HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team faces local rival Xavier for a three-game series this weekend with the first two games held at Hayden Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the finale played at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
 
Friday's first pitch from Xavier's campus is scheduled for 3 p.m. with a 1 p.m. start time the following day.  Sunday's series finale is slated for 3 p.m. as well.  Links to live stats for each contest and John Asalon's audio broadcast for Friday and Saturday are available at NKUNorse.com.  Sunday's contest will be available for viewing on ASun.TV.  Fans can also track each game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
 
NKU moved to 6-14 overall after splitting a pair of midweek games at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.  The Norse scored three runs in the first inning and four in the seventh for an 8-3 victory over Morehead State on Tuesday before Wright State came from behind to defeat NKU, 15-9, on Wednesday.
 
Cole Bauml went 4-for-9 from the plate with one double and one home run to lead the Norse in midweek action, and he drove two runs, scored three times and stole one base.  Kyle Colletta and Cody Kuzniczci each recorded three hits as Colletta batted in three runs and Kuzniczci scored twice over the two games.
 
Matt Jefferson had a solid outing on the mound for NKU, allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings of work in Tuesday's start.  He struck out three batters and walked three. 
 
ABOUT XAVIER: The Musketeers are 8-16 on the year after winning their last two contests.  After dropping the first two games in a series against Lipscomb, Xavier avoided the sweep with a 5-1 victory on Sunday.  The Musketeers jumped out to an early 5-0 against Ohio on Tuesday and held on for a 9-5 win.
 
Nate Soria is batting .313 with four doubles, two triples and one home run to lead the Xavier offense, while Ethan Schmidt holds a .286 batting average over just eight appearances.  Andre Jernigan is hitting .281 and leads the team with 25 hits, five doubles and nine stolen bases.
 
Brad Kirschner holds a 2.75 earned run average over a team-leading 36 innings of work in six starts.  He has struck out 27 batters and walked 17, and he has thrown one complete game.  Zac Lowther boasts a 1.02 ERA in nine relief appearances, and he has allowed just three runs, two earned, and struck out 16 batters over 17.2 innings of work.
 
Head coach Scott Googins is in his 10th season with the Musketeers and holds a 260-262 record.  Last season, Xavier posted a 30-29 record and advanced to the NCAA Regionals after capturing the Big East championship title under Googins' direction.
 
NKU-XAVIER SERIES: Xavier holds a 21-17 advantage in the all-time series against NKU after the two teams split a pair of games last season.  The Norse defeated the Musketeers, 17-8, in the Bill Aker Baseball Complex on April 22, 2014.  Xavier rebounded with a 6-3 decision the following day at Hayden Field.
 
The two programs first met during the 1973 season when the Musketeers defeated the Norse, 12-4.  After dropping the first three contests to Xavier, NKU won nine of the next 10 matchups over a five-season span.
 
Between the 1981 and '85 seasons, the Musketeers rattled off 12 consecutive wins.  Prior to the Xavier and NKU renewing the rivalry last season, the Musketeers had won the previous four meetings between the two teams, including an 8-0 victory over NKU in Cincinnati on March 30, 2005.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST XAVIER: Logan Spurlin batted .667 (6-for-9) with one double, three RBIs and one run scored over the two meetings with Xavier in 2014.  Cole Bauml went 5-for-8 with one double, one home run, six RBIs and five runs scored, while David Head finished 3-for-6 with one run, one RBI, and he drew two walks and recorded a sacrifice bunt.
 
The Norse jumped out to an early 12-3 lead after four innings in the first game against the Musketeers one year ago en route to a 17-8 victory.  Garrett Schrantz allowed four runs on four hits with one strikeout and two walks in the start and win for NKU, and Cody Cooper collected the save after pitching four innings of relief, giving up just two runs on five hits and striking out two.
 
The next day, Xavier took a 5-0 lead into the fifth inning before NKU got on the scoreboard.  The Musketeers added runs in the bottom of the seventh before the Norse scored two runs in the top of the ninth for the 6-3 Xavier win.  Evan Korson surrendered three runs on five hits and struck out three in the loss.
 
Brian Bruening went 5-for-9 (.556) from the plate and scored three times over the two games for Xavier, while Andre Jergnigan batted .500 (4-for-8) against NKU last season.  Daniel Rizzie scored twice, hit three doubles and drove in two runs for the Musketeers.  Eric Stiene allowed just one run on seven hits over five innings of work for the Wednesday victory.
 
AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE: NKU is 20-28 all-time against members of the Big East Conference. Last season, NKU earned a posted a 12-6 victory over Butler and split a pair of midweek games against Xavier.  The Norse handed the Musketeers a 17-8 defeat at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex before Xavier evened the season series with a 6-3 win the next day. The Norse are 3-5 against Butler and 17-21 against Xavier. 
 
CHASING CISPER: Cole Bauml is chasing two records set by Jason Cisper (2008-10) over his three-year career with NKU.  Bauml carries a 30-game hitting streak, dating back to last season, into this weekend's series with Xavier, which trails Cisper's record of 36.  Cisper's hitting streak also spanned two season as he finished 2009 recording hits in each of the last 24 games before starting his senior year with hits in his first 12 games.
 
The senior from Muenster, Saskatchewan, is also chasing Cisper's single-season doubles record.  Bauml enters Friday with a nation-leading 18 doubles, which is just eight shy of Cisper's total during his senior campaign of 26.
 
JEFFERSON SETTLING: After sitting out the 2014 season as a redshirt, Matt Jefferson is returning to form on the mound.  After a rough opening month of the season, Jefferson has given up just seven earned runs on 18 hits in 18 innings for a 3.50 ERA in his last three outings.
 
This season, Jefferson leads the team with 25 strikeouts and has pitched a team-leading 33.1 innings of work.  He currently holds a 7.83 ERA over his seven starts and has walked just 11 batters.
 
UP NEXT: NKU begins a four-game road trip on Tuesday, March 31 as the Norse travel to Richmond, Kentucky, for a 6 p.m. contest against Eastern Kentucky.  The team then travels to Jacksonville, Florida, to open Atlantic Sun Conference action at North Florida, which begins Thursday at 6 p.m.  Friday's action is also scheduled for 6 p.m. and Saturday is set for a 1 p.m. start time.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.