HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team heads to the west coast for a four-game series against CSU Bakersfield in nonconference action in Bakersfield, California, this weekend.
 
Friday's action will feature a doubleheader with first pitch for the series opener from Hardt Field slated for 5 p.m. Eastern. The two teams will take the field for a single game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern before the series finale on Sunday, which is set to begin at 3 p.m. Eastern.  Links to live stats, John Asalon's audio broadcast and video for Friday's twin bill are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for updates as games progress this season.
 
NKU is 1-2 on the season after holding off a late Campbell rally for a 6-5 victory in the series finale in Saturday's doubleheader nightcap.  Cole Bauml went 6-for-11 for a .545 batting average with three RBIs and two runs over the first three games to lead the Norse, and five of his hits went for extra bases with four doubles and one triple. 
 
David Head batted .364 over the weekend with one RBI and one run scored, while Ryan LeFevers and Quint Heady each hit .333.  Cody Kuzniczci rounded out the over-.300 hitters with a .308 batting average, and he collected two doubles, scored two times and drove in one run for the Norse.
 
Justin Watts earned his first NKU victory in his first appearance, pitching two innings of relief in the series finale.  Aric Harris earned his first collegiate save, surrendering just one hit in the ninth inning before recording the final three outs of the game.
 
ABOUT CSU BAKERSFIELD: The Roadrunners enter the NKU series looking for their first win of the season after dropping a three-game weekend to Creighton.  The Bluejays scored two runs in the first and eighth innings before adding one in the top of the ninth for a 5-0 victory in the season opener before scoring four unearned runs in a 5-1 win the next day.  Creighton completed the series sweep on Sunday by defeating CSUB, 10-4.
 
Third baseman Ryan Grotjohn went 4-for-7 (.571) from the plate over three appearances and two starts with one double and one RBI, while right fielder Chase Gusbeth batted .300 with one triple and one double and scored once for the Roadrunners.  Catcher Logan Trowbridge drove in one run and successfully stole one base in the only CSUB attempt of the weekend.
 
Right-handed pitcher Hayden Carter is expected to take the mound against the Norse in the series opener after posting a 2.57 earned run average with six strikeouts over seven innings of work against Creighton.  The nightcap's starter will be righty James Barragan, who did not surrender an earned run and struck out six batters in 3.2 innings on the mound last weekend.  Saturday's probable starter is right-hander Steven Gee.  He holds a 1.69 ERA after allowing just one earned run in 5.1 innings of work, and he struck out three Bluejays.  Right-handed pitcher Nick Rogowski gave up five earned runs on four walks and two hits in his first start of the season and is expected to take the mound against NKU in the series finale on Sunday.
 
FIRST OF TWO: CSU Bakersfield will be the first member of the Western Athletic Conference that NKU has faced in the program's history.  However, the Roadrunners will not be the last WAC team the Norse will see this season.  The 2015 schedule will also feature a three-game series at New Mexico State.  The two teams will take the field for a single game on Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern before a doubleheader the next day.  First pitch for Saturday's opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern.
 
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Center fielder Cole Bauml earned the 2015 season's first Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week award for his performance against Campbell last weekend.  He finished the weekend with a .545 batting average and collected four doubles and one triple over NKU's first three games.  He also scored two times and drove in three runs for the Norse.  Bauml recorded a .615 on-base percentage and a 1.091 slugging percentage to start his final year with NKU and successfully stole two bases in as many attempts.
 
Bauml, who received second-team All-Atlantic Sun honors for his performance last season, becomes the first Norse baseball player to receive the conference's weekly honor.  He is also the first player to receive weekly recognition since Brett Loeding was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 2, 2012.
 
STRONG OUTINGS: Right-handed pitcher Wendell Wright began the season without surrendering an earned run in four innings on the mound in Saturday's nightcap against Campbell.  Wright allowed just one run, which was unearned, on two hits, and he struck out one Camel and did not walk a batter in his first start of the season.
 
Fellow righty Aric Harris earned his first collegiate save in NKU's 6-5 victory.  The Norse took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth, and Campbell loaded the bases without recording an out when Harris entered the game.  After surrendering a two-run single to the first batter he faced, Harris forced Cole Hallum to pop out to David Head at first base and picked Danny Prado off while attempting to steal second.  Harris then recorded his first strikeout of the season to end the game and preserve the NKU win.
 
EXTRA-BASE HITS: Nine of NKU's 21 hits during the opening weekend went for extra bases.  The Norse belted eight doubles and one triple against Campbell.  NKU's double total was third most among Atlantic Sun teams, behind Stetson's 13 and Kennesaw State and Lipscomb, which each recorded nine during the opening weekend of play.
 
Last season, the Norse collected 11 extra-base hits in their first weekend of play, hitting 11 doubles in a four-game series against Troy.  NKU did not record its first triple until Zac Asman's against North Florida on March 22 at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
 
SUCCESSFUL SWIPES: NKU successfully stole each of the five bases it attempted in the opening series, led by a pair from Cole Bauml.  Quint Heady, Cody Kuzniczci and Ryan LeFevers each swiped an extra base against the Camels as well.  Last season, it took the Norse 13 games to steal five bases and the team had only one after the first weekend of action.
 
Bauml returned for his senior season as the team's top base stealer.  He successfully stole seven bases last season in 11 attempts last season.  Josh Myers swiped four bases in five attempts during 2014, and Heady, Brad Bohlen, David Head and Ryan Hinz each collected three stolen bases.   Kyle Colletta rounded out the Norse who recorded more than one stolen base, stealing two in his freshman campaign.
 
UP NEXT: After NKU's trip to CSU Bakersfield, the Norse will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, to continue its season-opening, 14-game road trip to participate in the Governors Classic.  NKU will open the three-day event against host Austin Peay at 4 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 27 before facing Western Michigan the next day at 3:30 p.m.  The Norse will conclude weekend with a 3:30 p.m. contest against Dayton.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available at NKUNorse.com.