to lead the Campbell offense. Mullins scored twice, while Lopez and Andreesen each drove in two runs. Nick Thayer (1-0) earn his first victory for the Camels, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits with four strikeouts. Bobby Thorson pitched three innings of relief to earn his first save of the season after giving up just two hits over three innings of work.
Quint Heady put NKU on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Head started the frame off with a bunt-single but was out on the next play as Heady reached on a fielder's choice. Heady proceeded to steal second and scored on a muffed throw by third baseman LaRue.
The Camels answered in the bottom of the second. LaRue was hit by a
Jake Shaw pitch following Leady leadoff single, and a one-out double to left field from Andreesen brought Leady and LaRue home to make it a 2-1 Campbell advantage.
The Norse tied the game in the top of the third.
Kyle Colletta's first hit of the 2015 season found left field, and
Cole Bauml stepped to the plate and sent the first pitch into right-center field, bringing Colletta home and tying the game.
After a scoreless fourth, Austin Beard sparked the Camels' offense with a leadoff single into right field, and a Mullins bunt sent him to second. A sacrifice bunt from Steven Leonard advanced Beard and Mullins an extra base, and Anthony Lopez sent the first pitch up the middle to bring both runners home, putting Campbell back on top, 4-2.
A Leonard sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh pushed the Camels ahead, 5-2, before they added the final run of the game on a Beard RBI-sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the next frame.
Head went 2-for-4 to pace the NKU offense, while Bauml, Colletta, Heady and
Cody Kuzniczci each recorded hits in the opener. Shaw (1-0) took the loss for the Norse, surrendering four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in five innings of work.
Evan Korson went three innings on the mound, allowing just one earned run on six hits.
NKU heads to the west coast next weekend for a four-game series against CSU Bakersfield. A doubleheader will open the series on Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern with single games scheduled for Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.). Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at NKUNorse.com.
