HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –
Ashlynn Roberts' first career shutout helped the Northern Kentucky University softball team to a 5-0 victory over Austin Peay, salvaging a split in Wednesday's nonconference doubleheader.
The freshman scattered three hits and struck out a season-high five batters, improving her record to 3-7 on the year, while the Norse (5-20) offense fired on all cylinders in the Game 2 victory. All nine Norse starters recorded at least one hit with
Kate Bartolovich going 2-for-3 in the contest.
After a bumpy first inning, Roberts set down the next 12 batters she faced through the fifth inning, the only base runner coming on a Chandler Groves single in the third which was erased on an inning-ending double play.
NKU got on the board in the third after
Nicolette Hayes led off the frame with a double and sacrifices by
Allie Conner and
KC Straley brought her in.
Sydney Ferrante followed in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left field, her second of the year, to put the Norse up, 2-0.
Katelyn Roy was then walked and scored on a
Paige McQueen double.
The Norse continued its offensive surge with a lead-off, first-pitch home run by
Allie Conner, her first on the season. Straley followed with a triple and scored on an RBI single by
Dani Devlin.
Groves went 2-for-3 to lead the Lady Govs' offense, while Niya Sparks accounted for the third and final hit for Austin Peay. Lady Govs starter Natalie Ayala (3-7) took the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout in four innings of work.
The win took some of the sting out of a 7-6 loss in the day's opener. Roy went 3-for-4 in the contest and Straley added a triple and drove in a pair of runs, but a four-run seventh inning proved to be the difference for the Lady Govs in the contest.
Austin Peay (7-20) took an early lead in the opener on a two-run home run by Sparks, which also scored Laurel Burroughs, who singled up the middle.
NKU used a four-run second inning to gain the lead. Roy hit a lead-off double to left field, and Bartolovich was hit by a pitch. Roberts followed with the second double of the frame, bringing Roy home to cut the Norse deficit to 2-1. An RBI ground out by Hayes scored Bartolovich and sent Roberts to third.
Conner sent a 2-2 pitch deep into center field for a triple after contesting the previous pitch, and Roberts came home to give NKU a 3-2 advantage. Straley then singled up the middle to plate Conner and push the Norse lead to 4-2.
The Lady Govs pulled to within one (4-3) in the top of the fourth. Courtney Brower led off the inning with a single to left field, and she went to second as Groves was hit by a pitch. Burroughs reached on a fielder's choice, which saw Groves out on the play, and Brower moved to third before scoring on a wild pitch.
The Norse got the run back in the bottom of the frame.
Paige McQueen singled to center field and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hayes. A two-out triple from Straley brought McQueen home, extending the NKU lead to 5-3.
Austin Peay regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning. A one-out bunt single from Rikki Arkansas sent Erica Iangaki, who reached on a fielder's choice, to second base. After Brower grounded out, Groves doubled down the left-field line to bring Iangaki and Arkansas home to tie the game at 5-all. A two-run blast over the center-field wall from Burroughs pushed the Lady Govs ahead, 7-5.
Devlin's eighth home run of the season pulled the Norse to within 7-6 in the bottom of the frame, and Roy followed with a one-out single to right field. A Bartolovich double to left-center field sent Roy to third, and Roberts reached on a fielder's choice, which saw Roy out at home. McQueen grounded out to end the NKU threat.
Groves led the way for Austin Peay, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run, while Burroughs, Mel Pavel and Inagaki each went 2-for-4. Burroughs drove in two runs and scored twice. Sidney Hooper (2-5) gave up six runs on 13 hits, and she struck out five batters and did not walk one over 6.1 innings in the circle.
NKU heads back to the sunshine state for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series against North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 3 p.m. before an 11 a.m. start time on Saturday to wrap up the series. Friday's doubleheader will be featured on ASun.TV, and links to live stats are available at NKUNorse.com.
