HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team will take to the field this weekend in Canton, Georgia, to face three separate teams in an impromptu tournament to take place at Boling Park.
The games have been added to replace those lost to the cancellation of the Southeast Games, set to be host by Southeast Missouri State. NKU will take on Cleveland State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., followed by a contest against Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the Norse will again face Cleveland State at 12:30 p.m., and will close out the weekend with a 3 p.m. first pitch against Saint Louis.
Northern Kentucky University Norse (0-6)Cleveland State University Vikings (7-4)March 7 – 12:30 p.m.
March 8 – 12:30 p.m.
All-time series: First meeting
NKUEastern Illinois University Panthers (4-8)March 7 – 3 p.m.
All-time series: First meeting
NKUSaint Louis University Billikens (7-6)March 8 – 3 p.m.
All-time series: First meeting
#StartingNine – Tweetable notes about NKU Softball this week
NKU softball has lost 14 games from its original regular-season schedule. #ThereIsASeason The Norse have seen tournaments at Tennessee State, Western Kentucky and Southeast Missouri State canceled this season. Prior to last weekend's make-up games at Tennessee Tech, NKU had gone 21 days between contests, their previous action coming Feb. 7-8 at the season-opening Kennesaw State Classic.
Dani Devlin clubbed her first collegiate home run during Sunday's doubleheader at Tennessee Tech. #DaniGoesDeep The sophomore catcher went 3-for-4, including a double, and drove in two runs in the twin bill. Last season, Devlin hit .220 with five doubles and a pair of RBIs for the Norse. The performance gives her a team-best three-game on-base streak.
Paige McQueen continues to lead the team with a .375 batting average and an .875 slugging percentage. #Breakout McQueen had a breakout weekend to open the season, going 2-for-3 and clubbing her first collegiate home run against then No. 13 Tennessee. McQueen was rewarded with a start against Tennessee Tech on Sunday and followed up with a 1-for-2 performance in the opener.
Three Norse players have seen more than half of their hits go for extra bases. #ScoringPosition Paige McQueen,
Dani Devlin and
Katelyn Roy have each seen two of their three hits put them in scoring position, or better. McQueen and Devlin each have home runs this season, while Roy has a pair of doubles to her credit.
NKU will face three opponents for the first time this weekend. #NewChallenges All told, after schedule changes, the Norse have eight new opponents on their schedule for 2015, including games already played against Tennessee and Ohio.
Cleveland State enters the weekend, having gone 2-1 at the Dolphin Classic last weekend #Vikings The weekend closed out with a wild 14-11 win over Abilene Christian, another team in the midst of the transition process to Division I. Senior third baseman Nena Doran leads the Vikings, batting .475 with three home runs and seven RBIs, while Erica McNew is slugging over 1.000, with five home runs and 16 RBIs on the year.
Eastern Illinois stands at 4-8, having picked up a win over Butler last weekend to snap a five-game skid #Panthers EIU has faced a daunting schedule this season that has included games against LSU, Auburn and Louisiana-Lafayette, all nationally ranked programs. Hannah Cole (.375) and Bailey O'Dell (.351) pace the offense, which is batting .240 as a team. Cole adds four home runs and three doubles to the tam total.
Saint Louis is 7-6, picking up wins over SEMO, Southeastern Louisiana and UT Martin last weekend. #Billikens Alex Nickel bats .415 on the year and has scored a team-best 10 runs, while Allie MacFarlane had driven in 12 runs on 12 hits this year. Brianna Lore leads the pitching efforts, boasting a 3-4 record with a 1.66 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 38 innings of work.
This weekend sparks the beginning of a nine-day, 13-game road trip for the Norse. #RoadWarriors Following Sunday's games, the Norse will enjoy an off day on Monday before heading to Nashville, Tennessee, for a pair of games against Tennessee State. The following day, NKU plays two against UT Martin before heading south on Thursday for a doubleheader at Alabama A&M. After a day of rest on Friday, NKU will open a three-game weekend series against Alabama State to close out the week's work.
