CINCINNATI – A five-run fifth inning lifted the Northern Kentucky University baseball team to a 10-3 victory over Xavier University in nonconference play on Saturday afternoon at Hayden Field.
Brad Bohlen finished 3-for-3 from the plate, scored once and drew two walks to lead NKU (8-14), while
Kyle Colletta went 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBIs and one run scored.
David Head posted a two-hit day and scored once for the Norse, who recorded 11 hits and left 11 base runners stranded on the day.
Cody Cooper (2-3) earned the victory for NKU after pitching five innings of relief. He allowed just two runs on four hits, struck out three batters and walked two. Starter
Jake Shaw went four innings and gave up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Xavier (8-18) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. A one-out double by Joe Forney was followed by a single down the right-field line by Brian Bruening, bringing Forney came around to score to give the Musketeers a 1-0 lead after the first inning.
NKU, however, answered in the top of the next frame.
Quint Heady sparked the scoring play when he drew a one-out walk.
Brad Bohlen sent Heady to second with an infield single, and
Taylor Sears followed with a walk to load the bases. Heady came home on an error by second baseman Selby Chidemo to tie the game at 1-all.
The Musketeers regained the lead two innings later. Bruening recorded a lead-off single to right field and went to second on a one-out single by Andre Jernigan. Ethan Schmidt flew out to Heady in right field before Bruening was able to score on a
Jake Shaw wild pitch. Derek Hasenbeck then extended the Xavier lead to 3-1 with an RBI single to center field.
The Norse took the lead for good in the top of the sixth.
Brad Bohlen sparked the NKU offense with a single to lead off the inning, and
Dominic Mercurio recorded a one-out single to left field to send Bohlen to second.
Cole Bauml kept his on-base streak alive by drawing a walk to load the bases.
Kyle Colletta then sent a double down the left field line to score Bohlen and Mercurio, tying the game at 3-all.
Cody Kuzniczci followed with a single through the left side to give the Norse the lead as Bauml scored on the play, and Zac Lowther replaced Zach Johnson on the mound for Xavier.
A
Trey Ganns ground out allowed Colletta to score to push the Norse ahead, 5-3, and a
David Head single brought Kuzniczci home for the final run of the inning.
NKU added four more runs to its total in the ninth inning. Head doubled to center field to lead off the frame, and
Anthony Vagnier was hit by a pitch. Bohlen loaded the bases with a single to left field, and back-to-back walks to
Ryan LeFevers and Mercurio after a Musketeers pitching change allowed Head and Vagnier to score for an 8-3 Norse lead.
Bauml grounded into a double play, which saw Bohlen out at home, and LeFevers and Mercurio each advanced a base. Colletta then singled through the left side to bring both base runners home a 10-3 advantage.
The Xavier offense was not done, however. Hasenbeck drew a lead-off walk before moving to third on a one-out double by pinch hitter Blaine Griffiths. Hasenbeck then scored on a balk, which also moved Griffiths to third. Nate Soria followed with a single down the left-field line to score Griffiths for the final margin of the game.
Bruening and Jernigan each finished 2-for-4 with one run scored to lead Xavier, and Bruening recorded one RBI as well. The Musketeers collected nine hits and stranded six base runners.
Johnson (1-2) took the loss on the mound, allowing five runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout just 0.1 innings of relief work. Starter Adam Hall struck out six batters and walked five in five innings, and he allowed one run, which was unearned, on three hits.
NKU and Xavier wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex. Due to weather concerns, first pitch has been moved up to noon. Links to live stats and John Asalon's broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also monitor the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
