HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Katelyn Roy picked up four hits and drove in four runs for the Northern Kentucky University softball team in a doubleheader effort against Kennesaw State on Saturday afternoon that saw the Norse fall by scores of 8-2 and 13-7.
 
KC Straley scored three runs and stole two bases for the Norse, who fell to 5-25 overall and 1-10 in A-Sun play.
 
Game 1
 
Katelyn Roy and Sydney Ferrante each posted two-hit games and Allie Conner added an RBI-double for the Norse in Game 1. Alina Maher added a double as well as the Norse combined for eight hits in the contest.

The Owls (28-14, 9-5 A-Sun) got the scoring started in the second inning with some big hits. Megan Veringa led the frame off with a double off the wall in left field and Hillary Kartman followed with her 10th home run of the season on a line drive to left.

The Norse found an answer in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back doubles from Maher and Allie Conner to lead off the inning plated a run to cut the Owls lead in half. Sydney Ferrante smoked a ball back up the box that pitcher Logan Viers was able to corral, but could not get the ball out of her glove to get Conner at third. That set up a sacrifice fly from Paige McQueen on a liner to centerfield to tie the game at 2-2.

Kennesaw State reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Noelle Winkles to score Kara Chambers, who reached on an infield single, to make it 3-2. The Owls added three more in the fifth inning after Natalie Rhodes opened the frame with a double to center. Taylor Denton's sacrifice bunt was thrown away, allowing Rhodes to score and Denton to reach third. The Owls' second baseman would come home on the next pitch when Courtney Sutter singled up the middle. Chambers ended the scoring rally with an RBI single up the middle to score Kartman, who reached on a fielder's choice, to make it a 6-2 lead.
 
Run-scoring base hits from Rhodes and Sutter in the sixth inning got the teams to the final score.
 
Four different Owls had multi-hit games, led by Sutter and Chambers, who each put in three-hit efforts. Viers (7-3) got the win in the circle, recording three strikeouts and walking one in the complete-game performance.
 
Ashlynn Roberts (3-9) went the distance for the Norse, striking out two in the loss.

Game 2
 
Roy served up another two-hit game in the nightcap, driving in four of NKU's seven runs in a 13-7 loss to Kennesaw State.

The scoring started early, as the Owls opened the game with back-to-back bunt singles from Rhodes and Denton. A wild pitch allowed Rhodes to score the first run before Veringa brought home the second on a double to the wall in right-center, scoring Denton.

NKU responded resoundingly in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back walks to Straley and Ferrante opened the inning, and a double-steal during Roy's at bat led to the game's first run. Catcher Emily Bishop's throw to third glanced off the batter's bat and toward the KSU dugout, allowing Straley to score and Ferrante. Roy then finished a 13-pitch at bat with a laser-shot home run to left field to give NKU a 3-2 advantage.

An RBI-double for Denton and a three-run homer for Courtney Sutter capped a four-run second inning for the Owls as Kennesaw State retook the lead at 6-3. The Norse stormed back in the bottom half, however, starting with a leadoff walk to Alina Maher. Straley followed up by pulling a single into right field, moving Maher to third. Ferrante walked to load the bases to set up Paige McQueen's sacrifice fly to score Maher and pull a run back. Roy followed that up with a two-run double, scoring Ferrante and Straley and knotting things up at 6-6.
 
Kartman took the lead back for good for the Owls, leading off the top of the third by sending the second pitch she saw over the left field wall for her second home run of the day and 11^th of the season. The Owls added two more runs to stake a three-run lead.
 
The score held until the top of the fifth, when Veringa launched a three-run home run towards the scoreboard in right field to extend the Owls' lead to 12-6. The Norse used two walks and two wild pitches to pull a run back in the bottom of the sixth and a Sutter RBI-single in the seventh brought the teams to their final score.
 
Rhodes and Veringa each finished with three-hit games as the Owls combined for 14 hits on the game. Veringa and Sutter each drove in four runs, while Rhodes and Denton each scored three times in the contest.
 
Alyssa Enrique matched her career high with five strikeouts in five innings of relief for the Norse. Alex Caudill (2-9) took the loss for the Norse in the start, while Monica Vickery (4-2) got the win in relief for Kennesaw State.
 
The teams will conclude their three-game series on Sunday with a noon first pitch. It's Bark in the Park, and fans are encouraged to bring their four-legged friends to the game or visit the Boone County Adoption Waggin and take one home. Fans can also pick up some NKU-themed pet gear with donations to benefit Queen City Greyhounds and the Boone County Animal Shelter.