EVANSVILLE, Ind. –
Cody Kuzniczci drove in five runs with two hits for the Northern Kentucky University baseball team as the Norse dropped a 9-6 decision to the University of Evansville in nonconference action on Wednesday evening.
Kuzniczci finished 2-for-5 with his fourth home run of the season for NKU, which fell to 13-24 overall.
Quint Heady went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored, while
David Head and
Caleb Lonkard each posted two hit days as well for the Norse, who recorded 12 hits and stranded 13 base runners.
Adam Jafine (0-1) took the loss on the mound, allowing three runs on six hits over three innings in his first start of the year. He struck out one batter and did not walk one.
Jake Shaw pitched two hitless innings of relief for the Norse, striking out one and walking one.
Evansville scored three runs in the third and added two more in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead before NKU got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning. Heady hit a one-out infield single, and a fielding error by second baseman Tyler Sullivan allowed Head to reach base and Heady to advance to second. Kuzniczci followed with his second home run in as many days, sending a three-run blast over the left-field wall to cut the Norse deficit to 5-3.
The Aces extended their lead with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. Jonathan Ramon led off the inning with a single, and Max Foley was hit by a pitch. Eric McKibban lined into a double play, which also saw Ramon out at second, and Sullivan followed with a single to the gap in right-center field, advancing Foley to third.
Billy Lipari drew a walk to load the bases, and Stewart Nelson was walked to bring home Foley. After an NKU pitching change, Jarod Perry singled to left field, scoring Sullivan and giving Evansville a 7-3 advantage.
The Norse once again answered with three runs of their own in the sixth. Lonkard got the offense going with a one-out single to center field before
Conor Ledger recorded a two-out infield single. Heady followed with an RBI-single to left field to bring Lonkard home, and Head followed with a single through the left side. After an Evansville pitching change, a Kuzniczci single allowed Ledger and Heady to score to pull NKU to within one at 7-6.
Evansville, however, scored two unanswered runs for the final margin of the game on an RBI-triple by Ramon in the bottom of the sixth and a Kevin Kaczmarski home run in the eighth.
Kaczmarski led the way for Evansville, which improved to 21-16 on the year, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, one double and one home run. Perry, Ramon and Josh Jyawook each collected two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Aces, who finished with 13 hits and left 11 runners on base.
Ryan Billo (5-1) earned the victory for Evansville, giving up six runs, five earned, on nine hits in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out four Norse batters and did not allow a walk. Brent Jurceka received his seventh save of the season after pitching a hitless ninth inning.
NKU wraps up its nine-game road trip in Morehead, Kentucky, on Wednesday, April 29 with the second game of the season against Morehead State. First pitch from Allen Field is set for 6 p.m. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com. Fans can also track the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
