HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team wraps up a nine-game road trip against in-state rival Morehead State on Wednesday in nonconference action in Morehead, Kentucky.
 
First pitch from Allen Field is scheduled 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 as well. 
 
NKU improved to 16-24 overall and 4-8 in the Atlantic Sun Conference over the weekend with its first conference series sweep as a Division I program, taking three victories at South Carolina Upstate. The Norse used a four-run ninth inning for a 7-3 win over the Spartans in Friday's opener and held off a three-run USC Upstate rally in the ninth on Saturday to hand the Spartans a 7-6 defeat.  NKU then scored three runs on four hits and one error in the sixth inning in Sunday's finale to lift the Norse to a 5-3 victory.
 
Three NKU batters hit over .500 on the weekend led by Quint Heady's 7-for-12 effort (.583).  Heady stole four bases, drove in two runs and scored once.  Logan Spurlin went 6-for-11 (.545) and scored five times, while Kyle Colletta batted .545 (6-for-11) and drove in three runs.  Caleb Lonkard and Cody Kuzniczci each recorded four hits and three RBIs as Lonkard added four runs to the Norse total.
 
Cody Cooper recorded one win and one save against the Spartans, pitching 4.1 total innings of relief and giving up three runs, just two earned, on six hits with three strikeouts over two appearances.  Matt Jefferson pitched his second complete game of the season in Sunday's finale, allowing just three runs, only two of which were earned, on nine hits.  Jefferson struck out five batters and did not walk one. 
 
ABOUT MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles are 27-17 overall and 13-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference after claiming two wins against Austin Peay last weekend.  The Governors handed Morehead State an 8-4 loss in Friday's opener before the Eagles rebounded with a 10-5 victory on Saturday.  Clayton Meyer drove in the game-winning hit, capping a five-run eighth inning, on Sunday to give Morehead State a 5-4 win in the finale.
 
Chris Robinson boasts a .386 batting average lead the Eagles' offense, and he has recorded 17 doubles, three triple and seven home runs.  He has scored 53 times and driven in 48 runs, and he has successfully stolen eight bases in 10 attempts.  Nick Newell is batting .380 with 21 doubles, two triple and six home runs, while Kane Sweeney holds a .359 batting average and a team-leading eight homers.
 
The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Patrick McGuff on the mound.  McGuff holds a 1-1 record and 6.67 earned run average.  He has allowed 24 runs, 20 earned, on 32 hits in 27 innings of work, and he has struck out 19 batters and walked 20 across seven starts.
 
NKU-MOREHEAD STATE SERIES: Morehead State holds a 13-8 advantage in the all-time series with NKU.  The Norse used a 5-0 victory in the first-ever meeting with the Eagles on March 19, 1977.  NKU has won the last three matchups between the two teams after a 21-year hiatus, including an 8-3 win over Morehead State earlier this season on March 24.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE: Trey Ganns went 2-for-2, drove in two runs and scored twice to lift NKU to an 8-3 victory over Morehead State on March 24 at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex. 
 
Ganns, who recorded his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, was one of four batters to collect two hits against the Eagles.  Taylor Sears finished 2-for-3, while Caleb Lonkard went 2-for-4 for the Norse, who improved to 6-13 overall and collected 14 hits overall.  Cole Bauml rounded out the two-hit batters, going 2-for-5 from the plate with a double.
 
Alex Bolia earned the victory, pitching one inning of relief and giving up one run on two hits.  Matt Jefferson went six innings in the start for the Norse, allowing two runs on seven hits.  He struck out three batters and walked three.
 
NKU jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, but Morehead State scored two runs in the third and one in the seventh to tie the game.  The Norse, however, responded with a four-run seventh, highlighted by Ganns' two-run homer, to take the lead for good.
 
Nick Newell led the way for Morehead State, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one double, while Robby Spencer finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one double.  Ryan Kent also recorded a two-hit day for the Eagles.
 
Jared Holloman recorded just one out and gave up two runs on two hits in the loss for Morehead State.  Patrick McGuff pitched just 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
 
BASE THREAT: Quint Heady recorded four stolen bases against USC Upstate over the weekend to up his season total to 10, which is tied for the team lead with Cole Bauml and 10^th in the Atlantic Sun.  He swiped his first base of the series in Saturday's 7-6 victory, and he became the first player to steal three bases in one game since the 2013 season on Sunday.
 
The redshirt junior from Louisville, Kentucky, raised his batting average 56 points to .294 over the last four games for NKU.  He recorded a multi-hit game against Evansville on Wednesday, going 3-for-6 with two runs before posting a 2-for-4 effort in Friday's opener.  Heady finished the weekend with a 4-for-4 performance in the series finale after going 1-for-4 on Saturday.
 
SOLID EFFORT: The NKU pitching staff recorded a 2.33 earned run average against USC Upstate over the weekend.  Evan Korson started the Norse off strong in Friday's opener, allowing just two runs, one earned, on six hits over seven innings of work.  He struck out five batters and walked two. 
 
Tyler Miller gave up two runs but did not allow an earned run over four innings in Saturday's start, and he recorded three strikeouts, while Matt Jefferson surrendered just three runs, two earned, on nine hits with five strikeouts in Sunday's complete-game effort.
 
Cody Cooper and Jake Shaw earned wins out of the NKU bullpen this weekend as well.  Cooper scattered two hits and struck out one batter over the final 1.2 innings of Friday's game for his fourth win of the season, and he went 2.2 innings on Saturday, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with two strikeouts for his first save of the year.  Shaw claimed the victory on Saturday for the Norse, pitching 2.1 innings and giving up just one run on two hits with one strikeout.
 
UP NEXT: NKU returns to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex for the first time since April 15 on Friday, May 1 as the Norse open a three-game Atlantic Sun series against Jacksonville.  Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m., while Saturday is set for 1 p.m.  The two teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at noon.  Links to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and John Asalon's audio broadcast for Friday and Saturday's contests can be found at NKUNorse.com.  Sunday's finale will be aired on ASun.TV.