HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team opens a stretch of 12 road games in 12 days with a doubleheader at IUPUI on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch from the IUPUI Softball Complex is set for 3 p.m.
Northern Kentucky University Norse (5-26)Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis Jaguars (25-12)IUPUI Softball Complex (500) – Indianapolis, Ind.
April 14 – 3 p.m. (DH)
Series History: IUPUI leads, 3-1
First meeting: 1990 – location unknown (NKU, 2-0)
Last meeting: Feb. 22, 2014 at Louisville, Ky. (IUPUI 21-5)
#StartingNine – Tweetable Notes about NKU Softball this week The Norse are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Kennesaw State in A-Sun play last weekend. #LastTimeOut The losses dropped the Norse to 5-26 on the year and 1-11 against Atlantic Sun Conference opposition.
Katelyn Roy led the Norse offense last week, going 5-for-8 with a double, a home run and five RBIs. #RoyRebound The senior first baseman got hits in all three games over the weekend after going hitless the previous weekend in three games at North Florida. Roy drove in four runs in NKU's 13-7 loss in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Saturday.
Roy's four-RBI day was her second of the season and her fourth multi-RBI game of the year. #KnockEmIn Roy also drove in four runs in NKU's 10-4 win over Tennessee State on March 11 with a seventh-inning grand slam to seal the win for the Norse.
Sydney Ferrante has reached base in each of her last seven games for the Norse. #StartingUsOff The streak started on April 1 with NKU's 5-0 win over Austin Peay with a solo home run. Since then, she has gone 7-for-19 (.368) with three doubles, a home run, five runs scored and five walks, giving her a .500 on-base percentage over the span.
Paige McQueen has been a pick-me-up in the middle of the lineup, claiming three hits and two RBIs last weekend. #HailToMcQueen The Norse right fielder went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the series finale on Sunday and has rapped seven hits over her last six games to raise her batting average 47 points during the span.
NKU continues to stand fourth in team slugging in the Atlantic Sun Conference, entering the midweek series at .427. #HitItHard The Norse continue to make their hitting opportunities count with almost 37 percent (73-of-199) of their hits going for extra bases on the season.
Alina Maher stepped up behind the plate, getting a couple of hits and scoring two runs in the series against Kennesaw State. #Opportunity Maher doubled and scored in the opener against Kennesaw and followed up with a walk and a run scored in the nightcap. On Sunday, Maher went 1-for-2 to extend her on-base streak to four games.
IUPUI took two of three from Western Illinois to enter midweek action at 25-12 on the season. #Jaguars Ali Mosier leads things off with a .350 batting average, 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases, all team bests. She and Eryn Dillon each claim 31 RBIs on the year as well. In the circle, Emili Escamilla and Brooke Boetjer are 1-2 on the pitching staff with Escamilla going 10-3 with a 2.13 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 105 innings, while Boetjer is right behind with a 15-9 record and a 2.19 ERA, striking out 98 in 124.2 innings.
#UpNext The Norse head to the Sunshine State to take on Stetson in a three-game weekend A-Sun series. The teams will open the series at Patricia Wilson Field on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The series concludes on Sunday with a noon first pitch.
