HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team heads north for a single game at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday.

First pitch from Bill Davis Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m.  Links to live stats, a video broadcast and John Asalon's audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Fans unable to make the trip to Columbus can also track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.

NKU enters its first midweek contest of the 2015 season 2-11 after dropping three games to Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, last weekend.  Zack Brown threw a complete-game shutout in the series opener on Saturday as the Wildcats cruised to a 6-0 victory.  Kentucky held off a late Norse rally for a 7-6 win in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader before the Wildcats claimed a 9-4 decision in the nightcap.

Cole Bauml batted .417 with two doubles, two home runs and four runs scored to pace the Norse offense, while Kyle Colletta and Brad Bohlen each hit .289 against the Wildcats.  Ryan LeFevers recorded two hits and scored three times as well.

Pierce Knisley pitched 2.2 innings over two appearances and did not allow a run, only surrendering one hit and walking one batter.  Evan Korson recorded two scoreless innings of relief and gave up just one hit while striking out two batters.

ABOUT OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes are 7-4 on the year and are winners of their last three games, including a pair of victories against Western Kentucky last weekend.  Ohio State scored at least one run in four of the first five innings in a 10-1 victory over the Hilltoppers on Sunday before the Buckeyes overcame a late deficit for a 6-4 win on Monday.

Craig Nenning boasts a .351 batting average with one double, five runs scored and seven RBIs to lead the Ohio State offense.  Connor Sabanosh is hitting .313 over nine starts with two doubles, three runs and one RBI, while Aaron Gretz is batting .300 with two doubles and three runs scored.  Troy Montgomery has successfully stolen four bases in as many attempts as Nick Sergakis has drawn a team-high eight walks.

The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Jacob Niggemeyer, who will be making his first collegiate appearance.  Righty Trace Dempsey only allowed one unearned run over four relief appearances.  He is 1-0 on the mound with two saves, and he has struck out five batters, walked one and scattered five hits in 6.2 innings of work.

NKU-OHIO STATE SERIES: Ohio State has won the only two meetings against NKU in a doubleheader on May 1, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio.  The Buckeyes overcame rallies in each contest, taking a 9-8 victory in the opener and defeating the Norse, 6-5, in the nightcap.  NKU led or was tied in 12 of the 18 innings played in 2013.

LAST TIME AGAINST OHIO STATE: Ohio State took advantage of two costly NKU errors to score the winning runs to sweep a nonconference doubleheader at Bill Davis Stadium on May 1, 2013.

Ryan Cypret scored the game-winning run of the nightcap to give the Buckeyes a 6-5 victory after setting up the final play by drawing a walk to start the bottom of the ninth inning.  A sacrifice bunt sent him to second before Patrick Porter was intentionally walked.  Cypret and Porter each advanced on a ground out, and Aaron Gretz reached base on a fielding error by Brett Loeding, and Cypret came home with the winning run.

Cody Kuzniczci put NKU ahead in the fourth inning when he sent a two-out double into left-center field to drive in Brad Clement and Josh Myers. A grand slam by Brad Hallberg gave the Buckeyes a 4-2 lead after six innings, and Ohio State tacked on an extra run the following frame to extend its lead.

The Norse evened the game in the top of the eighth.  Zac Asman started the rally with a two-out single, and Bradley Vanderglas drew a walk.  Clement then stepped to the plate and sent a 2-0 David Fathalikhani pitch over the left-field wall to even the score at 5-all.
NKU put runners on first and second in the top of the ninth but could not bring them home.

In the opener, an RBI single by Clement gave NKU the lead after the first, but Ohio State scored runs in the second and third frames to take a 2-1 lead.  Both teams added runs in the fourth inning, but NKU used a five-run top of the fifth inning, highlighted by Myers' two-run home run over the left-field wall, to take a 7-3 advantage.  The Buckeyes, however, answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs to tie the contest at 7-all.

A throwing error by Kuzniczci and an obstruction call allowed Joe Ciamacco to advance to third, and Jake Brobst, who pinch ran for Gretz, came home to give Ohio State a 9-8 lead in the seventh inning.  The Ohio State pitching staff retired the Norse in order over the final two innings to hold on for the win.

Myers went 3-for-7, drove in two runs and scored twice to lead the NKU offense over both games, while Logan Spurlin, Quint Heady, Caleb Lonkard and Kuzniczci each recorded hits against Ohio State as well.

AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE: NKU is still seeking its first win against Big Ten competition since reclassifying to Division I in 2013. In that inaugural D1 season, the Norse played three games against Big Ten squads. In addition to the doubleheader against Ohio State, the Norse dropped a 4-3 decision to Northwestern in Nashville, Tennessee. As a Division II program, NKU took a 7-3 loss at the hands of Indiana during the 2011 season.

BAUML'S EXTRA-BASE HITS: Cole Bauml recorded two more doubles against Kentucky over the weekend to improve his nation-leading total to 14, which tops Nick Lynch of UC Davis, who has collected 12 doubles over 17 contests.  Bauml became NKU's top home run hitter on Sunday when he blasted a pair of long balls in Sunday's doubleheader.  He now has three homers over the first 13 games of the season.

The senior center fielder from Muenster, Saskatchewan, is batting .434 with one triple, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored to go along with his doubles and home runs.  He has also successfully stolen six bases in six attempts, and he holds a .906 slugging percentage and a .483 on-base percentage. 

KNISELY'S IMPACT: Pierce Knisley has made three appearances out of the bullpen for NKU this season and has logged 3.2 innings of work.  He has not allowed a run to score and given up just one hit.  The freshman right-handed pitcher from Waverly , Ohio, is limiting the opposing batters to a .100 batting average, and he has struck out one batter and walked one.  Knisley recorded his first collegiate strikeout on Feb. 28 against William & Mary.

HARRIS' RETURN: Aric Harris has been impressive in his return to the NKU pitching staff after suffering a season-ending injury in 2014.  He pitched 4.1 innings this season before surrendering his first earned run in Sunday's nightcap at Kentucky.  Harris recorded his first collegiate save in the Norse's 6-5 win over Campbell on Feb. 14.

The sophomore right-handed pitcher from Ashland, Ohio, boasts a 1.69 earned run average over four appearances out of the bullpen.  Harris has allowed just four hits and has struck out six batters while walking three. 

UP NEXT: NKU hits the road once more for a nonconference matchup against regional foe Wright State on March 18. First pitch from Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, is set for 6:30 p.m.  The home half of the Norse schedule will begin the next day as NKU welcomes Miami Hamilton to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex at 4 p.m.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.