HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team travels to Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday for a nonconference contest at Wright State.
Due to weather concerns, first pitch from Nischwitz Stadium has been moved up to 5 p.m. Links to live stats, the ESPN3 video and John Asalon's audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com. Fans unable to make the trip north can follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter as well.
NKU takes a 4-12 record to Wright State after claiming an 18-2 victory over Cincinnati-Clermont on Monday afternoon.
Quint Heady went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Norse, who recorded a school-record seven home runs.
Mike Moffatt recorded his first career home run and collected two hits and two RBIs as well.
Trey Ganns (1-1) earned his first collegiate victory, allowing two earned runs on four hits over a scheduled three-inning start. He struck out two batters and walked one, while
Zac Edwards,
Jake Shaw and
Alex Bolia each recorded one strikeout in one inning of work for the Norse.
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders are 11-6 overall and 3-0 in the Horizon League after sweeping a three-game series against Oakland. Wright State took a 6-1 victory in the series opener before claiming a 6-2 win in a Saturday doubleheader nightcap. The Raiders earned the series sweep by handing Oakland an 11-4 loss in Nischwitz Stadium on Sunday.
Ryan Fucci leads the Wright State offense, batting .350 with six doubles, one triple and five home runs. He has driven home 16 runs and scored 13 times, and he has successfully stolen four bases in six attempts. Mitch Roman holds a .343 batting average, and he has collected five doubles, one triple, 13 RBIs, 11 runs scored and two stolen bases. Gabe Snyder is hitting .280 for the Raiders, and he has batted in 16 runs and drawn a team-leading 11 walks.
Right-handed pitcher Jeremy Randolph is expected to take the mound against the Norse on Wednesday. Randolph is 2-0 on the year with a 3.38 earned run average. He has allowed four earned runs, walked six batters and struck out four in 10.2 innings of work over five appearances.
NKU-WRIGHT STATE SERIES: NKU leads the all-time series against Wright State, 6-5. The two teams first met during the 1975 season with the Raiders claiming two wins against the Norse. NKU picked up its first victory of the series with a 13-6 win during the 1977 postseason before Wright State posted three straight wins. The Norse have won the last five meetings, including sweeping a doubleheader on May 7, 1981.
AGAINST THE HORIZON LEAGUE: NKU is 9-8 against members of the Horizon League. In addition to their series lead over Wright State, the Norse are 1-0 against Youngstown State, having posted a 4-3 win during the 1977 postseason. The NKU and Oakland series is tied at 1-apiece, while Detroit holds a slight 2-1 edge in the all-time against the Norse.
HOME RUN EXPLOSION: NKU hit seven home runs against Cincinnati-Clermont on Monday, which is the most since the Norse have recorded since beginning the Division I transition and set a new school record. Six different players collected home runs, including
Anthony Vagnier who sent two shots over the outfield wall.
The previous high for NKU was six, which was set against West Georgia on March 7, 2009. Kevin Dusold and Jack Ambrose each blasted two homers, while Patrick Muth and Evan McDole hit one apiece as the Norse defeated West Georgia, 14-2, in Carrollton, Georgia.
HITS ADDING UP: NKU has collected 11 or more hits in each of the last three games, including a season-high 17 against Cincinnati-Clermont on Monday. The Norse recorded 16 hits en route to a 10-8 victory in a 14-inning game against Dayton on March 12.
Over the last three games,
Cole Bauml has gone 7-for-12 (.583) with two doubles and one home run, while
Anthony Vagnier,
Quint Heady and
Clark Pence have each batted .500 for the Norse. Vagnier has gone 6-for-12 from the plate and recorded two home runs, three RBIs and four runs scored, while Heady has driven in five runs and scored three times.
EXTRA-BASE SUCCESS: NKU has sent 56 of its 151 hits this season for extra bases. The Norse have recorded 41 doubles, which would rank 25th in the nation if NKU were eligible to be included in the NCAA statistics as a transitioning program. The Norse would be tied with the Alabama, East Tennessee State, Mercer, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Nevada.
NKU has also recorded triples from
Cole Bauml and
Quint Heady, and the team has hit 13 home runs, which would land among the top 50 teams nationally. Last season, it took the Norse 24 games to collect 13 homers.
BAUML AMONG THE TOP: Cole Bauml would rank among the top in several NCAA categories this season if NKU was able to be included in the national statistics. His 16 doubles and 1.0 doubles per game would lead the nation, while he would land second with a .923 slugging percentage. The senior center fielder from Muenster, Saskatchewan would be seventh in the country with his .462 batting average, and he would land in the top 40 with a .527 on-base percentage.
