HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University softball team opens a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference series this weekend against Kennesaw State. The actions begins with a doubleheader on Saturday and concludes with a single game on Sunday. First pitch each day from the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field is scheduled for noon.
 
Kennesaw State University Owls (26-14, 7-5 A-Sun)
Northern Kentucky University Norse (5-23, 1-8 A-Sun)
Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field (500) – Highland Heights, Ky.
April 11 – noon (DH)
April 12 – noon
Series History: Kennesaw State leads, 7-1
First meeting: Feb. 26, 2005 at KSU (NKU, 5-0)
Last meeting: March 16, 2014 at NKU (KSU, 10-0)
 
On Saturday, the Norse will team with the American Cancer Society to Strike Out Cancer. The team will wear special jerseys for the doubleheader and will have pink NKU gear available for fans in exchange for suggested donations to ACS. On Sunday, NKU invites fans to bring their four-legged friends for Bark in the Park. The Boone County Adoption Waggin will be on hand, and fans can pick up NKU gear for their pets for suggested donations to benefit the Boone County Animal Shelter and Queen City Greyhounds.
 
#StartingNine – Tweetable notes about NKU Softball this weekend
 
NKU is looking to rebound from a three-game sweep at the hands of North Florida over Easter Weekend. #LastTimeOut North Florida had to rally for wins in the final at bats in Friday's doubleheader as the Norse dropped a 3-1 decision in the opener and an 11-10 slugfest to close out the weekend. The Osprey pitching was up to the task on Saturday in a 6-0 win to complete the sweep. NKU's scheduled midweek doubleheader against Morehead State was postponed until April 21 due to weather.
 
Dani Devlin continues her hot hitting as she now stands third in the league in batting average at .413. #HotBat Devlin went 8-for-13 (.533) with a pair of home runs and a double to pace the Norse offense to a 1-4 week. Devlin continues to rank among the Atlantic Sun's top hitters, also ranking third in on-base percentage (.471) and second in slugging (.853). Her nine home runs land fifth in the conference and her 15 extra-base hits is sixth.
 
Allie Conner matched a feat not accomplished in six years with two triples against North Florida on Friday. #LegItOut She became the first Norse batter to triple twice in a game since Rose Broderick did it back during the 2009 season against Bellarmine. On the week, Conner had three triples and now ranks second in the A-Sun in the category and increased her batting average by more than 70 points with six hits in 14 at bats.
 
Last Wednesday, Ashlynn Roberts became the first NKU freshman to pitch a shutout since the 2012 season. #FreshmanPitching Roberts held Austin Peay to just three hits and struck out a season-high five batters in a 5-0 win for the Norse. The shutout was the first for a Norse freshman since Alex Caudill's 8-0 blanking of Cedarville on April 19, 2012, one of three shutouts for Caudill that season.  On the week, Roberts was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA, scattering 11 hits and six runs over 11.2 innings in three appearances.
 
Kate Bartolovich continues her torrid hitting, going 6-for-13 with a double, a triple, a home run and three runs scored. #FreshmanHitting Bartolovich's home run came in a game-tying swing in the opener against North Florida. The freshman third baseman is now batting .338 on the year, ranking in the top 20 among A-Sun players.
 
As a team, NKU hit .355 over five games last week, the best single-week team average of the season. #OffensiveSurge It marks the second time the Norse have hit over .300 as a team as the Norse batted .311 in a 3-2 week against Tennessee State and Alabama State. Over the games of last week, four players finished .400 or better on the week, including Devlin, Conner, Bartolovich and Paige McQueen, who went 6-for-15.
 
NKU's continued offensive surge has put the team in the top half of the league in slugging at .433. #HitItHard NKU now ranks fourth in a statistic that has continually showed improvement throughout the 2015 season. Devlin and Conner each slugged over 1.000 last week as the team posted a .623 slugging percentage.
 
#UpNext The Norse head to Indianapolis for a midweek doubleheader against IUPUI on Tuesday. NKU will compete against the Jaguars on April 14 to open a 12-game road trip for the Norse. The first pitch will take place at 3 p.m. at the IUPUI Softball Complex. NKU's next home game will take place Tuesday, April 28 against Miami (Ohio) in a doubleheader at the Frank Ignatius Grein Softball Field.