HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team heads to Spartanburg, South Carolina, for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series against South Carolina Upstate this weekend.
 
First pitch for Friday's opener is slated for 6 p.m. with Saturday's contest set to begin at 2 p.m.  The two teams will wrap up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.  Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast for each contest will be available at NKUNorse.com.
 
The Norse moved to 13-24 overall after defeating Butler, 8-2 on Tuesday and dropping a 9-6 decision to Evansville on Wednesday evening.  Caleb Lonkard batted .667 (6-for-9) with two RBIs and one run scored in midweek action to lead NKU, while David Head went 5-for-9 (.556) with one RBI and one run.  Cody Cooper earned the victory in Tuesday's win over Butler, allowing just one run on four hits with one strikeout over six innings of relief.  NKU is 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun.
 
ABOUT USC UPSTATE: The Spartans are 14-28 on the year after handing Wofford a 10-7 loss on Wednesday in nonconference action from Harley Park.  Jordan Miller finished 4-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored to lead the way for USC Upstate, while Sam Kysor went 2-for-4, drove in three runs and scored twice.  USC Upstate holds a 4-8 mark in Atlantic Sun action.
 
Zach Krider leads the way for the Spartans offensively, batting .380 on the year with seven doubles and two home runs.  Daniel Fickas holds a .341 batting average and has successfully stolen a team-high eight bases in as many attempts, while Erik Samples tops the team in doubles (15) and home runs (3) to go along with a .311 batting average.  Charlie Carpenter has belted three triples to lead the team, and he is hitting .288 with 12 doubles and two homers.
 
The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Jordan Miller in Friday's opener.  Miller is 1-1 on the season with a 3.32 earned run average over nine appearances and one start.  He has struck out 11 batters and walked nine in 19 innings on the mound.  Saturday's probable starter is righty Blake Whitney, who holds a 3-2 record and 4.00 ERA with a team-leading 37 strikeouts in 54 innings.  Right-hander Zac Manuppelli will take the mound in Sunday's finale, and he is 1-3 on the year with a 5.74 ERA over 42.1 innings.  Manuppelli has struck out 32 batters and walked 23.
 
NKU-USC UPSTATE SERIES: USC Upstate holds a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with NKU.  The Norse earned their first win as a member of the Atlantic Sun with a 5-3 victory over USC Upstate on March 28, 2013.  The Spartans, however, rebounded with 5-4 and 4-1 wins to claim the first-ever series between the two teams.
 
One year ago, USC Upstate scored a run in the top of the ninth inning to take the three-game series opener, 7-6, before a Sam Kysor single up the middle scored Tyler Lesch in the top of the 16th inning to lift the Spartans to a 3-2 win the next day.  NKU avoided the sweep as a Cole Bauml home run in the ninth sent the game into extra innings before a Kyle Colletta single allowed Josh Myers to score in the 10th for a 4-3 Norse win at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
 
LAST SEASON AGAINST USC UPSTATE: Cody Kuzniczci went 5-for-11 (.455) with two doubles, one home run, two RBIs and three runs scored over three starts to lead the NKU offense against USC Upstate last season.  Jordan Procyshen batted .429 (6-for-14) with a pair of doubles and one home run, and he drove in four runs and scored two times.
 
Evan Korson earned the victory in the finale, allowing one run on five hits with three strikeouts over five innings of relief.  Kyle Colletta pitched 7.1 innings of scoreless relief, scattering four hits, walking two and striking out five, in the 16-inning contest.  Garrett Schrantz made two scoreless relief appearances for the Norse, giving up five hits with one strikeout over 5.2 innings of work.
 
Tyler Lesch finished 7-for-17 (.412) to pace the USC Upstate offense, and he batted in one run and scored three times.  Luke Weber batted .333 (5-for-15) last season against the Norse as Erik Samples was the only Spartans player to record an extra-base hit.
 
Samples pitched a total of seven innings of relief to earn the victory in both USC Upstate wins.  He scattered five hits and walked four without giving up a run.  David Roseboom surrendered just two runs on nine hits and struck out seven batters in 10.2 innings of work in the start for the Spartans in Saturday's 16-inning contest.
 
STEPPING UP: Caleb Lonkard's bat heated up in midweek action this week.  He started the week with a 4-for-5 performance against Butler, and he drove in two runs against the Bulldogs.  Lonkard followed that up with a 2-for-4 effort at Evansville, and he scored once and stole one base for the Norse. 
 
The senior from Union, Kentucky, is batting .329, which ranks second on the team, in his final season in the Black and Gold, and he has recorded four doubles and one home run.  Lonkard has driven in nine runs and scored 17 times, while also successfully swiping five bases in eight attempts.
 
TAKING THE MOUND: Matt Jefferson has earned 11 starts this season, and his total leads all Atlantic Sun Conference pitchers.  He leads the NKU pitching staff in innings pitched, having thrown 62.1 innings, and he ranks fifth among conference players in that category.  Jefferson also lands in the top 10 in strikeouts with 41, which is eighth in the Atlantic Sun.
 
During his Norse career, the red-shirt senior from Indianapolis, Indiana, has pitched 241.1 innings of work to land sixth on NKU's career innings pitched list, and his 42 games started is third all-time.  This season, he has recorded two victories and holds a 6.64 ERA with one complete game, a 4-2 win over Xavier on March 29.
 
CONFERENCE IMPROVEMENT: Logan Spurlin's bat has been heating up since starting Atlantic Sun play, compiling a .320 batting average (8-for-25) against conference pitchers.  He has added two doubles and one home run to his totals in conference play, and he has driven in three runs and scored three times.  Spurlin has been hit by a pitch three times and recorded one sacrifice fly against Atlantic Sun teams as well.
 
The junior from Evanston, Illinois, recorded hits in each of NKU's contests against Stetson last weekend.  He went 1-for-3 in the series opener against the Hatters on Friday before posting a 2-for-4 effort with a double on Saturday.  He collected his second home run of the season and scored twice in the finale to help the Norse capture a 6-4 victory on Sunday.
 
UP NEXT: 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 4 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.