HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team closes out its 12-game-in-12-day road swing this weekend as the Norse take on South Carolina Upstate in a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference Series. Links to live stats will be available at NKUNorse.com.
 
Northern Kentucky University Norse (5-35, 1-14 A-Sun)
University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans (37-8, 15-2 A-Sun)
Spartanburg, S.C. – Cyrill Stadium (1,000)
April 25 – 1 p.m. (DH)
April 26 – 1 p.m.
Series History: Upstate leads, 6-0
First meeting: March 12, 2013 at Upstate (UPST 3-1, 10-2)
Last meeting: April 13, 2014 at NKU (UPST 19-2)
 
#StartingNine – Tweetable notes about NKU Softball this weekend
 
The Norse fell in a pair of doubleheaders to Morehead State and Marshall in midweek action. #LastTimeOut A seventh-inning comeback led Morehead State to a 6-5 win in Game 1 before the Eagles took a 9-1 win in the nightcap. Speed was the name of the game for Marshall, as the Thundering Herd took wins by scores of 9-2 and 6-3.
 
Kate Bartolovich has seen her hitting streak extended to six games with knocks in all four midweek games. #Consistent Bartolovich has recorded seven hits and hit .389 over the span with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs. The freshman third baseman now ranks second on the team with a .308 batting average.
 
Sydney Ferrante's 14-game on-base streak came to a halt, but the freshman started another with a walk and a run scored against Marshall. #BeAStarter The freshman shortstop has now reached in 15 of her last 16 games, posting a team-best .473 on-base percentage over the span with 14 hits and 12 bases on balls. Ferrante has scored 11 runs and driven in four more.
 
Paige McQueen continues to be a run producer, claiming three RBIs over the two doubleheaders this past week. #BringEmIn Over her last five games, McQueen has collected eight hits and batted .571 with eight RBIs, including a grand slam in last weekend's finale against Stetson.
 
McQueen and Dani Devlin have punished conference pitching, as both are hitting over .400 in A-Sun play. #RunTheSun Devlin leads the team with a .421 batting average in league play, including three home runs and seven RBIs. McQueen has also driven in seven runs against A-Sun opponents.
 
This weekend will wind down NKU's second long road trip of the season, as they played their first 15 games on the road as well. #RoadWarriors All told, NKU will have played 30 games away from the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field against 15 on the home turf.
 
Four teams have qualified for the upcoming @ASunSoftball Championship. The Norse need wins to join that group. #Postseason USC Upstate is locked in as the No. 1 seed with Kennesaw State, North Florida and Stetson already having punched their tickets. Two more teams are yet to qualify, with the Norse sitting four games back of Jacksonville, currently in sixth place in the league standings, and three games back of Florida Gulf Coast in seventh.
 
USC Upstate leads the A-Sun in every major statistic, and enters the weekend fresh off a 10-2 win over Charlotte on Wednesday. #Spartans Reigning A-Sun Player of the Year Shellie Robinson is making her case to repeat in that honor, batting .416 on the season with 20 home runs, 52 RBIs, 57 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. She ranks in the top 10 in the nation in home runs (6) and runs per game (6) and in the top 20 in slugging (18) at .909. In the circle, Lexi Shubert leads the way, going 27-5 on the season with a 1.69 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 194.2 innings. She has seven shutouts to her credit, ranking 10^th nationally.
 
#UpNext the Norse open a five-game home stand on Wednesday against Miami (Ohio). First pitch from the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field is set for 2 p.m., with the games broadcast on ASun.TV. The season then concludes with a three-game weekend series against A-Sun foe Jacksonville.