HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team welcomes Kennesaw State to the Bill Aker Baseball Complex for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series this weekend.
 
First pitch on Friday is set for 3 p.m.  Saturday's Strike Out Cancer contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time, and Sunday's finale, which features Bark in the Park, will begin at noon.  Links to live stats are available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and the ASun.TV broadcast for each game can be found at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for updates as the matchups progress as well.
 
NKU improved to 10-18 overall with a 5-2 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday in Highland Heights.  Quint Heady led the Norse offense, going 3-for-5 from the plate, and he drove in one run and scored once.  Cole Bauml recorded his team-leading seventh home run of the season, a two-run blast over the left-center field wall, and scored twice.
 
Jake Shaw allowed just two runs on nine hits in eight-plus innings of work for his first victory of the season for the Norse.  He recorded two strikeouts and walked four.  Kevin Herren pitched one inning of relief with one hit and one strikeout for his first save of the year.
 
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE: The Owls moved to 16-16 overall by snapping a three-game skid with a 3-2 victory over Troy on Wednesday.  After the Trojans tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth inning, Drew Davis homered to left field to lift Kennesaw State to the win.  The Owls are 2-4 in the Atlantic Sun, having dropped three contests to Stetson last weekend.
 
Taylor Allum is leading the way offensively for Kennesaw State, batting .345 with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and 10 runs scored, while Grant Williams holds a .333 batting average to go along with five stolen bases in as many attempts.  Chris Erwin and Corey Greeson round out the above-.300 hitters for the Owls, boasting a .316 and .314 batting average, respectively.  Kal Simmons, the only player to start every game this season, is a threat on the base paths, having successfully stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts.
 
Right-handed pitcher Jordan Hillyer is expected to take the mound for Kennesaw State in Friday's opener.  He boasts a 2.17 earned run average and 3-3 record, and he has struck out a conference-leading 60 batters over 49.2 innings of work.  The Norse will face left-hander Travis Bergen on Saturday.  Bergen is also 3-3 on the year and holds a 2.85 ERA, and he is second among Atlantic Sun pitchers with 53 strikeouts in a team-high 53.2 innings on the mound.
 
NKU-KENNESAW STATE SERIES: Kennesaw State holds a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series with NKU.  The Norse captured their only win in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, topping the Owls, 16-14, in the doubleheader opener on March 11, 1986.  Kennesaw State rebounded in the nightcap with a 2-0 win on its home field.
 
After a 27-year hiatus, the two programs met again during NKU's first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun.  Kennesaw State swept the three-game series in Kennesaw, Georgia, and the Norse suffered the same fate last season at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex May 9-11.
 
LAST SEASON AGAINST KENNESAW STATE: Logan Spurlin and Cole Bauml each batted over .400 against Kennesaw State in 2014.  Spurlin led the Norse offense by going 6-for-13 (.462) from the plate with one double, one RBI and one run scored, while Bauml went 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles, two runs scored, one RBI, one stolen base and one walk.  Quint Heady scored twice and recorded two stolen bases, while Cody Kuzniczci drove in two runs on four hits against the Owls.
 
Max Pentecost batted 7-for-15 (.467) over three games for Kennesaw State last season, and he recorded three doubles, one home run, two stolen bases, eight RBI and two runs scored.  Alex Liquori made his three hits count, collecting two doubles and one triple en route to four RBI, while Chris Erwin finished 4-for-6 with one double, two RBIs and two runs scored across two starts.
 
Jordan Hillyer allowed just one unearned run on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks over eight innings of work in the series opener a year ago.  Travis Bergen surrendered one run on three hits over six innings in the second game against the Norse last season, and he struck out six batters and walked just one.
 
BAUML AT THE TOP: Cole Bauml would continue to lead the nation in doubles with 22 if NKU were eligible to be included in the NCAA statistics as a reclassifying institution.  He tops the conference and ranks third nationally with a .781 slugging percentage, and he is second in the Atlantic Sun and lands among the top 50 among NCAA players with a .386 batting average. 
 
Bauml has recorded 89 total bases, which is second-best in the conference and 10th-highest in the country.  His.470 on-base on-base percentage is second in the Atlantic Sun, and he has hit a team-leading seven home runs to rank third in the league and 46th nationally.
 
The senior from Muenster, Saskatchewan, is also chasing down a pair of single-season records.  Bauml needs just four more doubles to tie Jason Cisper, who recorded 26 during the 2010 season.  He needs just one more double to earn a spot in the Atlantic Sun's top 25 list and 12 more two-baggers to tie the conference record of 34, which was set by Stetson's Frank Corr in 2000.
 
STRONG OUTING: Jake Shaw went eight-plus innings in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over Eastern Kentucky for the longest outing of his two-year career.  He allowed two runs on nine hits, and he struck out two batters.  Shaw threw a career-high 115 pitches, 70 of which went for strikes, against the Colonels in his first win of the season.
 
The sophomore right-handed pitcher from Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick, holds a 5.76 ERA over 29.2 innings of work this season.  He has struck out 14 batters and walked four, while giving up 22 runs, 19 earned, in 10 appearances for the Norse.
 
TAKING ADVANTAGE: NKU took advantage of three Eastern Kentucky errors to plate three runs to lift the Norse to a 5-2 win on Wednesday.  After Cole Bauml's two-run home run tied the game in the bottom of the third inning, he reached third on a throwing error in the fifth and scored as Quint Heady reached on the second-straight miscue.  In the bottom of the sixth, Brad Bohlen landed on first on a fielding error and eventually came around to score the game's final run.
 
This season, the Norse are 6-2 when their opponents recorded two or more errors in a contest.  NKU holds wins over CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 21), Dayton (March 12), Morehead State (March 24), Xavier (March 28 and 29) and Eastern Kentucky (April 8) but dropped decision to Kentucky (March 8) and North Florida (April 2) when the other team committed two or more errors.
 
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS: NKU will Strike Out Cancer on Saturday against Kennesaw State.  The American Cancer Society will be on site accepting donations, and Strike Out Cancer t-shirts, Coaches vs. Cancer t-shirts and NKU Pink Ribbon grocery bags will be available with a donation to ACS.  Breast cancer survivor Shirley Brown will be in attendance to throw out the game's first pitch.
 
Sunday marks NKU's annual Bark in the Park event, and the Boone County Adoption Waggin will be on site at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex accepting donations and featuring adoptable pets.  NKU branded pet items, such as water/food bowls, collars and a dog clean-up bag dispenser will also be available with a donation.  Fans can also "Buy a Dog, Save a Dog" with the purchase of a hot dog for $1.  All money from the hot dog sales will benefit the Boone County Adoption Waggin.
 
UP NEXT: NKU hosts Maryville (Tennessee) College on Wednesday, April 15 at 3 p.m. to replace Tuesday's contest that the Norse lost to Kentucky State due to a scheduling conflict. Links to live stats and John Asalon's audio broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.