HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team will stay busy this week with a pair of nonconference doubleheaders. The Norse will take on Morehead State on Tuesday before traveling to face Marshall on Wednesday. First pitch each day is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
Northern Kentucky University Norse (5-31)
Morehead State University Eagles (17-19)
University Field (300) – Morehead, Ky.
April 21 – 2 p.m. (DH)
Series History: Morehead State leads, 20-11-1
First meeting: March 26, 1987 at NKU (NKU 10-2, MSU 4-2)
Last meeting: April 30, 2014 at NKU (MSU 8-2, NKU 2-1)
 
NKU Norse
Marshall University Thundering Herd (29-11)
Dot Hicks Field (1,000) – Huntington, W.Va.
Series History: Marshall leads, 4-0
First meeting: April 10, 2013 at Marshall (MU 4-1, 6-1)
Last meeting: April 9, 2014 at NKU (MU 17-0, 8-2)
 
Links to live stats for all games and video for the Marshall doubleheader are available at NKUNorse.com.
 
#StartingNine – Tweetable notes about NKU softball this week
 
The Norse lost three close games in a weekend series against Atlantic Sun foe Stetson. #LastTimeOut The Norse fell in Saturday's doubleheader, 3-1 and 3-2, before dropping Sunday's finale, 7-5. NKU battled throughout and had the game-tying run at the plate in the final inning of each contest.
 
Paige McQueen had a huge finale, going 3-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBIs. #McQueenMash McQueen's homer in the seventh inning was her second of the season and the second grand slam for a Norse player this season (Katelyn Roy) and put the Norse in a position to tie the contest after being down seven runs earlier in the game. The five-RBI game was the first for a Norse player since Roy's performance against Florida A&M on March 11, 2014.
 
Sydney Ferrante extended her on-base streak to 12 games over the weekend. #BeAStarter Ferrante drew a pair of walks in the opener on the weekend, went 2-for-3 in Saturday's nightcap and was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored on Sunday. Over the span, Ferrante has hit .394, drawing 10 walks and scoring eight runs in the process.
 
Dani Devlin returned to the lineup and returned to form, picking up hits in all three games to extend her streak to nine games. #Everyday After missing six games, Devlin stormed back to go 4-for-12 over the weekend to keep her team-best hitting streak going. In the nine games, Devlin has hit .455 with three home runs and seven RBIs. Devlin continues to be one of the A-Sun's toughest outs, ranking fifth in batting average (.402) and third in slugging (.782).
 
The Norse pitching staff posted a 1.94 ERA over the weekend at Stetson. #DoingWork  The NKU hurlers allowed just five earned runs over 18 innings of work. Alex Caudill's miniscule 0.91 ERA over 7.2 innings bolstered NKU's effort, while Ashlynn Roberts allowed four earned runs in 7.1 innings in the circle.
 
Alyssa Enrique had a solid relief outing, throwing three innings of scoreless softball in Sunday's finale #KeepUsIn Enrique allowed just one hit and picked up a strikeout, keeping the Norse alive for their comeback bid in the sixth and seventh innings.
 
Morehead State split a doubleheader at Southeast Missouri State on the weekend to enter Tuesday's twinbill at 17-19. #Eagles Leadoff hitter Kayla McGuffey has led the Eagles' offensively, posting a .370 batting average, scoring 19 runs and swiping 11 bases. Karly Thompson has provided the power with a team-best seven doubles. In the circle, Mackenzie Grossman leads the way with a 10-7 record and a 2.65 ERA to go along with 72 strikeouts in 119 innings.
 
Marshall had a 10-game winning streak snapped on Saturday after a doubleheader split with Florida Atlantic. #ThunderingHerd Marshall is 29-11 on the season thanks to a speedy offense that leads the nation in stolen bases per game (3.39) and ranks 12^th in team batting average (.344). Morgan Zerkle stands atop both of those lists for the Thundering Herd, boasting a .517 batting average and 42 stolen bases that ranks second in the nation for each category. In addition, Zerkle has scored 53 runs, ranking third nationally, and driven in 26 more.
 
#UpNext The Norse face a test in conference play this weekend, traveling to take on South Carolina Upstate for a three-game A-Sun series. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's finale are both scheduled for 1 p.m. NKU returns home on April 28 to open a five-game homestand that will wrap up the 2015 regular season with a nonconference doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) at 2 p.m.